The Botanical Garden is a part of the Faculty of Tropical Agriculture, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague (Czech University of Agriculture in Prague). The area of the Botanical Garden is 3 800m2 (including outdoor areas). The exposition is divided into indoor (greenhouses) and outdoor (outdoor areas). The greenhouses contain the most unique and comprehensive collection of tropical and subtropical plants in the Czech Republic and possibly in Europe.
The operation of the greenhouses started on 1 January 1968 with the aim of obtaining experimental and teaching facilities under the auspices of the Institute of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture. The first plants planted were collected by Professor Pospisil and were mainly citrus imported from the Crimea. A tropical greenhouse was also added in 1973. In 2011, the Faculty of Tropical Agriculture of the Czech University of Life Sciences fulfilled the conditions for joining the Union of Botanical Gardens (UBZCR) and thus became the Botanical Garden of the Faculty of Tropical Agriculture of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague. The Botanical Garden serves primarily students of the Faculty for teaching, but is also open to the public to raise awareness of the use of useful plants in various crops, their conservation and the importance of biodiversity in relation to climate change. The genetic material of the botanical garden is also used for scientific research and ex situ conservation of living plants.
The Union of Botanical Gardens of the Czech Republic established a network of National Plant Collections in 2023. The purpose of the network is to support important collections, methodical assistance with their management and their sustainability as natural and cultural heritage. Plant collections in our country have a long tradition dating back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The collections of botanical gardens and of many professional and amateur growers are of a high standard, both in terms of species grown and management methodology. At a time when importing plants from exotic countries is becoming increasingly difficult or impossible, plant collections are additionally an important genetic resource and national treasure that can be used in science.
Two National Collections have been officially announced in the Botanical Garden of the FTA. The National Citrus Collection was the first to be announced in 2023, followed less than a year later by the National Tropical Utility Plant Collection.
The National Citrus Collection was started in 1974 by Prof. František Pospíšil and is associated with the establishment of collections of tropical and subtropical useful plants, when academics brought back from their travels in developing countries the first plants of the genus Citrus. Today the collection contains 167 subtropical and tropical plants of the genus Citrus, and there are about 50 other species of citrus in the working collection. The collection has taken shape over decades and continues to be expanded with new modern, rarer and historic varieties. The plants are grown in open soil and in containers and are divided mainly according to temperature requirements and species groups.
The collection includes also several rare and now commercially abandoned species from Japan and several hybrids that were the result of breeding here or in other countries. During his time here, Prof. Pospíšil bred the well-known hybrid (C. unshiu X P. trifoliata) Prague, which is still in the collections of the Botanical Garden. It is one of the few hardy citrus trees (according to some sources up to -20°C) with edible fruits.
Several plants from my personal collection come from the gene pool of the National Collection and I am proud to say that part of my collection has in turn enriched the National Collection. For several years now, I have been visiting the Botanical Garden regularly at the end of February or the beginning of March to exchange experiences and genetic material.