2010 Monthly Member Meetings

Our Meeting Site is Edson Keith Mansion, Phillippi Estate Park, 5500 S. Tamiami Tr., Sarasota, FL

Phillippi Estate Park is located on the west side of U.S. 41 (S. Tamiami Trail), north of Stickney Point Road and south of Bee Ridge Road (see map on About Us page).

We meet at 6:30 p.m. on the 2nd Wednesday of every month at the Edson Keith Mansion in Phillippi Estate Park, 5500 S. Tamiami Tr., Sarasota. There are 30 minutes allotted to tasting, socializing and perusing the library and club sales items; at 7:00 our meeting begins with about 30 minutes of business and announcements, and we then introduce the speaker of the month.

2010 Speaker Schedule:

January 13 - Dr. Len Slazinsky on his trip to Costa Rica

February 10 - Wayne Clifton - Victory Gardens

March 10 - George Anderson on Growing Macadamia Nuts in South Florida

April 14 - Ray Jones, Southwest Florida horticultural authority and speaker chair of the Manatee Rare Fruit Council, on "Top Ten Tropicals."

May 12 - Murray Corman, Nurseryman, international growers consultant and horticultural personality, on "Eating From Your Backyard, a Subtropical Cornucopia."

June 9 - Larry Atkins “All Things Mango “ Larry Atkins is a hometown horticultural hero and a favorite ―ask it man on mangoes.

July 14 - Wayne Clifton, a wonderful grafting teacher, is going to give us hands-on education. Bring four green sticks about 6 or 8 inches long and about a quarter to a half inch thick, preferably from the type of plant you want to learn to graft. Also bring a very sharp knife, a clothespin or twist-tie, and some grafting tape if you have it (Wayne will supply it if you don't have any). Do and learn!

August 11 - Dr. Ayala-Silva, Curator Subtropical Research Station in Miami. Dr. Ayala-Silva will speak on "The History and Future of Subtropical Fruit Trees‖ and ―The National Germplasm System." Dr. Tomas Ayala-Silva is the curator and chief administrator of the germplasm collections, or DNA samples, of the National Germplasm Repository at the Subtropical Horticultural Research Station in Miami. This repository holds the U.S. clonal collections of mangos, avocados, annonas, lychees and other subtropical fruits.

September 8 - Chris Rollins, Manager of the Fruit and Spice Park in Homestead, as well as an internationally respected speaker on tropical and subtropical fruits, on "Feasting From Our Backyards - Subtropical Fruits and Vegetables."

October 13 - Har Mahdeem, popular horticultural circuit speaker and authority on Annonaceae, on " The Sugar Apple and Its Relatives."

November 10 - Dr. Steve Futch, who has authored over 300 publications related to citrus and has done citrus work in China, Africa, Central and South America, on "Citrus Varieties and How to Take Care of the Trees That Take Care of You."

December 8 - Big Holiday Dinner!