Wild About Woody Ornamentals

SFA Gardens will host the annual Wild About Woody Ornamentals event at 9 a.m. Dec. 6 in the Brundrett Conservation Education Building at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, 2900 Raguet St. in Nacogdoches. The event is to acquaint nursery professionals, landscapers and enthusiastic gardeners with an in-depth look at the woody ornamental collections at SFA Gardens, particularly new woody ornamentals for Texas and Louisiana. The garden is home to a vast collection of conifers, oaks, pines, taxodium, lagerstroemia, azaleas, camellias and much more. ?The last three years of crazy climatic events has seen record hard freezes, the third worst summer heat and drought ever and a flood of epic proportions,? said Dr. David Creech, director of SFA Gardens. ?This is the perfect time to see what died, what survived and what thrived.? Speakers will include Dr. Andrew King, a fourth-generation owner of the oldest nursery in Texas, Dr. Tim Hartman, Texas Agrilife Extension specialist who will discuss fruit varieties, and Creech, who has been sorting through plant materials for most of his career. Event sign-in will take place from 8:30 to 9 a.m., lectures to follow. A minibus will carry participants to tour the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, the fruit research plots, crape myrtle collection, the Lanana Creek Taxodium collection, the Mast Arboretum, Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden and the Gayla Mize Garden. Parking is available at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center and at the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center on Raguet Street. The event is $30 and open to all ages. Register online at sfagardens.sfasu.edu by clicking on Visit and Events, Wild About Woody Ornamentals. For more information, call 936.468.4404 or email sfagardens@sfasu.edu.