Mass occurrence at the end of the last century on the domestic market of many garden forms of decorative plants, mainly coniferous species, which did not pass the introduction test, led to a number of negative consequences when creating garden and park compositions. Individual garden forms turned out to be insufficiently resistant in the conditions of the republic, especially to the factors of the winter period. This circumstance required urgent special research on the selection of the assortment, the study of the biological features of the growth and development of a wide range of plants, and the determination of the most promising ones for green construction in Belarus. In connection with this, on the initiative of Academician V. N. Rashetnikov, in October 2000, a thematic group of decorative gardening was created, which was headed by Candidate of Science. V. I. Torchik. The group also included N.Z. A.D. Antoniuk and M.Sc. V. G. Shilova. The main task of the group was to attract garden forms of coniferous species. In 2001-2002, U.I. Torchyk organized several expeditions to nurseries and dendrological centers in Poland, Germany and Holland. As a result of this work, a new collection of promising garden forms of coniferous species was created, which includes 147 taxa belonging to 8 genera and 3 families. After the creation of the collection, research was started on the study of growth, development and resistance of plants attracted to biotic and abiotic factors of the environment, which continues to the present day. At the same time, studies on the assessment of the regenerative potential of stem cuttings and the development of effective techniques for their vegetative reproduction were developed. In 2004, a graduate of the Belarusian State Technological University, G.A. Khalapuk, was accepted into the thematic group, who continued the previously started research on the introduction of the Menzies pseudo-breed into the forests of Belarus. In 2006, the thematic group was transformed into the decorative horticulture sector. Since 2008, research has been started on the identification and experimental substantiation of the possibility of using spontaneous somatic mutations of the "witch's broom" of native and introduced species for the purposes of selection of domestic ornamental cultivars. Since the establishment of the sector, research has been ongoing on the development of scientific bases for the formation and use of an assortment of ornamental woody plants in various methods of container landscaping. Since August 1, 2017, the sector has been transformed into a laboratory. Currently, the laboratory is conducting dissertation work for the degree of candidate of biological sciences (Kelka A.F.).
