trees
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Magnificent Magnolia
The gardens are full of wonderful Magnolia blossoms just now. Magnolias are named in honour of the French botanist Pierre Magnol, professor of botany at Montpellier University in the late 17th century. He was the first person to suggest that plants with similar characters could be grouped together into families. Magnolias are native to China…
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A very rare conifer: the Vietnamese Golden Cypress
The Vietnamese Golden Cypress or Xanthocyparis vietnamensis can be found at What3Words riots.hoping.petal and looks rather un-preposessing. However, a glance at the accession label reveals that is is anything but. This is a rare and endangered conifer which was has been known to science only since 1999. The discovery of a living conifer that is so…
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Bonsai Open Exhibition (Troon)
The Ayrshire Bonsai Club presents Bonsai Open Exhibition: A presentation of the art of bonsai featuring a display of traditional Japanese arts and crafts. This event will take place at Troon Town Hall. Entrance fees £2.50 for General Admission £1.50 for Seniors Free for Juniors
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Guest lecture: The Pines they are A-Changing with Rob Wilson
Join us at Kelvin Hall at 7pm on Thursday, 19 February 2026 for a guest lecture “The Pines they are a-changing” by Professor Rob Wilson of University of St Andrews. Prof Wilson says: “I am a tree-ring scientist – a so-called Dendrochronologist. My main research focusses on late Holocene palaeoclimatology (the Common Era) with specific emphasis…
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2025 Curator update
Glasgow Botanic Gardens Curator Dr Hiro Shimao gives an update on the collection from 2025 including sugar palms, trees, memorial trees and orchids. This year (from January 2025), we have received more than 1000 species (including cultivars and hybrids) of seeds and plants from many botanical gardens and individuals.
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Storm damage to Nothofagus dombeyi
After the recent storm this fine southern hemisphere beech tree Nothofagus dombeyi lost several of its limbs. GCC arbor services attended promptly and it is hoped that the tree will be viable for the future. This evergreen beech is endemic to southern Chile and Patagonia where it is widespread favouring damp soil and thriving along…
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The Argyle Street Ash: UK Tree of the Year 2025
Congratulations to those members of FGBG who voted for the Argyle Street ash tree which won the Woodland Trust UK Tree of the Year competition, announced on the BBC One show on 25 September. The ash tree won against impressive nationwide competition. David Treanor of Treewise, the Paisley based arborist who nominated the tree, has…
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The Arboretum
‘Walking to be offered on prescription’ says the government. What better place to do it than the Arboretum? This area of the Botanics started to take shape in the 1970s, one hundred and thirty years after the inauguration of the Royal Botanic Gardens in the west end. Now where would we be without it? To…
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From Horse-Drawn Trams to Teslas: The Story of Glasgow’s Number One Tree
The Argyle Street Ash is nominated for the Woodland Trust’s UK Tree of the Year 2025, and David encouraged the audience to vote, share the story, and help protect this unique living landmark before voting closes on 19th September.
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Garden update: Weeping Ash
The end of an era The Botanic Gardens’ Weeping Ash, the tree that travelled from the original site at Sandyford, Sauchiehall Street in 1841 to the present day Great Western Road site, has finally fallen victim to Ash Die Back Disease. Early on the morning of 24 August 2022 it was felled by Glasgow City…