Apr 22, 2016

SEGreen Plant Conference Speakers Announced

Ten of the industry’s top plant experts will share their knowledge and expertise during the two-day SEGreen Plant conference, Aug. 31-Sept. 1. The conference will take place in conjunction with SEGreen at The Classic Center in Athens, Georgia.

Don Shadow, SNA past president, and Michael Dirr, author and retired professor of horticulture at the University of Georgia, will moderate the sessions featuring authors, botanical garden directors, breeders, geneticist, horticulturists, professors, and world travelers.

The SEGreen Plant Conference provides a platform for the grower, landscaper and retailer to come together for a glimpse of new plants coming to market.

The speaker lineup and sessions include:

• David Creech: Climate Change Friendly Trees and Shrubs for the South
• Michael Dirr: The Best of the Plant Conference
• Natalia Hamill: So We’ve Got all These New Genetics, Now What?
• Thomas Molnar: The Rutgers Woody Ornamental and Nut Tree Breeding Program: New Plants and Future Directions
• Richard Olsen: National Arboretum 2.0 : Creating New Legacies for an Impactful Future
• Allen Owings: Herbaceous Lagniappe from the Louisiana Landscape
• Tom Ranney: Breeding Breakthrough Plants: The Newest Introductions from NCSU
• Tim Rinehart: Sequencing the Genome: Hydrangea Macrophylla’s Genetic Secrets Finally Revealed
• David Roberts: From Idea to Introduction: Using Breeding Innovations and Understanding Limitations to Improve Ornamental Characteristics and Environmental Tolerance
• Panel Discussion: Bringing New Plants to Market and Creating Winners
• Dennis Werner: Designer Genes – Designer Redbuds: Twenty Years of Cercis Breeding

The Don Shadow Award of Excellence will be presented at the conclusion of the conference followed by the SEGreen New Plant Auction. In addition, a UGA Campus Landscape Walk & Talk with Michael Dirr is scheduled following the conference.

Registration for the conference is $90 for a 1-Day Access Pass (Wednesday or Thursday), and $150 for an All Access Pass (Wednesday and Thursday), with the option of attending any Plant Conference or Landscape Conference sessions. A SEGreen name badge is included with registration for access to the SEGreen Marketplace. Speaker bios, session titles and description, schedule and registration information can be found on the SEGreen website at www.segreen.org.