This exciting three day programme provided an insightful and thought- provoking dialogue involving key experts and influencers in plant trialling from around the globe.
Key themes and diverse perspectives were shared given the breadth of the abstract sessions and the debates within the programme, including:
- The way we trial plants and the development of award systems
- Plants – breeding and the challenges of trialling
- Growing environments
We hope that significant initiatives will be taken forward as a result of this event which will benefit plant growers, breeders, nurserymen and commercial suppliers globally
The conference attracted some excellent speakers and chairmen including:
- Nigel Colborn, RHS Plant Committee Chairman and Garden Writer
- Jim Gardiner, RHS Director of Horticulture
- Anthony Tesselaar, Tesselaaar, Australia
- Allan Armitage, University of Georgia, USA
- Ronald Houtman, Boskoop, Netherlands
- Janice Shipp, Which? Gardening, UK
- Elizabeth Sahin-Georgiadou, Cyprus
- Sally van de Horst, Netherlands
- John Dole, North Carolina State University, USA
- Fergus Garrett, Great Dixter, UK
- Marco Hoffman, Taxonomist, the Netherlands
- Carolyn Whetman, Whetman Pinks
- Dan Heims, Terra Nova, USA
- Kerrie Reid, University of California, USA
- Claire Belisle, Horticultural Trade Journalist, Canada
- Peter Seabrook, Garden writer and television broadcaster
- Margareth Hop, Netherlands
The event at the beautiful RHS Garden Wisley was a success and we look forward to making the most of this network and learning opportunity.