INVITATION TO MSI ANNUAL MEETING 2018

Early Registration Deadline is 5 January 2018!  

Links for More Information and Registration:

• Itinerary and Schedule
  
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• Online Registration
• Mail-in Registration Form

Members of MSI are cordially invited to the 2018 Annual Meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina, scheduled for March

23-25. A post-meeting trip to two major gardens is planned for the 26th while privately-owned gardens and magnolia

retail premises will be open March 27-28. Organizers have been busy planning a slate of excellent speakers,

tours of gardens featuring a wide diversity of magnolias, and, for the first time, a special educational event. The

final banquet will be followed by a fast-paced live auction that you won’t want to miss!

“Southern” enough to embrace actress Reece Witherspoon’s dress designs of Magnolia grandiflora blooms, but

certainly not “Northern”, Raleigh is located “just right”, having an enviable climate for growing many magnolias.

Geographically located on the eastern edge of the Piedmont, with altitudes of 300-1200 ft (91-366m), Raleigh’s

climate is agreeable to the six native American species, several Asian, and at least one Mexican species, not to

mention myriad cultivars. Here grow deciduous magnolias bred for cold-climate areas as do several of the crosses

one would expect in milder climates. Hopefully, visitors will see magnolias in flower along highways and in median

strips, in housing developments and at country homes.

Nicknamed the City of Oaks, Raleigh is one city in what is known as the Triangle area, the other two points being

Durham and Chapel Hill. The metropolis is home to three major US universities and several smaller ones, hockey

and soccer professional league teams and 2 minor league baseball teams, vibrant visual and performing arts

communities, first-class museums, and a wide variety of ethnic restaurants, all of which encourage the presence of

several major corporations and a diverse, well-educated work force.

While some MSI members might have attended the last Raleigh meeting over ten years ago, we are sure you will

find many changes and a lot to entice you to return. For those who have never been to a meeting here, you are

in for a treat in one of the most horticulturally rich regions of the US. We invite you to sample a wide selection of

magnolias—and participate in a colorful and busy weekend while enjoying equally generous hospitality!