ARS 2018 Convention Report , By Richard Bauer—Yorktown, Virginia

his year, from May 20-26, the American Rhododendron Bremen." The town has memorialized the main characters TSociety (ARS) held their annual convention in in the story with a statue outside of the city hall (Rathaus). conjunction with the Deutsche Rhododendron Gesellschaft The Rathaus and the statue in front of it are both (DRG—the German equivalent of the ARS) in Bremen, recognized as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. [Photos 1, 2, 3.] Germany. Those who attended the convention also had the opportunity to extend their trip with a series of pre-tours in Monday, May 21 Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden, and/or The official registration occurred Monday evening, a post tour to Finland. There were 176 attendees from 18 followed by a reception and then an official welcome from countries. Twenty-eight Azalea Society of America (ASA) the president of the DRG, Dr. Andre-Michael Schultz, ARS members, who also have membership in the ARS, took President Ann Mangels, and ARS Vice President Ken Webb. advantage of this wonderful opportunity. The convention The evening was capped off by a delicious dinner of German was held at the Swissotel, Bremen, a modem hotel just steps specialties. from the old city center of Bremen. Tuesday, May 22 Sunday, May 20 Tuesday was a day of presentations, all with the theme of Most convention attendees arrived on Sunday, May 20. the convention: "From the wild...into our life." Tuesday's The ARS held their board meeting on Monday so many focus was on "Finding Rhododendrons," with presentations of us had free time on Sunday and Monday to explore the focused on the origins of rhododendrons in the wild. city of Bremen. It was also a holiday weekend, so the town Several renowned individuals in the horticulture field was full of tourists and local residents. To top it off, we had gave us interesting presentations dealing with the different beautiful sunny weather. This weather was a continuation varieties of azaleas across the planet and stories about the of an unseasonably warm spring. We were advised that it discovery of these varieties. A large number of the species might be a good idea to visit the Bremen Rhododendron came from Asia and it seemed that all of the trips to collect Park in advance of our planned Thursday visit, since blooms the specimens involved roughing it and leeches. We can be of a number of the varieties had already peaked. thankful to those who have made these arduous trips and Those of you who are familiar with the Grimm brothers' returned with the plant material and some beautiful photos. stories, have probably read "The Town Musicians of That evening we went to the Rathaus where we had a V Photo 1—Statue of the Grimm Brothers' reception and were welcomed by Senator Dr. Joachim Lohse, "Town Musicians of Bremen." Senator for the Environment, Construction, and Transport of V Photo 2—The Bremen Rathaus (City Hall) is the seat of the President of the Senate and Mayor of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen and is one of the most important examples of Brick Gothic architecture in Europe. Since 1973, it has been protected by the monument protection act and in 2004 was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the Bremen Roland statue.

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76 • The Azalean / Winter 2018 Wednesday, May23 brought anotherpieceofequipment overtorescuethe10of buffet dinnerintheRatskellerRestaurantbasementof back tothe1400s.Afterwelcome,wehadawonderful beautiful hallintheoldestportionofRathauswhichdated we enjoyedatypicalGerman lunchatthelakeside we exceededthemaximum weightlimit.)Theyeventually we wereupintheair,devicemalfunctioned.(I guess Van derBerkNurseryfirst.Thisnurseryconsists of 124 area, therestaurant groundshadanample supplyofmature acres ofdrainedmoorland.Theyraisetheirplants inthe to loadanumberofusondeviceliftupinto theair to landscapers,sotheyaremuchlargerthanthosefound in the rhododendrongrowingareaofGermany.Wevisited the FreeHanseaticCityofBremen.Thewelcomewasina Fahrkroog DreibergenRestaurant. Aswastypicalofthe us enjoyingtheview.[Photos 6,7.] garden shops.Theircollectionofrhododendronand azaleas ground ratherthaninpotsandtheplantstheysellare mainly city hall. includes over160species.[Photos4,5.] for abetterviewoftherhododendronfields;however, once ♦ After ourvisit,wetraveled toBadZwischenauwhere Wednesday wehittheroadheadingtowardsAmmerland, To giveusabetterviewofthenursery,theyattempted Photo 3—TheBremenRolandstatuewaserectedin1404 and symbolizestradingrightsfreedom.

