International Aroid Society

All Aroid Lovers-

The MidAmerica chapter meeting at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens is just 4 weeks away! I hope that you plan on joining us and maybe even bring a friend or two. Please RSVP so that we can prepare for the correct number of attendees. All of the details can be found below, and also at the website: http://aroid.org/midamerica

Thanks!

Zach DuFran

What? 3^rd meeting of the MidAmerica chapter of the IAS

When? Saturday, October 30 from 8:30 am to 5 pm

Where? Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, Fort Worth, Texas (http://www.fwbg.org/)

Who? Anyone interested in Aroids. Please bring friends and family!

How much? FREE! Lunches will be available at minimal charge. The tropical conservatory charges $1 admission.

What to bring? Friends, a camera and enthusiasm! Also, please bring small plants/cuttings for the plant swap.

RSVP to: Zach DuFran (zach@zachandchristie.com)

Let me know how many will be attending and if you would like to purchase a lunch or not. Lunches will consist of

sandwiches, chips, cookies, and soft drinks.

What will we do?

The morning session will be spent hearing several speakers talk about their collections and experiences with growing Aroids. After breaking for lunch we will have a plant and cuttings trade, followed by a couple of talks before we spend the afternoon touring the botanical gardens, including the tropical conservatory. You won’t want to miss this meeting!

Meeting agenda

Morning session

8:30 History of the IAS – Dr. Thomas B. Croat

9:00 State of the IAS – Steve Lucas

9:30 Houston Titan Arum Event – Dr. Nancy Greig

10:00 Aroid Anatomy Lesson – Steve Lucas

10:45 Identifying Your Plants –Christopher Rogers

11:30 lunch break

Afternoon session

12:15 Plant Swap

12:30 The use of CATE’s LUCID website – Dr. Thomas B. Croat

1:15 Cultivating Aroids outdoors in a temperate environment – Steve Marak

2:00 Tour and enjoy the gardens, including the Conservatory

Plant Swap details

The plant swap is a great opportunity to get your hands on some new Aroids. Dr. Croat will be bringing some plants from the Missouri Botanical Gardens. We encourage all meeting attendees to bring some cuttings or plants that they are willing to share with others. If you are bringing cuttings, it is best to bring the cuttings with a moist paper towel wrapped around the stem and placed inside a zipper bag labeled with the plant’s name.

LUCID demonstration

LUCID is a computer application to aid identification of plants by their attributes. Dr. Croat will be demonstrating how to use this special tool. If you own a laptop and would like to bring it to the meeting so that you can follow along, we will have wireless internet access available.

Transportation and lodging

Some members are planning on driving to Fort Worth together and sharing hotel rooms or other accommodations. If you would like help finding others to share expenses, just let us know!

For more information, including lodging recommendations and venue directions, visit the chapter website at http://aroid.org/midamerica.

Donations will be accepted, to offset the facility rental.

If you have questions, please contact Zach DuFran at zach@zachandchristie.com or (405) 517-1112.

We look forward to seeing you there!