special sessions

8:30-10:00 AM

Development & Distribution

Ken Webb

Jack Olson

Chris Trautmann

10:15-11:45 AM

Botanical Gardens

Tim Walsh, Humboldt Botanical Garden

Sean Hogan, Portland Botanical Gardens

Steve Hootman, Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden

Mike Bones has been a fixture in Florence, OR, for decades, having assisted in a variety of capacities at many local nonprofit organizations. He is perhaps best known for his years of work as a Chamber Ambassador and for his horticulture work as a member of the Siuslaw Chapter of the ARS. He currently runs the “dry” Bones Nursery (they have little water, but wonderful plants). This “bonsai” presentation will be sold out fast, and it is the only one that there is an extra charge for ($10).

Marc Colombel lives in Brittany, France, and has been a member of the ARS for nearly 35 years. He attended his first ARS convention in 1995 in Portland for the 50^th Anniversary. His passion for the rhododendron began when he saw a century-old ‘Broughtonii’ (pictured) blooming on the gable end of the old house he had just bought. Since then he has thought of the Rhododendron day and night. Marc’s main interest is hybridizing. He did his first in 1985 and by the end of 2021 he had created nearly 1500 different crosses. His first registered hybrid, 1992, was given the name of his house “Kernéostic” because of that huge rhododendron. In 1993 Marc published “Rhododendrons : Mode d’emploi” and created the Société Bretonne du Rhododendron of which he was the President for 14 years and for which he has authored some 200 articles to date. Marc launched a French rhododendron website in 1996 to share his knowledge and to educate visitors. In 2000 he launched the first rhododendron show in France. Most recently has created a Conservatory for polyploid rhododendrons in Josselin, to which he donates nearly one hundred polyploid hybrids annually.”

Gisele “G” Schoniger is Manager and Organic Gardening Educator at Kellogg Garden Products. In her 33 years in the Garden Industry, Gisele has accumulated a wide range of experience and knowledge. She earned her degree in Ornamental Horticulture from California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo. She has owned an Interiorscape company, worked for the State Department of Agriculture, practiced as a horticultural therapist with senior citizens and launched an outstanding sales career by helping establish top-selling organic gardening products. Gisele shares her wealth of gardening wisdom as an educator to the industry and consumers in the western region of the country. Her workshops are upbeat, educational and entertaining.

Kathy Lintault and her husband Roger are members of the Portland, Willamette, and Scottish Chapters of the ARS. She’s a past president of the Oregon Camellia Society and edits its website as well as the Willamette Chapter ARS website. After living in Southern California for 25 years, Kathy and Roger Lintault were excited to start gardening Pacific Northwest-style when they moved to their home outside McMinnville, Oregon in 2000. As Kathy describes it, “rhododendrons, Japanese maples, camellias, and bamboo form an understory below very tall Douglas firs, while a heath and heather slope, xeriscape gravel garden, long perennial and shrub border, and vegetable terrace are happy under the sun.”  Traveling with the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon, Kathy and Roger have toured New Zealand and many countries in Europe and have also explored Japan, Vietnam, and Cambodia. You can read more about Kathy and Roger and their McMinnville garden in the December 2020 edition of the Portland Chapter’s Rhododendron News. 

Dave Eckerdt and his wife Pat live in Salem, Oregon, surrounded by a ‘collector’s’ garden they have named Deerly Missed. The ever-changing garden has become a popular stop for touring garden groups.  Dave is a frequent speaker at northwest garden groups and his articles and images have been featured in horticultural journals including those of the American Rhododendron Society, the American Conifer Society, and the Hardy Plant Society of Oregon. Dave has been a judge for the Journal (JARS) Photography competition as well as a Best of Contest winner.

Recently retired from the nursery, and currently Curator of the Rutherford Conservatory, Dennis Bottemiller is the former Nursery / Propagation manager at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden in Federal Way WA where he was responsible for cutting and seed production of species rhododendrons.  He obtained a degree in Production Horticulture from Washington State University in 1989 and was an intern at RSBG in 1987 which lead to his nursery position upon graduation.  Dennis took a seven year break from RSBG to manage collections and structures at the W. W. Seymour Conservatory in Tacoma WA.  This experience grounded him in conservatory culture and prepared him for the adventure of building and maintaining the Rutherford conservatory at the rhododendron garden which opened to the public in 2010 and where he holds his current position as part-time conservatory curator. Dennis will speak on: “Variables involved in Rooting cuttings and how to increase success.” Nearly everyone who is interested in plants whether native or exotic at some point wants more of them. Cutting propagation is a great way to get more of the plants you want and the purpose of this talk is to illustrate some of the variables in plant growth, culture and physiology which can be manipulated to your advantage for greater success in getting cuttings to root. While most work at this garden involves rhododendrons, these principles are important for propagation of most plants that can be grown from cuttings.   

