The inaugural Southeastern Plant Symposium is set for June 7 and 8, 2019, in Raleigh, North Carolina. Organizers are Mark Weathington, director of JC Raulston Arboretum at North Carolina State University, and Tony Avent, founder of Juniper Level Botanic Garden and Plant Delights Nursery, 9241 Sauls Road, Raleigh, North Carolina.

It takes place at the arboretum, 4415 Beryl Road, Raleigh, North Carolina.

“The Southeastern Plant Symposium is an incredible opportunity for professionals and non-professionals to hear many of the world’s renown plant speakers in a single event,” said Avent. “We are bringing in the most knowledgeable and most passionate plant lovers to speak.”

“There are many great new plants entering the market from plant breeders, from explorations around the world, and from collections of botanic gardens,” added Weathington. “We’ll be talking about cutting edge plants at the forefront of new trends in gardening and new plant selections that reinvent how we think about gardening.”

“The Symposium will provide accurate information from people who know and grow the plants, as opposed to the frequently incorrect information that’s perpetuated online,” said Avent. “Our speakers will cut through the new plant clutter to expose attendees to what is truly exceptional.”

Southeastern Plant Symposium speakers include:

John Grimshaw, Director, The Yorkshire Arboretum, Castle Howard, York, United Kingdom
Scott McMahan, Manager, International Plant Exploration, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Atlanta, Georgia
Ted Stephens, Owner, Nurseries Caroliniana, Augusta, South Carolina
David Creech, Professor Emeritus, SFA State University, and Director of Stephen F. Austin Gardens. Nacogdoches, Texas
Julie Moore, Office of Endangered Species, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Washington, D.C.
Tony Avent, Founder, Juniper Level Botanic Garden and Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, North Carolina
Adam Black, Director of Horticulture, Peckerwood Gardens, Hempstead, Texas
Leanne Kenealy, Plant Breeding and Nursery Technician, JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh, North Carolina
Buddy Lee, Director of Plant Innovations, Plant Development Services (PDSI), Loxley, Alabama
Guy Meacham, New Plant Development Manager, J. Frank Schmidt & Son Company, Boring, Oregon
Tom Ranney, JC Raulston Distinguished Professor and Mountain Crop Improvement Lab, Mountain Horticultural Crops Research and Extension Center, NC State University, Fletcher, North Carolina
Kim Shearer, Tree and Shrub Breeder and Manager of New Plant Development Program, The Morton Arboretum, Lisle, Illinois
Tim Wood, Product Development & Marketing Manager, Spring Meadow Nursery, Grand Haven, Michigan
Donglin Zhang, Professor, Institute of Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Genomics, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia

“Targeted attendees include, private plant collectors, landscape architects and designers, nursery and botanic garden staff, members of HOA landscape design committees, city and county horticulturists, parks staff, new homeowners who want to create a distinctive landscape design, and members of the public who are passionate about new and different plants,” according to Avent.

“Horticulture and landscape plants are among our most basic needs after food and shelter,” Weathington said. “Study after study shows that stress levels go down when we are surrounded by plants, and concentration goes up. Nature Deficit Disorder and Plant Blindness are climbing because we are increasingly disconnected from the natural world. Gardening is one of the best ways to combat these modern problems.”

“Plants are great at sequestering carbon, so more plants in the world are always better,” added Avent. “The New York Times recently reprinted one of Oliver Sacks’ great articles on why ornamental plants are essential.”

The JC Raulston Arboretum will be open before, during, and after the symposium from 8 a.m. through 8 p.m. Juniper Level Botanic Garden will be open before and after the symposium June 6 and 9.

Advance registration is required.

(Photo courtesy of JC Raulston Arboretum)