This Album is to represent some of my work in plant propagation, greenhouse and nursery management, and botanical knowledge and exploration.
An image showing the papaya germination trials I was managing as a graduate student at University of Hawaii. We were experimenting with using different combinations of heat, gibberellic acid and potassium nitrate to improve germination. This is an example of advanced propagation techniques I have employed.
I am also familiar with the need to understand seasonality and plant physiology in the context of propagation. This is an image of me testing macadamia to determine if it is ready for use as scion material. We use iodine dying as a signal to determine if there are enough carbohydrates in the scion material before harvesting. If the color is dark blue, the plants are ready, if the color is orange, like on my hand, the plant is not ready.
My job currently involves a lot of propagation work, and I even dedicate my personal time to activities. Here my cat is helping me propagate ~20 different accessions of Leucospermum hybrids at my home, a less than ideal potting area. I am trialing and distributing these plants to growers. Leucospermum is unique in that rooting hormones can prohibit rooting by causing too much callous tissue growth, so I excluded rooting hormone. Leucospermum also prefer to be propagated in the early fall in Hawaii. Mortality was between 1-2% in this propagation project.
I consult with a wide variety of greenhouse and nursery producers. This image is of a client's business that grows only plants in the family Bromeliaceae. I have mainly supported the client here by helping manage bacterial pathogens that are difficult to control.
I am experienced enough in propagation techniques that I now run trainings, for example here I am helping manage a training for grafting macadamia
I am competent at giving scientific talks to laypersons and academics. This is an image of a talk on soil management that I am giving at a public event in Waimea, HI.
This image is too help illuminate the type of greenhouse and nursery work I am familiar with. This is one of the production houses I worked in at the US Botanic Gardens. Many rare and unusual plant species reside in this greenhouse.
I am also familiar with commercial production, and helped produce large amounts of certain crops at the USBG.
One of my areas of focus was mass producing plants for seasonal holiday displays
I also focused some on forcing flowers, like spring bulb collections shown here.
I helped maintain interesting collections that required special attention of like this titan arum.
I have also worked extensively with orchids, this image is an example of an orchid house I worked in and helped manage virus spread through application of parasitic nematodes.
This is an image of a production house dedicated to the family Begoniaceae I helped manage.
I also managed large greenhouse and outdoor nursery spaces with a wide diversity of plant species together, like this greenhouse here.
During my time at the USBG I managed the import and export of plants in and out of the production greenhouses.
My formal education began at Longwood Gardens, here you can see some of the work from my first propagation course.
I also learned the fundamentals of crop production while at Longwood Gardens, I took this picture while scouting for insect pests.
I have travelled extensively to learn about plants, this is an image of my Longwood gardens cohort studying unique species at Kew Gardens' conservatory. We travelled to many of the most famous gardens in England to study horticulture.
I have had two horticultural appointments in the San Francisco region and have travelled extensively in California, studying plants. This is an image I took while visiting a beautiful nursery in Gilroy, CA to learn about common plant material.
I would often go to San Francisco on the weekend to come to botanical gardens to look at the collections, like this Araucaria species.
Getting to work at Filoli Gardens, Gamble Gardens (Palo Alto), and on private gardens during my time around the bay area gave me an opportunity to learn about the plants, ecosystems, and climates of that region. I also have travelled and visited gardens up and down the west coast learning about horticulture.
I have travelled to Tanzania to participate in running a training program. This program was successful in that we trained the farmers to grow crops and trained them on managing the experimental project. They successfully managed the project after being trained.
I also took the time to explore some of the unique flora. One of the best botanical experiences of my life was getting to see the giant groundsels, Dendrosenecio, on Kilimanjaro.
My most recent trip involved me giving a talk in Columbia, and exploring the Zingiberaceae natives of the country. Columbia is home to 110 of the ~250 known species of Heliconia.