Robert (Bob) Zimmermann fell in love with rhododendrons over fifty years ago. He began propagating them on his kitchen stove and now grows species rhododendrons from seed in his greenhouse at Chimacum Woods on Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Some 300 species populate the collection in his garden, providing a reliable source of seed for the plants he makes available to gardeners in both the US and Canada. Bob has traveled with botanists, five times to China, once to Tibet, once to Japan, and, most recently, to Arunachal Pradesh in NE India.  Bob first joined the ARS as a member of the Portland Chapter in 1973 and is a past president of the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden. He is a member of the ARS Seed Exchange grant committee.

Ken Webb is the founding member and continuing leader of the Victoria Chapter’s very productive propagation group.   Under Ken’s leadership, a large number of members have learned to grow rhododendrons from seeds and root cuttings and to graft difficult-to-propagate plants, and as the result of shared knowledge, significantly improve their rhododendron gardening skills. The chapter has benefited from the efforts of the propagators’ group in the form of plants for the monthly raffle and bargain table, and for sales at its annual Show and Sale. Ken was awarded the Bronze Medal by the Victoria chapter for his years of service. He and his wife, Madeleine, have in recent years attended many of the American Rhododendron Society Fall and Spring meetings. Ken’s gardening skills are well demonstrated in his splendid garden on Old West Saanich Road.

Jack Olson‘s interest in rhododendrons started with his father, who collected over 250 specimens from nearby nurseries. When Jack bought his first home, his father provided 25 rhododendrons to get him started. Jack credits Gladys and Willard at Swenson’s Nursery for being early mentors. He has been hybridizing for over 25 years and has registered four rhododendrons to date—R. Kahlua, R. Mead, R. Glady, and R. Prism—all of which have won trophies. He grows thousands of rhododendrons at his home in the foothills of the Cascades at Fall Creek. He is an avid runner and collects antique cars, including three Model A’s. He is a member of the Eugene Chapter – ARS, which awarded him their Bronze Medal in 2009.

Chris Trautmann first established Mowbray Gardens in 1976 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Mowbray Gardens has always been an arboretum dedicated to the furthering of rhododendrons and conifers.  Now living in Florence, OR, Chris strives to display and produce the finest rhododendron flowers hybridizers can achieve, while offering other plant material for sale.  Here you’ll see the latest and greatest in break-through colors along with the many witches’ brooms of pine, spruce and true fir—ranging from squat balls of foliage to golden conifers that blaze in color.

Sean Hogan is Co-Founder and President of Portland Botanical Gardens, a new planned community where people connect, discover, and celebrate the beauty, strength, and resilience of plants. He is the owner of Cistus Design Nursery, a small firm specializing in public and private garden design, planning, public space planting design, nursery consultation, and the collection and introduction of new and appropriate plants. With over ten thousand taxa on site, Cistus furthers a nearly two-decade-long commitment to testing plant performance in the Portland area and providing interesting and unusual, climate-appropriate plants for the Pacific Northwest, the West, and beyond. Through extensive speaking and plant-collecting throughout the world, Sean continues to exchange his knowledge with diverse communities. Sean served as the Director of Collections at the Hoyt Arboretum and a Horticulturist at the University of California Berkeley Botanical Garden strengthening existing collections, designing new collections, and drawing larger audiences to the gardens.

Steve Hootman is Executive Director and Curator of the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden and intrepid plant explorer, makes an always welcome return. The RSBG maintains one of the largest collection of species rhododendrons in the world and is committed to disseminating information about them, as well as plants and seeds.   Steve has become a foremost international authority on Rhododendron taxonomy and distribution. Steve regularly visits the more remote parts of China, Vietnam, India, Tibet, and Papua New Guinea to discover, identify, and acquire new species.  He is an active collector, authority and promoter of related Ericaceae including genera such as Vaccinium, Agapetes and Gaultheria. Steve was awarded the ARS’s highest honor, the Gold Medal, in 2007 for his internationally significant work with genus Rhododendron.  

Tim Walsh was on the first board of directors for the Humboldt Botanical Gardens Foundation, a charitable foundation formed in 1991.   The Humboldt Botanical Garden occupies 44.5 acres, adjoining the College of the Redwoods campus, about 5 miles south of Eureka. The Garden enjoys a combination of Mediterranean and Pacific Marine climates, allowing a diverse group of plants to thrive, with many species unique to the region. The Garden features rhododendrons and their companion plants prominently.  He and his wife, June, have been actively involved at all levels of the Garden, including hands-in-dirt. Tim became President of the Eureka Chapter of the ARS in his early years, then later became Treasurer of ARS. He is currently Director for District 5. Tim and his wife, June, hosted the 2017 ARS International Convention in Eureka.