University of Connecticut offers Perennial Plant Conference

By Greenhouse Grower staff|March 2, 2012

The University of Connecticut is sponsoring the Perennial Plant Conference – A Conference for the Professional Horticulturist. The conference will be held at the Lewis B. Rome Commons on the University of Connecticut Storrs campus on Thursday, March 15, 2012.

This all-day educational conference will address a wide range of topics focusing on herbaceous perennial production, sustainable landscape design, and retail marketing. Topics were selected to appeal to professional landscapers and designers, nursery and greenhouse producers and retail garden centers. Two concurrent educational sessions will feature nationally-recognized speakers from both industry and academia.

The speakers featured at the conference will include:

Kelly Norris, horticulturist from Rainbow Iris Farm, who will be speaking on Gardening with a Y and What’s New in the World of Irises?
Suzi McCoy, president of The Garden Media Group, who will be speaking on The 7 C’s of Social Media.
Doug Tallamy from the University of Delaware, who will be speaking on Maintaining Curb Appeal with Native Plants.
Barbara Balgoyen from Walters Gardens, who will be speaking on New and Exciting Perennials .
Sydney Eddison, horticulturist and garden writer from Newtown, Conn., who will be speaking on Change: The Passage of Time in the Garden.
Ethan Roland from AppleSeed Permaculture, who will be speaking on Permaculture/Edible Landscaping.
Luke Kreye from Emil Kreye & Son, who will be speaking on Magic in the Landscape: Building Rock Gardens.
Michael Bowell, president of Create A Scene who will be speaking on Showtime at the Shore.
Randy Prostak from the University of Massachusetts, who will be speaking on Developing Ecologically Responsible Weed Management Programs.

An $80-per-person pre-registration fee is due by March 8, 2012. Program and registration information, including online registration, is available at www.2012perennial.uconn.edu. The fee is $90 per person for late registrations and walk-ins.

Admission to sessions, an information packet, lunch, morning and afternoon snacks, free parking and an opportunity to meet speakers and purchase autographed books from the Perennial Plant Conference bookstore are included in the admission fee.