UC Santa Cruz Arboretum

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UC Santa Cruz Arboretum The UC Santa Cruz Arboretum is a conservation garden of rare, endangered and extraordinary plants from around the world. See our website for current Hours.

We are open daily, 9am to 5pm, with physical distancing guidelines in effect. The Arboretum at UC Santa Cruz is a public garden committed to plant conservation and serves both the university campus and the public. Its rich and diverse collection, containing representatives of more than 300 plant families, provides beginning students with a broad survey of the plant kingdom. The Arboretum maintains collections of rare and threatened plants of unusual scientific interest. Particular specialties are world conifers, primitive angiosperms, and bulb-forming plant families. Most of the plants growing in the Arboretum's gardens come from regions with a climate similar to our own. Much of California, along with areas of Australia, Chile, South Africa, and the Mediterranean Basin have a mediterranean climate. Plants in this rare climate enjoy mild, wet winters, but have had to adapt to the unusual hardship of hot, dry summers with little or no rain. The Arboretum gardens and surrounding areas are an amazing place for birding and bird-watching. Though they did not evolve together, many of our local birds, bees and other wildlife thrive with plant species from across the globe. Norrie's Gift & Garden Shop is staffed by volunteers and all proceeds support the Arboretum.

🌳 Rick Flores is the UCSC Arboretum & Botanic Gardens’ Executive Director and Steward of the Amah Mutsun Relearning Prog...
10/07/2026

🌳 Rick Flores is the UCSC Arboretum & Botanic Gardens’ Executive Director and Steward of the Amah Mutsun Relearning Program. His presentation will explore seasonal harvests, nuts, berries, and edible greens. He’ll talk about native plant uses in craft materials, and ways to integrate native plants into home gardens to foster our relationships with our native flora.

👉 This FREE presentation is hosted by the Santa Cruz
chapter of the California Native Plant Society.

🗓️ Monday, October 12
5:30pm, Plant keying session
7:00 pm, Rick Flores, “Uses of Native Plants”

📍 UCSC Arboretum & Botanic Garden’s
Horticulture 2 classroom

Come join us!!



-Tina, UCSC Arboretum volunteer

☀️ The Arboretum’s summer field internship is sponsored by the UC Santa Cruz Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-Based O...
10/03/2026

☀️ The Arboretum’s summer field internship is sponsored by the UC Santa Cruz Center to Advance Mentored, Inquiry-Based Opportunities in Ecology & Conservation (CAMINO) program. Guided and facilitated by Brett Hall, the internship provides students and recent graduates hands-on experience with botanical conservation. Divided between California’s Central Coast and the Northern Sierra Nevada, we collectively conduct botanical surveys, compile plant lists, and collect seed for the Arboretum’s larger conservation goals. When we are not doing fieldwork, most of our work is within the Arboretum’s gardens.

👉 Led by Brett Hall, read more about the exploration, learning and rewarding experiences that Moss Phipps, Gabriel Fernandez, Nelly Batista, Emmi Marx, Hannah Lin, Tiana Stouch, and Herb Cyde had this past summer.

See Linktree in Bio-first group, last link.
Or copy/paste into your browser: https://arboretum.ucsc.edu/articles/2026/09/fall-2026-newsletter/



-Tina, UCSC Arboretum volunteer

FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH TOURS😎 First Saturday Tours are a wonderful way to introduce yourself to the Arboretum or to...
09/30/2026

FIRST SATURDAY OF THE MONTH TOURS

😎 First Saturday Tours are a wonderful way to introduce yourself to the Arboretum or to deepen your understanding of the Arboretum’s plant collections. Each tour is a little different depending on the time of year, the interests of the tour guide and the people who join in. You might learn more about the birds and mammals that make this land their home or about the amazing physical adaptations that plants have evolved to better deal with extreme weather and climate conditions. 

Meet your Docent Guide at the entrance to the Visitor Parking lot. Walks will be about one hour. Rain cancels.

