YELLOWSTONE ARBORETUM
" Stewards of the Natural Environment "
Billings, Montana @ ZooMontana
Legacy Collection
The "Legacy Collection" was created in 2024 in honor of those tree specimens that have a personal connection to the Yellowstone Arboretum or historical value to arboreta lineage. These specimens will be notes by signage when visiting the arboretum and more information can be attained by entering the common name or accession record number on the website search bix (found on home page).
The collection includes the following trees and sources:
"Reger Family Collection"
Pinus sylvestris - Scotch Pine (0098-123)
These trees originated from the Reger home garden. Jane and Jim Reger were the driving forces behind the formation of ZooMontana and the arboretum. Of the original seven specimens planted in 1998 three survive today (2025). They are located at Wolverine Junction and visible from the main pathway.
Ginkgo biloba (0097-029)
Jane Reger was instrumental in introducing the first Ginkgo trees to the arboretum. One tree is located across from the Schoolhouse Entry.
Frank Skinner Nursery, Dropmore, Manitoba
Populus x cross 'Skinner weeping popular' (2023-TBA Old Pond Collection))
U.pumila Siberian Elm (2024-TBA Parking Lot wall)
Frank Skinner immigrated to Canada from Scotland with his parents in 1895, at the age of 13. At that time, the area surrounding what is now Skinner’s Nursery was completely bare of trees, and from the upper story of the Skinner home, the settlement of Saltcoats, SK could be seen approximately 40 miles directly to the west.
The family ranged cattle from Dropmore to north of the Boggy Creek post office, an area with no fences. Spending hours on horseback with the cattle, Frank Skinner became interested in the plants and flowers native to the wild prairie. This interest in plant life led him to develop plants hardy to the climate of North West Prairie Region.
Frank Skinner’s love of plants was a hobby when the First World War ended. It became his lifelong quest to develop hardy plant material, which could survive over the prairie winters, in what is now known as climatic Zones 2 and 3.
In 1925, with encouragement from his colleagues, Skinner expanded his mixed farming operation to include a commercial nursery. The nursery business became his primary focus until his death in in 1967.
The nursery created by Dr. Skinner is unique to Western Canada, as well as to Manitoba. The plants and trees are a collection of material originating from central Europe, China, mid United States, native prairie and boreal plains, and those species developed by Skinner for the cold prairie region.
Dr. Skinner was celebrated for developing many species including a large variety of lilies and roses. He was perhaps most famous for his lilacs and honeysuckles.
J.H.Skinner Nursery, Topeka Kansas
Acer saccharinum skinneri 'Skinner Cut-Leaf Maple' (2001-010 Koi Pond)
Acer saccharinum skinneri 'Skinner Cut-Leaf Maple' (2002-020 Plaza)
Acer saccharinum 'Silver Queen Maple' (2000-120 Birds of Prey)
When founder Joseph Henry Skinner planted the nursery in 1886, the fertile river valley soil provided the perfect environment for cultivating apple tree seedlings. At the time, the demand for fruit trees was high, and the reputation of Skinner’s stock spread fast.
As society changed with new food storage and grocery technology, the market for fruit trees diminished while demand rose for ornamental shrubs, flowers, evergreens, and shade trees. In 1956, the third generation of Skinners–brothers named Ralph and Hank–expanded the nursery wholesale business with a new garden center retail space, which today remains Skinner Garden Store.
J.F. Schmidt Nursery, Troutdale Oregon
Acer x truncatum 'Pacific Red Maple Warrenred' (2000-025 Plaza)
Acer grandidentatum 'Rocky Mountain Glow Wasatch Maple' (2002-025 Lynx Pathway)
Acer grandidentatum 'Rocky Mountain Glow Wasatch maple' (2003-021 Children's Garden)
Quercus macrocarpa 'Urban Pinnacle Oak' (2023-TBA Foster Waterfowl Refuge)
Newlyweds Frank and Evelyn Schmidt planted their first trees on 10 acres located west of Troutdale, Oregon, near the nursery where Frank Jr. had grown up. He had learned how to grow trees from his father, J. Frank Schmidt, Sr., a leading nurseryman of his era. The rich alluvial soil that slopes gently northward toward the Columbia River was ideal for growing nursery stock. The post-war building boom was on, and there was a great demand for trees in cities, suburbs, industrial parks and public places.
Frank Jr. recognized a demand for trees of consistent quality, form and survivability, grown from superior parent stock. He soon carved a niche for himself by perfecting the mass production of bare root shade and flowering trees produced by grafting selected budded cultivars onto seedling rootstocks. From the start, it was important to Frank to produce the best quality trees possible and sell them at a reasonable price.
Donald Wyman Collection
Malus domestica 'Donald Wyman (0099-203 Millenium Grove)
Syringa vulgaris 'Wyman' (2022-TBA The Dell)
Celebrated as one of the most cherished flowering crabapples in the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University’s collection of over 154 taxa (kinds), Malus ‘Donald Wyman’ was named after the highly accomplished Donald Wyman (1094-1993), Arboretum horticulturist for over 35 years. Wyman hailed from Philadelphia, PA, and after receiving a Ph.D in horticulture from Cornell University, joined the Arboretum in 1935. He worked for six months without pay and was made horticulturist in 1936.
Wyman’s initial work included revitalizing collections that were in decline (Wyman began at a challenging time in the Arboretum’s history, following the recent passings of the Arboretum’s inaugural director Charles Sprague Sargent and keeper of the arboretum Ernest Henry Wilson), relaunching plant labeling and mapping initiatives, and focusing on new plant introductions. In the late 1960s alone, he brought in over a thousand species and varieties new to the Arboretum. During his tenure at the Arboretum, Wyman authored thousands of articles (he was especially fond of flowering crabapples) and five texts on temperate woody plants, including the popular Wyman’s Gardening Encyclopedia and Trees for American Gardens, held office in many organizations, and received numerous awards and accolades. Wyman’s devotion to ornamental horticulture is unparalleled, as is evident from his abundant contributions to the industry during his long and fruitful career.
