Friday, February 4, 2011

HORTICULTURE 2011 - Going back to BASIC's!

I had read from the newspaper that the Horticulture 2011 was going to be held at the Manila Seedling Bank compound on Jan. 29-Feb. 7, 2011. It was probably last week that I saw a copy of the topics and lectures that was going to be discussed during the whole nine (9) days of the exhibit. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying much attention to this itinerary, since I was preoccupied to do other things in mind. By the time that I realized that most of the lectures/workshops were in favor of discussing and featuring native Philippine species of plants and trees, I have already missed out on a couple of topics that has caught my attention.

Yesterday, I went to attend and listen to the lecture about Fern Spore Propagation demo and workshop, which was discussed by Arch. Wendy Regalado of the Fern Study Group. The lecture started at around 10:30 am and ended past noon, I think. I seem to have lost track of time, since I proceeded to the exhibit area to observe the plant species being showcased and admire the effort done in executing each landscape design.

After having a late lunch, I then decided to familiarize myself more on ferns since a lecture on Philippine Ferns was going to be discussed by Mr. Anthony Arbias from the PNPCSI (Pilippine Native Plant Conservation Society, Inc.) at 2:00 pm, which ended at about past 5:00 pm, if I'm not mistaken.

I felt that I need to educate myself more about ferns, because a considerable number of my fern specimens were dying due to neglect and improper care.........Don't get me wrong, because I do love my plants and take some effort and necessary steps in giving them care. But the thing is, I am the type of person who would mostly let nature take it's course. I love the idea of "low-maintenance", being practical and understanding plants and trees the way nature intended them to be. Though I do occasionally assist in fertilizing, watering my plants whenever I see the need to do so, spray insecticide on parts where insect infestations occur and do some pruning to tidy the plants a bit, I admit that I do experience having plant mortality under my care. This is the main reason why I had the urge to learn more from the experienced authorities in fern care and propagation. Learning and research is an endless process we all need to strive in order to be successful in our endeavors. It is not enough for us to do "trial and error", especially when we're talking about native plants and trees because we might be referring to the last species of plants in existence.

Acquiri
ng these plants entail a certain obligation in providing the requirements for them to grow and flourish. Without the proper know-how in plant care especially with regards to provide for the needs of specific species, all effort and money spent will be wasted. Besides, we might all learn a thing or two from other people's experiences. We just need to understand the basic principles, then it's up to us to apply, innovate and be creative in using these concepts to our own advantage.

Note: Special thanks to Arch. Wendy Regalado, the Fern Study Group and donors for the prized sporelings and ferns that were raffled off to us attendees. I will do my best to take good care of the plants. Thanks also to Mr. Anthony Arbias for the plants that were raffled off as well.

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