This month’s email is coming out a little earlier than normal since we have some time sensitive issues to address.

ASA National Convention April 18-21 (update) - This year’s convention will be held in Athens, Georgia from April 18-21. The Azalean issue with information on the convention has been published, however part of the registration form was omitted. Attached is a copy of the complete form, which should be submitted with your registration. All of the information and registration material is also available at the ASA website www.azaleas.org by clicking on Conventions on the left panel. I have been to the last five conventions and have enjoyed each of them. I would encourage anyone who is planning to attend to register early. I hope to see you there.

Plant Shopping Trip (1-3 Mar) – Joe Marsala is once again organizing a plant trip to North Carolina nurseries for the weekend of 1- 3 Mar. He has graciously invited our members to join the trip. The nurseries to be visited are Big Bloomers, Pine Knot Farms, Plant Delights and Camellia Forest. A special rate is available at the Comfort Inn in Garner, NC, which the group will use as the base for their activities. I have attached a sheet, which includes the information received to date. For more information, contact Joe at joe-marsala@comcast.net or 410-867-7904.

March Chapter Meeting (10 Mar) - The first chapter meeting of the year will be on 10 March at the Centreville Library. This will be a joint meeting with the Potomac Valley Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society and our speaker is Norm Beaudry, whose presentation is “Searching for the 5/5/5 Rhododendron.” The focus of the presentation will be the search for a rhododendron, which has excellent flowers, leaves and plant habits. We’ll not only have the opportunity to hear a great presentation, we’ll be able to meet with friends from PVC. Additionally, we will be holding a plant exchange, so start gathering those plants (azaleas or other plants), which you are able to share with our members. More information will be in the Azalea Clipper, which will come out later this month.

Upcoming Events:

Schedule for 2013 - I’m excited about the coming year and the chance to get back out into the garden. We also have a full roster of activities which are shown in the calendar below:

Date	Event	Organization	Location
March 1-3	Plant Shopping Trip	PV-ARS & NV-ASA	North Carolina
March 10	Meeting with Speaker	NV ASA/PVC ARS	Centreville Library
April 18-21	National Convention	ASA	Athens GA
May 1-5	National Convention	ARS	SeaTac, Washington
April or May	Garden Tour	NV-ASA	Richmond
May 18 (correction)	Plant Sale	Green Spring Garden with NV-ASA participation	Alexandria
July 14	Cutting Exchange	NV-ASA	TBD
Oct 13	Azalea Auction	NV-ASA	TBD
Oct 27	Executive Committee	NV-ASA	TBD
Nov 17	Meeting with Speaker	NV-ASA	TBD
Dec 8	Holiday Social	NV-ASA	TBD

The Azalean – The fall issue of The Azalean has been mailed. It contains a wealth of information on this year’s convention (however it is missing one of the registration sheets as noted above). The editors are looking for articles to include in the Spring issue. If you have an article to contribute, please send it to them no later than Feb 21^st. If you have an article or would like more information, contact:

Bonnie & Preston Cooley
The Azalean
theazalean@gmail.com
843-367-9690

Legacy Project - I have spoken about the Legacy Project for several months. The purpose of the project is to “help ensure the continuation of knowledge of azalea hybridizers and their plants and maintain true specimens of their cultivars.” One of the activities supporting this goal is to propagate the hybridizer’s cultivars for sale at chapter fund raisers. I personally am part of a team promoting the Sandra McDonald azaleas. We’re looking for additional volunteers to work with propagating and raising azaleas for future sales. If you are interested in working with us, please contact me at rickbauer@cox.net or (757) 833-7737.

Miscellaneous

Speakers – We continue to strive to provide speakers on topics of interest to our members. If you have heard, or are otherwise aware of, speakers who might be of interest to our chapter, please contact Lars Larson at lars.larson@cox.net or (703) 277-3441

Azalea Clipper - We have received many positive comments about the new look of the Azalea Clipper. The new look has resulted in additional expense to print.  One way to reduce this expense is to receive the Clipper via email.  If you’d like to receive it electronically, please contact Barry Sperling at bsperling@cox.net

Member Directory - Paul Beck emailed an electronic copy of the member directory in March to every member with a valid email address. If you did not receive an electronic copy and have an email address, please email Paul at pabeck@gmail.com and he will send an electronic copy to you. If you would like a paper copy, please contact Paul via email or at (703) 860-5676.

I look forward to seeing you at the March chapter meeting.

Rick

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