Wednesday, October 16, 2019 Speaker Preview
Tim Boland
Executive Director The Polly Hill Arboretum
PROGRAM DETAILS: Taming the Wild Stewartia – A history of cultivation and renewed hope for bringing two beautiful US native small-flowering trees into modern gardens.
In 1967, legendary American horticulturist, Polly Hill, received seed of two native Stewartia species from the Southeastern US. Through patience, time, and persistence, her namesake Arboretum has continued the quest to cultivate, name, and distribute new cultivated plants for modern American gardens. Polly Hill Arboretum Director, Tim Boland, will outline work over the last several years to bring these rare trees into common cultivation through seed expeditions, propagation trials and cloning.
BIO: Since 2004, Tim Boland has been the Executive Director at The Polly Hill Arboretum on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard. He previously held positions as Curator at Polly Hill Arboretum and The Morton Arboretum. Tim is a plantsman with varied interests which include oaks, magnolias and the genus Stewartia. Tim travels widely to collect seed for the Arboretum's collections with nearly a dozen trips over the last decade in North America focused on native Stewartia, and endangered oaks.The goal of these trips is to develop a scientific collection of woody plants as well as to introduce new plants into American horticulture.
