Garden Meetings

We have never had good luck growing ageratum, aka flossflower, until this year when we received a beautiful specimen with impeccable breeding that was destined for greatness in our container planting.

Wisconsin Federated Garden Club convention speaker David Zlesak had a few tiny seedlings of his latest 

hybridization to give away to some lucky conventioneers. His creation, which he calls Rendezblue, 
may someday be available for sale at nurseries along with his other cultivars: 
First Editions® Little Devil^TM ninebark, American Nursery Landscape Association’s Garden Idol Award as the best new plant of the year; Oso Happy^TM Smoothie rose; Oso Happy^TM Petit Pink rose, 
Winner of the American Rose Society Award of Excellence for miniature roses 2012; 
Oso Happy^TM Candy Oh! rose; 'Tuscan Sun' heliopsis; 
Monarch Mediano^TM and Monarch Grande^TM series of ageratum 
(featured in display gardens outside the horticulture building at the 2012 MN State Fair).

Mr. Zlesak gave thanks to the Garden club for helping him on his way to becoming an accomplished plant breeder and UW River Falls professor of horticulture by giving him a scholarship early on in his education. He also told the story of how he first became interested in plant breeding. 

The story is retold here at the blog of The Plant Hunter.

Clever garden club planners had obtained small specimens of Mr. Zlesak's OSO Happy Petit Pink rose to feature as the evening's table decoration and to give to each convention attendee. This summer's challenging weather has been hard on our own little OSO Happy, but she's hanging in there.

 If she makes it to 2013 you will be informed via a victory blogpost.