University of Connecticut sponsors Perennial Plant Conference

The University of Connecticut is sponsoring the “Perennial Plant Conference – A Conference for the Landscape and Horticultural Professional.”  The conference will be held at the Lewis B. Rome Commons on the University of Connecticut Storrs campus on Thursday, March 21, 2013. 

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 talks and speakers featured at the conference will include:
Gardening with Kids: Opening Eyes and Doors
-Karen Bussolini, garden photographer, writer and eco-friendly garden coach, South Kent, Conn.
What Really Captures Consumers’ Eyes in the Retail Garden Center, Garden and Landscape?
-Ben Campbell, University of Connecticut
Diseases of Perennials – Pox on your Peonies? Rash on your Rudbeckias?
-Margery Daughtrey, Cornell University, Riverhead, N.Y.
Evolution of a Space
-Janet Draper, horticulturist, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
Hot New Perennials for 2013 and Beyond
-Chris Hansen, Great Garden Plants, Holland, Mich.
Changing Trends: Ornamental Edibles, New Audiences and More and Promise and Reality: Contemporary Marketing Issues
-Ed Lyon, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Landscaping in Wetlands
-Michael Nadeau, Michael Nadeau Wholistic Land Care Consulting, Sherman, Conn.
The Landscape’s Color Spectrum: Applying Natural Color Theories to Design and Vegetated Storm Management Solutions: Inspired by Natural Plant Communities
-Claudia West, North Creek Nurseries, Landenberg, Penn.

Program and registration information, including online registration, is available at www.2013perennial.uconn.edu.  A pre-registration fee of $80 per person is due by March 14. The fee is $90 per person if postmarked after March 14 or for walk-ins. Registration is limited and nonrefundable. Registration includes 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.  Two pesticide recertification credits will be offered for attendees from Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont (pending state approval). Additional CEUs are available.

For more information, contact Donna Ellis at (860) 486-6448 or donna.ellis@uconn.edu, or visit the website.