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Virtual Pop-Up Event: "Begonias – Diversity, Culture & Care, Conservation"
Sunday, June 05, 2022, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM EDT
Category: Pop-Up Events

"Begonias – Diversity, Culture & Care, Conservation"

Speakers: Christina VanWyk, Shelley Mcdonnough

It’s hard to resist the allure of begonias. The leaves alone offer an unrivaled array of shapes, textures, colors, and patterns. Combined with the large variety of flower types and colors, begonias can easily become irresistible, perhaps even an obsession. The Begonia genus is, in fact, one of the largest in the plant kingdom with approximately 2000 species and 15,000 recognized hybrids.

 

Christina VanWyk, current President of the Delaware Valley Branch of the American Begonia Society, began her love affair with begonias about 20 years ago when she purchased her first plant at the Philadelphia flower show. Christina will kick off this presentation with an introduction to the diversity within the Begonia genus and go on to discuss the basic principles of successful begonia growing. Shelley Mcdonnough will be our second presenter speaking on the work of the Delaware Valley Branch of the American Begonia Society to help conserve the species by adopting African Begonia species.

 

About Our Speakers:

Christina VanWyk has been gardening for over 25 years. In addition to her position as President of the Delaware Valley Branch of the American Begonia Society, she is a Penn State Extension Middlesex County Master Gardener, the Committee chair of the American Begonia Society’s virtual education committee, a Volunteer at Rutgers Gardens, and a former passing chair of the Philadelphia Flower Show. Christina will take us through her personal collection of begonias to demonstrate the diversity in the genus as well as discuss the culture and care of begonias. The focus of the presentation will be to help those who have not had success with begonias in the past to demystify their secrets.

Shelley Mcdonnough will discuss the ongoing work of the conservation committee of the American Begonia Society / Delaware Valley Branch to conserve the many begonia species that can no longer be found in the wild. Through the society’s Save Our Species program members adopt one or more species, keep them growing in cultivation and, by propagation, share these plants with others, so that these begonias are not lost. Shelley will tell us how we can help with their adoption of African Begonia species efforts.

This is a free event for members and non-members. This event will be recorded and available to watch for just 2 weeks following the lecture.

Click here to register. Registration closes midnight on June 2. Maximum number of attendees is 100.

Important Info regarding registration: Please make sure you hit the "submit" button after registering on-line. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail, then the registration process was not completed.

Please make sure you have Zoom installed on your computer. Plan to join 5 minutes before; the talk will be followed by a 15 minute Q&A. Questions can be submitted via chat box and will be read to speaker by the HPS/MAG moderator. Please note that all participants will be muted for the duration of the event.


Contact: Laura Axel at [email protected]