Photo KicK Bauer [Photos 8-11.]Theyalso have Mollishybridswhichwere azalea, anativeofsoutheastern EuropeandsouthwestAsia, an extensiveareadedicated torhododendronsandazaleas as aparkwithseriesofover40themegardens.They have that includesanumberof hybrids derivedfromthe the LowerSaxonianHorticultureShowin2002.After the show, thedecisionwasmadetoretain35-acreproperty Gardens) inBadZwischenahn. rhododendrons. developed inBelgiumand Holland. [Photo12.] frequently referredtoasthe yelloworhoneysuckleazalea. ♦ Our nextstopwastheParkderGarten(Parkof the We endedthe dayatthezuJeddelohhome andnursery. Photo 4—"GoldenEagle"azaleainVanderBerkNursery. V Photo5—"SchneeGold"("SnowGold")azalea. The Azalean / 1 Theparkwasthesiteof Winter 2018• Luteum 77 2

Photo RickBauer Photo KICK Bauer Thursday, May24 broken upintothreetourperiods whereyoucouldtakethree beautiful homegarden,withfivethemedgardens,also plants. well laidoutandtheplants verywellmarked.Thedaywas who haveattendedtheconventionsinLouisiana,itisvery Botanika visitorinformation center.Botanikaincludesa Dieter zuJeddelohwithconiferstheprimaryfocus.Their a littleearlythisyearduetounseasonablywarmweather, as oneofthemembersHanseacticLeague. there wereplentyofplants atpeakbloom.Thegardenis major focusisrhododendrons(andazaleas),though other the BremenRhododendronGarden.Asitsnameimplies, its take usforatourofthenurseryoperation.[Photo13.]The the nursery.Ourgroupwasalsosplitintwofortours. town ofJeddelohforover15generations.Thezu President oftheDRG)beforeweheadedoutonatour Pflanzen Nurserywasfoundedover80yearsagobyJan- history andimportance.Itsmajorhistoricalimportance was While mostofushadbeentothecityearlierinweek, the nursery specializesincontainerplants.Forthosemembers of thefivetoursoffered.[Photo 14.] serves gardenshops. serves asadisplaygardenfortheirnursery,whichmainly greenhouse which containsnon-hardy rhododendron from reminiscent ofBracyNurseryandtheirorderlyline-up refreshments bySabinezuJeddeloh(whoalsoservesasVice companion plantsarealsoondisplay.Whiletheseason was knowledgeable guideshelpedusinunderstandingthe city's 78 •The Azalean/ in thehotelrestaurant. five-acre garden. The zuJeddelohfamilyhasbeencultivatingthelandin The zuJeddelohshadsetupatentwherewewereserved At theendoftour,weboardedbussestotakeus to After thegardentourweboardedatrain(onwheels)to We returnedtothehotelandourdayendedwithabuffet The dayendedwithanother sumptuousmealinthe Thursday startedwithaguidedtourofthecityBremen. The visitwassplitintotwoparts,thedisplaygardenand Winter 2018 )1'14 F. . 4'

♦ Photo 7—Attendeesstuckintheairwhileenjoying V Photo8—Luteumhybrid,"AlbaGrandiflora." 7*M4 ♦ •'45, Photo 6—Viewoftherhododendronfields IL view oftheVanderBerkNursery. .4.4k at VanderBerkNursery. -

vnoto KICKsauer vnoto Susan sauer Photo Rick Bauer V Photo11—Luteumhybrid,"Richardissimo." V Photo13—"Train"totakeusthroughthezu ♦ Photo 9—Luteumhybrid,"IgnaeaNova." Jeddeloh Nursery. V Photo14—AzaleaandRhododendronGardeninthe ♦ Park derGar V Photo12—Mollishybrid,"SuzanneLoef." Photo 10—Luteumhybrid,"NancyWaterer." - ten (ParkofGardens)inBremen. The Azalean / Winter 2018• 79

