North Central Research and Outreach Center

This year for Give to the Max Day, consider donating to the Display Garden Creation Project, which will transform our space into an accessible, vibrant display for education, research, and community enjoyment.

 The Display Garden will provide a hands-on learning landscape for students, support local biodiversity and agricultural research, and offer an inviting space for visitors to explore sustainable horticultural practices.

 For more information, visit our Give to the Max Day page: https://crowdfund.umn.edu/participants/3316

Each year, All-America Selections (AAS) invites public gardens across the country to participate in its annual Landscape Design Challenge—an initiative that encourages creative, educational, and visually compelling displays featuring award-winning AAS varieties. For 2025, the challenge theme was STEAM, prompting participating sites to explore the intersections of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics through purposeful garden design.Learn more about the design challenge.

Annual flower trials are hosted at the North Central Research and Outreach Center. This research is an extension of the flower trials occurring at the West Central Research and Outreach Center in Morris, MN. Companies such as All-America Selections, Proven Winners, Syngenta, and many others trial their flower varieties here at the NCROC in the field, in hanging baskets, and containers. During flower evaluations we grade the plants based on criteria such as color, uniformity, uniqueness, plant health, hardiness in zone 3, and insect/disease resistance.