Ryan Contreras, Professor and Associate Head at Oregon State University, Department of Horticulture
Ryan is a Professor and Associate Head of Horticulture at Oregon State University, where he has a teaching and research appointment that focuses on woody landscape plants. He teaches core plant propagation, plant growth and development, and two terms of landscape plant identification. More recently, he has developed Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) courses in woody plant identification to help train folks entering the nursery industry without a horticulture background. He established the Ornamental Plant Breeding Program, which develops new cultivars of woody shrubs and trees to improve traits such as disease resistance, habit, fragrance, reduced fertility, and much more. He has developed a diverse program including breeding efforts in nearly 50 genera – a number that continues to grow. The overarching goal is for the research to directly support and enhance the success of nursery producers, landscapers, and consumers while expanding the scientific body of knowledge.
Oregon State University Department of Horticulture.
Grow healthy food and essential plants, design and create sustainable landscapes, and discover how plants improve people’s lives and livelihoods in the Department of Horticulture.