Photo Kick Bauer Photo Rick Bauer Photo Rick Bauer "The CrazyWorldofRhododendrons"givenbyDonHyatt. busses. TheBrunsNurseryfocusesontrees,topiaries, and by thecustomerandgraftthemtohardyrootstock,using park withover1000cultivars andspeciesofrhododendrons produces 1.5millionplantseachyearbygraftingthedesired [Photo 19.]Theseplants,usedbylandscapersfor well- was ourgalabanquet.Again,weweretreatedtodelicious Director, TimoSchroeder,whoexplainedthatthenursery's Bremen RhododendronGarden. and azaleas(theword"hobby" wasusedtodescribethe and cultivatesmorethan4000speciesonover1200 acres. and movedtocontainerfields.[Photo17.] are growninaseriesofgreenhousesbeforetheypotted again, stoppingattheSchroederNurseryinWiefelstede audience. attendees alsoreceivedapicturebookinEnglishaboutthe and theHimalayas.[Photo15.]Allofconvention Rhododendron their widespreadnurseryoperationwhileremaining onour to theBrunsNurseryinGristede. trailers forahayridethroughthenurseryoperation.[Photo to providehardyplants...eveninvarietieswhichnormally the secondportionoftheme:"Intoourlife:Using Fortunately, westartedbyhavingaguidedtourthrough Four ARSGoldMedalawardsweregivenout,includingone Rhododendrons." Thetalkshighlightedtheuseof varieties ontothehardyrootstock.Thesegraftedcuttings have grownto over25feettall.Thisride endedatthepark heeled customers,couldsell for€20,000($24,000)ormore. We sawalargenumberofverymature,highquality plants. normally are.Italsointroduced"Bubba"thedeer(who shrubs suchasrhododendronsandazaleas. steak, andpotatoes,servedatthenursery,weheadedoff garden), whichisopentothe public.Thiswasanextremely rhododendrons ingardensandmedicine.Thatevening ride throughthehighendoftheirinventory.[Photo 18.] run bytheBrunsfamilyfor140years.Ithasastaff of 300 demonstration oftheirgraftingprocess. do nothavearobustrootsystem.Healsogaveusquick destroyed hisdeerfence),toawholenewinternational different partsoftheworldincludingBorneo/NewGuinea 16.] Thenurseryoperationcoversmorethan17acresand 80 •The Azalean/ impressive gardenbyanystandard. Someoftheirspecimens Friday, May25 focus wasproducingplantswithastrongrootstructure. first. for DaveBanks.Theeveningwascappedoffbyatalkon food anddrink.TheARSalsoheldtheirawardceremony. It wasinformativeandentertaining,asDon'spresentations To dothis,theytakeplantswiththecharacteristicsdesired Saturday, May26 After ouroverview,wegotontotrailersagainforahay- After adeliciouslunchbreakofGermansausage,pork After thedemonstration,weallloadedontotractor-pulled Friday wasanotherdayofpresentations,focusedon On SaturdayweheadeduptotheAmmerlandregion We thenproceededthrough their62-acrerhododendron 3 OurvisitstartedwithawelcomebytheManaging "Cunningham's White."Thisenablesthem Winter 2018 4 Thisnurseryhasbeen V Photo16—FredandSandraAnderson(VaseyiChapter) V Photo17—Dr.HartwigSchepker,conventionchair, begin theirhayridethroughtheSchroederNursery. providing backgroundontheSchroederNursery. ♦ Photo 15—KarelBernadysettingupashot of aHimalyanrhododendron.

Photo IiicKBauer Photo KICK Bauer Chapter) readyfortheirhayridethroughtheBrunsNursery. ♦ Photo 18—DaveandLeslieNanney(NorthernVirginia V Photo19—HighendtopiaryintheBrunsNursery V Photo21—OompahBandatBrunspavilion. • 2 33 33 0 0 c C3 Photo liicK Bauer l'flOTO KICK baller pavilion, builtin Applications InternationalCorporation, wherehehelpeddevelop ARS ConventioninWilliamsburg,VA.Healsowasamember of Rick BauerisPresidentoftheASA.HeandhiswifeSusan have band. [Photo21.]Itwasawonderfuleveningwithbeautiful banquet foruswithmoreGermanfood,beer,andwine. [Photo 20.]Totopitoff,theyhadaGermanOom-pah weather, goodfriends,andfood. Dr. HartwigSchepker,DirectoroftheBremenRhododendron Chapter. Thisprojectisdesigned tohelpensurethecontinuationof four yearsandchapterpresidentforfiveyears.Healsoserved as ARS andthenurserygardenownerscouldnothave after 20yearsofactiveservice andretiredin2011fromScience an ASAdirectorfortwoyears.Hewasco-chairofthe2016 ASA/ as thechaptervicepresidentofNorthernVirginiaChapter for their Gastfreundschaft(hospitality).Ittrulywasaoncein memorable convention.Theconventionorganizers,ledby the teamwhichdigitized Park, hisstaff,volunteersfromthevariousbranchesof software applications forArmycustomers. specimens oftheircultivars.He retiredfromtheUSArmyin1994 which startedthe'LegacyProject' withintheNorthernVirginia knowledge ofazaleahybridizers andtheirplantsmaintaintrue done abetterjobofplanningandhostingthisconvention. been membersofNorthernVirginiaChaptersince2002.Rick served lifetime experience. They certainlysetthebarextremelyhighandexcelledin References 2 1 3 4 5 www.park-der-gaerten.de Schepker,Dr.Hartwig."GardensandLecturesofthe www.bruns.de www.schroeder-rhododendron.de www.jeddeloh.de The visittoBrunsNurserywasthelasteventina Journal oftheAmericanRhododendronSociety. 2017. 71(4):199-207. 2018 ARSConventioninNorthwesternGermany." • Photo 20—DinnerattheBrunsNurserypavilion.

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Rick waspartoftheteam Winter 2018• Fall 81 5