International Trials Conference announces tour, speakers

Fessler's Nursery, a stop on the tour.Wilsonville, Oregon — The 2015 International Trials Conference, to be held August 24 to 27, 2015, in conjunction with the 2015 Farwest Show in Portland, Ore., has announced its list of scheduled speakers and stops for trial garden and nursery tours. A prestigious assembly of plant trial experts, including Keynote speaker Dr. Allan Armitage, will share expertise at the conference that focuses on the latest research and techniques for trialing annual, perennial, and woody plants.

Bus tours during the Conference will showcase premier trial garden sites and nurseries in the heart of Oregon’s nursery country. Plant trial experts from around the country will lead the two-day educational component offered at the conference. 

Dr. Armitage’s Keynote, will kick-off the conference on Tuesday, August 25, followed by several in-depth sessions
focused on trialing – from research to issues to current innovations and setting standards. A roundtable session led by Armitage and Diane Blazek of All-America Selections will have attendees and other attending experts engage in high-level discussions on standardization in trialing.

The conference concludes Thursday, August 27, in conjunction with the start of the Farwest Show. Closing Keynote speaker Marshall Dirks will wrap-up the entire conference and deliver a powerful message on the importance of trials. Expert speakers also on the docket include Pat Hayward, Jim Ault, Susie Raker, Jonathan Pedersen, and many more.

Trial garden tours will be the Conference focus on Wednesday, August 26. A wide array of trial gardens and nurseries will be on the tours, including the International Rose Test Garden, the oldest publicly operated rose test garden in the United States; OSU North Willamette Research and Extension Center; Fessler’s Nursery; Terra Nova Nurseries; and Swan Island Dahlias, the largest dahlia grower in the United States.

The International Trials Conference, attended by plant professionals and industry leaders from around the world,
convenes biannually to share ideas on evaluation strategies, develop trialing standards, and explore the plant
characteristics demanded by plant buyers and growers. Its ongoing mission is to encourage the creation of universal
evaluation criteria and collaboration among plant trial locations, resulting in more meaningful trial data.

The conference is open to all industry professionals who have interest in plant trialing. Registration is required and
is now open at www.farwestshow.com/trials.