Join Magnolia Society International for an online Magnolia Symposium!

Open to all and free to members and students.   Paid non-member registrants will receive a complementary one year membership in Magnolia Society International.  

MSI will have our first Virtual Symposium on Saturday, February 13, 2021. We hope you will join us as we have three great speakers from around the world sharing their knowledge and expertise with magnolias. At the conclusion of the third speaker’s remarks there will be a Question and Answer time with a panel of magnolia experts. You will have a chance to ask that burning question you have always wanted to ask about magnolias. Below are details of what you need to know to register and attend this Symposium.

Date: Saturday, February 13, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. EST; 5:00 pm GMT; 6:00 pm CET; 8:00 pm MSK; 5:00 am (February 14) NZDT.

Our Host: MSI Board member Mark Weathington from the JC Raulston Arboretum, North Carolina USA

Duration: 3 hours

Register: Online Symposium February 2021 Registration

Registration Price:

•  Free for MSI members (login with your email address to register at no charge)
•  Free for students (please enter your college or university name on the registration form)
• $40 and free MSI membership for one year for non-members

Our Speakers for the Symposium:

Marcela Serna: is currently a professor of Botany at the Technologico de Antioquia – University Institution, Medellin – Colombia. The title of her presentation is “Diversity of Colombian magnolias and challenges for their conservation”. It will include an overview of morphology, ecology and distribution of Colombian Magnolias and main efforts and difficulties to conserve them.

Jim Gardiner, (VMH): currently serves as Vice President of the United Kingdom Royal Horticultural Society and held the position of Director of Horticulture. Prior to this he was the Director of the RHS’s flagship Garden Wisley where he managed the garden for 22 years.The title of his presentation is ‘Magnolia Introductions from the UK and Europe and Collections of Excellence’. The focus of Jim’s talk will be on species introduced during the golden age of plant collecting and their impact on cultivars bred in the UK to the present. He will also profile UK and European gardens and arboreta where significant collections are grown.

Scott McMahan: is the manager of the International Plant Exploration Program (IPEP) at the Atlanta Botanical Garden, Georgia USA. Scott's topic will be centered on Magnolias of Asia. Over the past 20 years, Scott has made nearly 30 exploration trips to China, Vietnam, India, Bhutan, Japan, Taiwan and Mexico. Scott’s talk will focus on the work being done in China and Vietnam to document, collect and conserve rare species of Magnolia as well as some of the interesting ornamental hybrids coming out of Chinese breeding programs today.

Magnolia Questions and Answers: Submit your questions anytime during the symposium using zoom Q & A and the panel of magnolia experts will do their best to provide answers.

Once you have registered on the registration site, you will receive an email right before February 13 with a zoom conference link.  You will also get a reminder the day before and hours prior to the event. The zoom link will get you to the special zoom conference site for the MSI Symposium.

MSI would like to thank the  JC Raulston Arboretum, Raleigh, North Carolina USA, for co-sponsoring this event.