Floriculture & ABL Greenhouses
Plant Science and Landscape Architecture On-campus Teaching and Controlled Environment Growth Facilities
The UConn PSLA Floriculture Building and Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory Greenhouses provide support for multiple faculty members and their respective undergraduate and graduate students, as well as extension programs throughout the College. Faculty also partner with numerous private companies and organizations within the plant science industry to collaborate on foundational and proof of concept research projects in diverse areas, including:
- Agronomy
- Small Fruit Production
- Horticulture
- Integrated Pest Management
- Landscape Architecture
- Soil Science
- Turfgrass Science
- Vegetable Production
- Bedding Plant Production
- Plant Pathology
- Sustainable Agriculture
- Weed Ecology and Control
- Woody and Herbaceous Ornamental Breeding
This combination of protected growing areas, specialized facilities, and supporting classrooms and laboratories serve as a primary resource and integrated environment for teaching, research, and extension support.
Courses taught at the Floriculture Building provide students with hands-on, practical, and applicable experience in their major field of study. These courses incorporate foundational plant science with contemporary controlled environment technology and practices, preparing students for seamless transition to industry and research institutions.
Floriculture Building
This multi-use facility encompasses over an acre of a wide variety of spaces used for education and research:
- Greenhouses providing 16,000 square feet of year-round, protected growing space
- A modern research greenhouse utilizing computer-based controls to precisely monitor and regulate 8 individual, specialized growing environments.
- Five teaching greenhouses provide space for experiential learning of transferable skills for their major field of study, interaction with hundreds of temperate and tropical plant species, dedicated student club areas, and flexible space for undergraduate and graduate research.
- Outdoor facilities providing 18000 square feet of mixed-use space
- Nursery area providing protected, outdoor research growing area enclosed within 8-foot-tall deer fencing. The nursery includes full-sun and shade structures, as well as cold frame and subterranean overwintering structures for herbaceous and woody perennials.
- Demonstration plots for commercial production, native plants, and turf grass
- Classroom building
- Lecture and laboratory classrooms
- Four walk-in cold rooms for manipulation of plant physiology
- Wet and dry laboratories for teaching and research activities
Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory Greenhouse and Growth Chamber Facility
Attached to the Agricultural Biotechnology Laboratory is a 10000 square foot, secure research space encompassing 10 greenhouses and a variety of cabinet and walk-in growth chambers. Each utilizes computer-based controls to precisely monitor and regulate growing environments to support a diverse range of research projects across the College. The facility also includes walk-in cold storage, as well as wet and dry laboratory spaces to support efficient research logistics.
