U.S. National Arboretum - Washington, DC

Facility Address

3501 New York Ave NE
Washington, DC 20002

Hours of Operation

The Arboretum grounds are open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every day of the year except December 25. The National Bonsai & Penjing Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Please note that the R Street entrance is CLOSED to incoming automobile traffic after 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Bicycles, pedestrians, official visitors, volunteers, tours, and contractors will still be allowed to enter through R Street between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. All others must use the New York Avenue entrance between 2:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (that entrance is open daily from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.). Traffic will be able to exit through both the R Street gate and the New York Avenue gate during these closure hours.

Website

https://www.usna.usda.gov

Contact

Admin - Information

Phone

(202) 245-4523

USNA.Comments@usda.gov

About the Garden

Established in 1927 by an Act of Congress. The Arboretum is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service. Northeast Washington, DC, with entrances on New York Avenue and R Street. There are research locations in Washington, DC; Beltsville, Maryland; and McMinnville, Tennessee. 446 acres with 9.5 miles of winding roadways. Wide-ranging developmental and applied research on trees, shrubs, turf, and floral plants. Development of new technologies for the floral and nursery industries. Development of superior landscape plants through a program of genetic improvement, evaluation, and selection. Taxonomy and nomenclature of ornamental plants and their wild relatives. Collection, preservation, and distribution of ornamental plant germplasm. Single‑genus groupings include: azalea, boxwood, daffodil, daylily, dogwood, holly, magnolia, and maple. Major garden features include: aquatic plants, the Asian Collections, the Fern Valley Native Plant Collections, the Flowering Tree Collection, the Flowering Tree Walk, the Friendship Garden, the Gotelli Conifer Collection, the Introduction Garden, the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum, the National Capitol Columns, the National Grove of State Trees, and the National Herb Garden. Public education programs, including symposia, lectures, workshops, and demonstrations; plant, flower, and art exhibitions; interpretive brochures and signs; group tours; public relations. Over 100 scientific articles in professional and trade journals in the last 3 years. Various program aids for visitors. Eight publications in the National Arboretum Contribution series. Permanent reference collection of over 650,000 specimens of dried pressed plants for scientific studies in agriculture, horticulture, botany, medicine, and other related fields. Contains plants from around the world, with a special emphasis on cultivated plants. Especially well represented groups include azaleas (Rhododendron), cherries (Prunus), daffodils (Narcissus), daylilies (Hemerocallis), hollies (Ilex), oaks (Quercus), viburnums (Viburnum), and willows (Salix).