Symposium registration is now open. Cost to attend the entire Sym posium weekend\, including all sessions\, speakers\, classes plus Satu rday lunch and Saturday evening banquet will be only $125 if registere d before March 10th. Late registration of $145 begins March 11th.
\ nAll events take place at the Evergreen Inn &\; Suites Best West ern Plus or at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden. This schedul e is subject to change.
\nFriday\, April 7 – Cascade mee ting room
\n\n1:00 – 3:30 pm RSF Annual meeting
\n3:00 – 3:30 pm Break\, Snack &\; Chat
\n3:30 – 4:30 pm “The Rhododendron Gardens of Europe” with Hartwig Schepker\n
Hartwig will show images and discuss some of the fine st gardens in Europe\, specifically those that feature outstanding col lections of rhododendrons. He will take us on a journey through the Un ited Kingdom and into continental Europe including Italy\, Denmark and Germany among others. This will be a lavishly illustrated and very en joyable insider’s look at some of the most beautiful gardens in the wo rld.
\n4:30 –\; 5:00 pm Species ID Contest and Student
Poster Session
\n6:00-8:00 pm Dinner on your own – local
restaurants with staff and speakers.
Optional after dinner Meet &\; Mingle at hotel bar
\nSaturday\, April 8 – Cascade meeting room
\n\n8:30 – 9:1 5 am Speaker: Valerie Soza
\n10:30 – 12:00 Species Symposium with moderator\, Chip Mueller
\nCash bar
Sunday\, Ap ril 9
\nOptional local attrac tions and garden visits
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Saturday Morning< /em>
\n“\;Elucidating the tropical diversification o f rhododendrons and the genetic basis for changes in floral shape usin g genomic data”\;
\nVireya rhododendrons are unusual from t he majority of temperate rhododendrons for their tropical distribution and wide range of floral morphology. Vireyas are a group of about 320 species that occur primarily in Southeast Asian islands with diverse floral shapes suitable for birds\, bees\, butterflies\, and/or moths. Their present-day distribution\, combined with sampling throughout the ir genomes\, has allowed us to infer ancestral ranges and estimate the direction and timing of dispersal across these islands. In addition\, we observe changes in floral shape and stamen arrangement in vireyas as they moved east\, which are most likely due to changes in flower sy mmetry genes. This has prompted us to examine flower symmetry genes fr om across rhododendrons to look for evidence of gene duplication assoc iated with flower symmetry changes.
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\n After Valerie Soza completed her undergrad
uate studies in Environmental Studies and Anthropology\, she served as
Botanical Field Studies Coordinator and Herbarium Curatorial Assistan
t at Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont where she managed a
variety of conservation projects focused on California plants. Valerie
received her Ph.D. in Biology in 2010 and completed her postdoctoral
research in 2014 at the University of Washington\, examining the evolu
tionary history and development of flowers and sexual systems in a var
iety of plant groups. She is currently a Research Scientist in Ben Hal
l’s Lab at UW and is using genomic data to understand rhododendron evo
lution.
Saturday afternoon Field Laborato ry Horticulture Classes at the RSBG:
\nF eaturing RSBG Staff
\n“Big-leaf Rhododendr ons” with Steve Hootman\, Executive Director and Curator
\ nSteve will lead a tour of the big-leaf collection to examine and c ompare all of the species in cultivation including several so new that they have yet to be named! He will discuss specific identification tr aits and the best cultivation methods for each species\; a detailed h andout will be provided.
\n“Secrets of species propagati on” with Dennis Bottemiller\, Nursery Manager and Propagator< /p>\n
Dennis will lead a detailed discussion with demonstrations of the best and latest techniques in Rhododendron species propag ation. A full and in-depth tour of the entire nursery facility is incl uded.
\n“Successful cultivation of rhododendrons – the R SBG way” with Atsuko Gibson\, Assistant Curator and Ben Meers man\, Gardener
\nJoin RSBG’s expert horticulturists Atsuko and B en in the garden to learn the best techniques for the successful culti vation of Rhododendron species as well as Himalayan Blue Popp ies and Cardiocrinum (Giant Lilies). Watering\, soil prep and pest and disease issues will be highlighted.
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There will be a banquet and lecture on Saturday ev ening.
\nFeatured Speaker: Hartwig Sc hepker\, Scientific Director of the Botanic Garden and Rhodod endron-Park Bremen
\n“The “other Rhododendron speci es” – the rhododendrons of Kamchatka\, the Russian Altai and beyond”
\nJoin Dr. Hartwig Schepker as he discusses and shows im ages of the “other” rhododendrons of the world. Hartwig will be inform ing us about those Eurasian species which are often overlooked in favo r of their Himalayan and Chinese relatives. These include the species native to the European Alps to as far away as the Russian Far East and including the ornamental species of the Caucasus Mountains and even S pain and Portugal. This will be an incredible introduction to some of the least known rhododendron-regions on the planet and you will not wa nt to miss this exciting opportunity.
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You may register online to the r ight\, or
\nDownload the Species Symposium Registration Form and mail to
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PO Box 3798
\nFederal Way\, WA 98063
International onl y – please take advantage of the special registration rate of $110 US due to the exchange rate. Please register by February 10th to take advantage of the early registration rate.
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Reserve your room now by calling 253-529-4000 and use the code “RSBG” to receive the group rate of just $119 per ni ght for either a King or Queen room. The rate (single or double occupa ncy) is $119 per night\, when booked by Friday\, March 17th\, 2017. Af ter March 17th\, reservation requests after that will be accepted at t he hotel’s prevailing rate\, based on room type and availability.
\ nThe Commons Mall is located one block from the Best Western Plus Evergreen Inn &\; Sui tes. It has over 100 stores and a movie theater. There are also many r estaurants in this area
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Species Symposium reg istration is now OPEN.
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