2017 Convention – Speakers
Gesneriads Gone Wild!
July 4 to July 8, 2017
Hung Nguyen – “Gesneriad Seed Production”
This program will focus on a special aspect of growing gesneriads – seed production. As a regular seed contributor to the Gesneriad Society’s Seed Fund, Hung will talk about his journey of learning to produce seeds of most species from Primulina tabacum to Pachycaulos nummularia, from Aeschynanthus “Thai Pink” to Petrocosmea species ‘B’, and recently, Sinningia helleri from a couple of seeds to a lot of seeds in less than a year.
The principle of seed production is fairly simple. It starts with the task of putting pollen onto the stigma for pollination, followed by collecting seeds when the fruits are ripe. However, given the diversity of gesneriads, in some cases this requires creativity and persistence.
Growing up in Vietnam, Hung was interested in plants as a child. After moving to the United States, he started growing gesneriads around 2008 with Streptocarpus ‘Falling Stars’ bought from a Long’s drugstore. His first convention was Vancouver in 2010. Later he joined a local chapter – the San Francisco Gesneriad Society. Hung lives in Santa Rosa, California.
Qiu Zhi-Jing – “Petrocosmeas at Fairy Lake Botanical Garden (FLBG)”
Qiu is currently the Deputy Head of the Department of Conservation at the Fairy Lake Botanical Garden (FLBG) in Shenzhen, China. He received his PhD in Botany from the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China in 2011. He continues his work at FLBG, where more than 350 native species of gesneriads are in cultivation, collected from various parts of China including Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, and Shaanxi.
His passion at FLBG is the collection and conservation of Petrocosmea. More than 30 species of Petrocosmea have been collected and are now growing at the garden. He rediscovered the rare Petrocosmea qinlingensis in 2008. It only exists in cultivation at FLBG and at the Gesneriad Conservation Center of China (GCCC).
He is often in the field exploring for gesneriads and has the leech scars to prove it. His research focuses on the study of systematics, molecular phylogenetics, evolutionary developmental biology, pollination biology, and conservation of Petrocosmea. He has published several papers and has recently published a book “Plants of Petrocosmea in China”. (As an added bonus he will also sign copies of his new, lavishly illustrated book, which will be available for sale at convention.)
In his slideshow/talk, he will introduce Petrocosmea and talk about his ten years of research and his findings. He will cover the collection, conservation, cultivation, and the hybridization work that is being done with Petrocosmea. The new classification system of this genus will also be discussed for the first time. His presentation will feature many photos of Chinese gesneriads, especially petrocosmeas growing in their natural habitat, along with images of the many gesneriads in cultivation at FLBG.
Jeff Jackson – “Hybridizing the Weird and Wild”
Over the past few years, the Imp series of African violets has grown in popularity, along with an appreciation for the unusual or rogue forms of African violets, namely those plants that display wasp flowers. But what is an African violet wasp? Is it a flower type, or a flower characteristic? Is it possible that the term wasp should actually be a flower characteristic, similar to how we say a flower is fringed? Could it be possible to have a star wasp, a pansy wasp, and even a bell wasp?
Come take a look as Jeff presents the lineage of the Imp series. Find out which characteristics get selected and which plants end up on the compost pile, along with seed sowing methods and growing practices. Discover how Saintpaulia ‘Imp’s Billowing Cloak’ and S. ‘Imp’s Flamingo Feathers’ – two bell wasps – showed up as a result of his breeding program, and what projects Jeff is currently working on. What new Imps are around the corner?
Jeff is a grower and hybridizer from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and is the creator of the Imp series of African Violets. He specializes in wasp flower forms and has a particular affinity for flowers that display complex fantasy and multiple colors. Even though African violets dominate the plant stand – and yes, there is only one plant stand
Jeff has a good-sized sinningia collection and has begun crossing these little gems as well.
Hector Wong – “Growing Gesneriads in Urban Honolulu”
Born and raised in Lima, Peru and an avid horticulturist since he was eight years old, Hector entered his first plant show in 1987 with African violets. In 1989 he moved to Hawaii, and because of the unique island weather, he adapted a few growing methods.
Hector’s education in years: Three in Agronomy Engineering, two in English, two in Biology, and two in Computer Science. He has an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts, a Bachelor’s degree in Biology, and a Master’s degree in Information Technology. Hector is a full time IT Specialist. He is also a pastry chef and writes recipes to promote local farmers.
He loves to apply his horticulture and IT experience into desserts and has published a few e-cookbooks. Find Hector at his website.
Note that Hector lives in the city, and most of his methods are for indoor and outdoor patio/lanai growing, not to be confused with living in a forest or grass shack. Topics in his program will include vertical gardening, self-watering, cooling, and using LED lights. Hector primarily hybridizes Sinningia speciosa varieties and will share his knowledge about growing and hybridizing them.