Salvia Summit II will take place at The Huntington Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California from Thursday, March 7th to Saturday, March 9th, 2013, with field trips planned for Sunday March 10 if weather permits.

This will be a conference for Salvia experts and enthusiasts to gather and exchange information.

Program will include talks by Rolando Uria (www.salvias.com.ar), Sue Templeton (salviaspecialist.com), Panayoti Kelaidis (Denver Botanic Garden), Jesus Gonzalez (Mexico), Frank Fischer (Germany), Bart O'Brien (Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden), John Whittlesey (California), Mark Porter (Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, Flora of North America), Scott Zona (Florida), Jack Hurd (Alaska Crime Lab), Aaron Jenks, and Ernst van Jaarsveld (Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, South Africa).

Weather permitting, on Sunday, March 10th, there will be guided field trips to see California Salvias in habitat, though it might be too early to see much actual bloom. Attendees will be responsible for their own transportation on these trips and carpooling is encouraged.

The first Salvia Summit took place in 2008 in Aptos California. Speakers included Christian Froissart (France), Yoke van der Meer (England), Yoji Saito (Japan), Sue Templeton (Australia), as well as speakers from California and the US.

Organization of the conference is by an informal group of Salvia friends--Betsy Clebsch, Kathe Navarez and Ernie Wasson (Cabrillo College), Bart O'Brien (Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden), Kathy Musial (Huntington Botanical Gardens) and Ginny Hunt (Seedhunt), with invaluable assistance from Jessie Schilling.  The focus is not strictly botanical, but there are botanists involved as well as horticulturists and gardeners.

This conference is not-for-profit and leftover monies will be divided among the speakers who have generously volunteered their time and efforts. Interested persons can contact Jessie Schilling at [grew at pacbell.net].

Due to occupancy limitations, participation is limited to 90 people. Interested persons are encouraged to register early to ensure space at the conference. Registration form and more information can be found through the Registration link.

Conference participants might also want to look in on a collaborative project of The Huntington, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, and the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants, which will open the same weekend at the Huntington.

When They Were Wild: Recapturing California’s Wildflower Heritage