Fairbanks conference to examine all aspects of peony production

This beautiful blossom was photographed June 30 at the Georgeson Botanical Garden.

UAF Georgeson Botanical Garden and the Alaska Peony Growers Association invite producers and other interested parties to attend the Summer Peony Growers Conference July 21–22 in Fairbanks. The conference includes an all-day tour of the botanical garden and Fairbanks area farms on July 21 and presentations July 22 from peony researchers, soil scientists, nursery owners, and cut flower industry representatives. Topics will include marketing, production, soils, pest management, breeding, and more. On July 23-24 a grant writing session will be held.

John Dole, professor of horticultural science at North Carolina State University, will lecture on specialty cut flowers. Red Kennicott, Kennicott Brothers Ltd., Chicago, Ill., will talk about the peony cut flower industry perspective. Don Hollingsworth of Hollingsworth Nursery, Maryville, Mo., will talk about research needs from the industry. Bridget Behe, horticulture professor at Michigan State University, and Jim Collins, director of entrepreneurship at UAF School of Management, will talk about cut flower marketing and entrepreneurship.

SNRAS Professor Meriam Karlsson and Brian Krug, University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension greenhouse/floriculture specialist, will lecture on field production and high tunnels. SNRAS Associate Professor Mingchu Zhang and Dave Mengel, Kansas State University, will discuss nutrition and soils. USDA Agricultural Research Service's Alberto Pantoja and Steve Seefeldt, along with Agricultural Extension Agent Phil Kaspari of UAF Cooperative Extension Service, will talk about pest management. Peony diseases will be addressed by Ken Johnson, Oregon State University professor of botany and plant pathology. A session on virus indexing and DNA fingerprinting will be led by Kim Hummer, Nancy Robertson, and Barbara Reed of the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository, Corvallis, Ore. Tom Davis, University of New Hampshire, and Peter Waltz, private breeder, will talk about breeding peonies. Post harvest issues will be addressed by John Dole, NC State.

The deadline for registering is July 12. Call 907-474-5651 for further information.