The regional chapters of the International Plant Propagators’ Society (IPPS) are having their 2015 annual meetings in September and October. IPPS members and non-members are welcome to register for all or part of the meeting. Students can become members at nominal annual fees and can also register for the conference at reduced rates.
The Eastern Region's 2015 Annual Conference will take place Sept. 25- 28 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its 2015 Conference will include two days of tours; first a pre-conference tour on Friday, Sept. 25 of the Columbus area visiting Decker’s Nursery, Acorn Farms, Meadowview Gardens, Franklin Park Conservatory, and The Ornamental Plant Germplasm Center (OPGC) at the Ohio State University. The second day of tours on Sept. 27 will focus on the Cincinnati area. Highlights of that tour are Smale Riverfront Park, Spring Grove Cemetery & Arboretum, Natorp’s Nursery & Garden Center, and the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden.
The conference talks will span two days and have a unique split focus. Saturday, Sept. 26 will zero in on production topics including automation, LED lighting, plant breeding, innovation in plant rooting hormones, overwintering strategies, and much more.
Monday, Sept. 28, will partner IPPS members and other national experts on the subjects of plant production and how it interacts with conservation movements - ecology meets economy. Topics include invasive species evaluation, sterility thresholds, propagation of endangered species, and how conservation groups and production nurseries can work in positive and effective ways toward common goals.
For more information, and to register, visit www.ippseastern.org.
The Southern Region will have its annual meeting Oct. 10-14 in Tampa, Fla. The meeting includes two days of tours including the following destinations: Harrell's Nursery, Riverview Flower Farm, Mariposa Nursery, Ringling Bayfront Gardens, Speeling Inc., and Bok Tower Gardens.The Southern Region meeting also features a robust two-day educational program.
Visit http://ipps-srna.org/ for more information and to register. Online registration ends Oct. 4 at 5 p.m. EST. After this date, please register at the conference at the IPPS registration desk in the lobby of the Sheraton Tampa Riverwalk Hotel.
The Western Region of IPPS will hold its annual meeting from Sept. 23 to 26 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Plaza in Modesto, Calif. The theme of this year’s meeting is “Plant Propagation in the 21st Century” and features a diverse program of tours and presentations focused on the latest in plant propagation and production practices.
The pre-conference tour takes place on Wednesday, Sept. 23 and highlights seven stops showcasing the diversified agriculture of the Central Valley of California. Attendees will visit a cactus nursery, a bedding plant nursery, a nursery that produces citrus and other fruit trees, two prune processing and packing facilities, a seed and plant diagnostic lab,a tissue culture lab and the USDA Germplasm Repository.
This conference also includes two half-day tours of nurseries and other plant production facilities and three half-day sessions with presentations by plant scientists from the Western Region and beyond. The talks focus on topics from conservation of plants and resources to alternative plant protection and pathogen detection strategies to technologies of the future.
