Perennials and Natives at the Northeast Greenhouse Conference & Expo

​Northeast Greenhouse Conference and Expo will feature these educational sessions on perennials and natives on November 8, 2023.

• Perennials: Past, Present and Future, and You Grow Perennials, What Could Possibility Go Wrong? Paul Pilon, Director of Growing at Opel Growers
• Natives and Beagles. Peter van Berkum, Van Berkum Nursery
• Growing and Selling Native and Naturalized Perennials for Pollinators. Jane Sorenson, Northeast Pollinator Plants
• Perennial Trial Results. Eileen Anderson, Aris Horticulture, Inc.

Meet the presenters:

• Paul Pilon received a degree in Horticulture from Michigan State University and has over 30 years of professional horticulture experience. Throughout his career, he has focused on researching and improving various aspects of perennial production to improve quality, decrease production losses and simplify cultural practices. For the past 20 years, he has authored over 400 articles and continues as Editor-at-Large for Ball Publishing's Perennial Pulse e-newsletter which reaches over 33,000 subscribers each month. He also has a bimonthly column called "Paul Pointers" in GrowerTalks magazine. Currently, Paul is the Director of Growing at Opel Growers in Hudsonville, Michigan where he oversees all aspects of producing high quality plants.
• Peter van Berkum, along with his wife Leslie, started Van Berkum Nursery (VBN) in 1986, a wholesale perennial nursery specializing in natives (with attention to local ecotype), shade perennials and wicked ruggeds, plants that perform well in New England landscapes. Peter has a degree in Plant Science from the University of New Hampshire and spent a year studying horticulture in the Netherlands. He is a past president of the NH Plant Growers Association, as well as a founding member of the NH Horticulture Endowment. They sold VBN in 2021, but Peter still works part time as a consultant to the nursery.
• Jane Sorensen is passionate about pollinator habitat enhancement. She is a full-time farmer and co-owner of River Berry Farm, an organic fruit and vegetable farm in Fairfax, Vermont, where she grows and sells native plants for pollinators on-farm and through her on-line nursery, Northeast Pollinator Plants. Jane has recently retired from the University of Vermont where she taught Landscape Design for Pollinators and is a retired landscape architect with 14 years’ experience.
• Eileen Anderson is the product and trial garden manager at Aris Horticulture, Inc. where they evaluate the latest genetics from key breeders and help to determine the product pipeline for Green Leaf. A key element of our evaluations is the comparison of new varieties to key industry standards. Prior to coming to Aris Green Leaf, Eileen worked for Hardscrabble Farms, in North Salem New York as a sales consultant in their perennial and nursery stock departments as well as working with their perennial growing division.

The conference schedule is online at https://www.negreenhouse.org/schedule.html.

Registration rates will increase after September 25, 2023. Register here: https://www.negreenhouse.org/registration.html.

The biennial Northeast Greenhouse Conference & Expo is co-sponsored by New England Floriculture, Inc. - a group of grower representatives from the Northeast, augmented by University and Cooperative Extension staff in each state who specialize in greenhouse crops and management.