Michurinskiy Garden
Michurinsky Garden of the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy (Timiryazev Academy) is not just a green space within Moscow, but a unique scientific center where for over half a century fruit crop varieties for central Russia have been developed and tested. The garden was established in the autumn of 1939 on an area of 9 hectares at the initiative of Professor Pyotr Shitt and Candidate of Sciences Boris Anzin. In 1976, the territory was expanded to 20 hectares under the guidance of Professor Mikhail Tarasenko. It was named in honor of Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin, the founder of Russian scientific breeding. The garden is located between Timiryazevskaya Street and Dmitrovskoye Highway, on a gentle southern slope. The soils are soddy–weakly podzolic, and the microclimate is close to that of the southern districts of the Moscow region, which makes it possible to grow and study crops typical of warmer regions. The garden houses one of the most important collections of fruit plants in Russia, including 191 varieties and hybrids of apple trees, 167 varieties of pears, hundreds of varieties of berry crops such as gooseberries, strawberries, and roses (rose hips), as well as dozens of varieties of plums, cherry plums, cherries, sweet cherries, apricots, and nut crops. The garden is an integral part of the academy’s educational process. Horticulture students and agronomists do their practical training here, while postgraduates and faculty conduct research. The garden serves as an experimental site where new agrotechnologies are implemented. Key scientific research directions include breeding pears, cherry plums, sweet cherries, and apricots for winter hardiness and productivity; variety testing and adaptability assessment; the study of rootstocks (dwarf and vigorous); methods for increasing winter hardiness; and collaboration with Russian and international research centers. For gardening enthusiasts, the garden offers the sale of saplings and cuttings adapted to the Moscow region climate, consultations from specialists, and a visual demonstration of successful cultivation of southern crops (apricots and sweet cherries) in central Russia. Michurinsky Garden is a federally recognized cultural heritage site. Its collection was built over decades, and its loss would be an irreplaceable loss for Russian science. Today, the garden combines historical heritage with the latest breeding achievements. Michurinsky Garden is a living monument to Russian agronomic science, where the traditions of the past serve the future, and new varieties help gardeners obtain harvests even under challenging climatic conditions.
Address: Moscow, Timiryazevskaya St., vl. 42