👉 Register at Linktree, under Arboretum Upcoming Events, or copy/paste into your browser: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXniw1cnyk0AkgsBen0vzFJFQNl5P5tFUBvvBj9kJh91K16g/viewform

⏰ UCSC Arboretum hours:
Daily, 9am - 5pm
⏰ Norrie’s Gift & Garden Shop:
Tues - Sunday, 10am - 4pm

🎟️ Arboretum Admission: 
$13 adults
$10 seniors 65+
$7 youth 4-17
Kids under 4 free
Arboretum Members, FREE!



-Tina, UCSC Arboretum volunteer

✅ Vote Today! ✅The Lookout List is back for its second annual celebration of Santa Cruz County. Thousands of write-in no...
09/29/2026

✅ Vote Today! ✅

The Lookout List is back for its second annual celebration of Santa Cruz County. Thousands of write-in nominations came in this summer, and the top five in each category have advanced to the final ballot. Now it’s up to you to crown the winners! Voting is open through October 18.
 
Cast your vote now to join thousands of neighbors celebrating the local favorites that make this place one of a kind.

👉 To cast your vote for the UCSC Arboretum, see the second Link in our Linktree (The Lookout List), or
copy/paste https://thelist.lookout.co/arts-and-entertainment/favorite-museum into your browser.

✨ Winners will be revealed beginning November 3. ✨



-Tina, UCSC Arboretum volunteer

Starting this month, we will be hosting keying sessions on the fourth Monday of every month. The evenings will provide a...
09/24/2026

Starting this month, we will be hosting keying sessions on the fourth Monday of every month. The evenings will provide an informal opportunity to learn about plant terminology and identification in a relaxed atmosphere based on seasonal availability of plant material. Participants are encouraged to bring plants to look at together and ideas for topics for future sessions. The first session will be on September 28, 5:30-7:30pm at the Horticulture 2 classroom. Participation is free for members and UCSC students, with a suggested donation for non-members of $10-15.

Come find us at Cornucopia on East field from 3-6 pm at booth 29 to learn more about the UCSC Arboretum 🌱Students receiv...
09/22/2026

Come find us at Cornucopia on East field from 3-6 pm at booth 29 to learn more about the UCSC Arboretum 🌱

Students receive a free sticker when they follow us on social media!

Come relax in our gardens of plants from around the world and don’t forget to stop by our wonderful gift shop and plant ...
09/19/2026

Come relax in our gardens of plants from around the world and don’t forget to stop by our wonderful gift shop and plant nursery for that perfect student gift! The gardens are open daily from 9 to 5 and our gift shop is open 10 to 4, Tuesday through Sunday. Gift certificates are available! The main entrance to the Arboretum is on High St., midway between the two entrances to campus. Hope to see you there!

There’s always something to see at the UCSC Arboretum! Take a look at the vibrant gardens 🌸🌳These are just a few of the ...
09/17/2026

There’s always something to see at the UCSC Arboretum! Take a look at the vibrant gardens 🌸🌳

These are just a few of the many beautiful plants in bloom that you can visit at the UCSC Arboretum this week. Below you can find plant names in the order they appear in 🪴👇

- Erythrina humeana
- Grevillea banksii
- Erica discolor
- Aloiampelos striatula
- Leucadendron salignum
- Nothofagus obliqua
- Melaleuca citrina

Check out this great article on Arboretum volunteer Leah Dowty!
09/15/2026

Check out this great article on Arboretum volunteer Leah Dowty!

☀️ Amaryllis belladonna (Naked Lady) is a South African bulbous perennial known for producing fragrant, trumpet-shaped p...
09/12/2026

☀️ Amaryllis belladonna (Naked Lady) is a South African bulbous perennial known for producing fragrant, trumpet-shaped pink flowers in late summer on tall leafless stalks. It is highly drought-tolerant, deer-resistant, and thrives in full sun, often used in Mediterranean gardens for its dramatic late-season blooms. Strappy, medium green, smooth, and leathery leaves appear in spring and die back in early summer before the flowers emerge. 

☀️ Follow us for more photos of Mediterranean plants and their flowers, learn interesting info about them, and find out about upcoming Arboretum events!



-Tina, UCSC Arboretum volunteer

Address

1156 High Street, UCSC (For GPS Use Arboretum Rd)
Santa Cruz, CA
95064

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm
Saturday 9am - 5pm
Sunday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

(831) 502-2998

Website

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