Tom Ranney, JC Raulston Distinguished Professor at North Carolina State University
Tom has been a faculty member at North Carolina State University since 1989 and is currently the JC Raulston Distinguished Professor of Horticultural Science. He lives, works, and gardens in the mountains of Western North Carolina where he has the good fortune to lead a plant breeding program at the Mountain Crop Improvement Lab in Mills River, NC. He and his team have introduced 79 cultivars including mainstream crops like rhododendron/azalea, dogwood, flowering quince, hydrangea, deutzia, spiraea, and miscanthus to more obscure hybrids like desert orchid, mountain gordlinia, and mountain schimlinia ‘Schima Lina Ding Dong’.
Horticultural Science Department
Since 1901, the faculty, staff and students of the Department of Horticultural Science have been providing innovative teaching, research and outreach to the citizens of North Carolina, the nation, and the world. Our research and extension programs are recognized worldwide for their contributions to applied horticultural production and to discovery science. We generate and extend knowledge about fruits, vegetables, ornamental plants, and landscape design for the purpose of increasing food security and food safety, sustaining the environment, enhancing economic vitality, and improving the quality of life for individuals and their communities.