Steve Hootman needs no introduction to VRS members. He has been speaking to the VRS on pretty much a yearly basis for several years now.  

 

This year he will be speaking on a subject a little different from his customary lectures on plant expeditions in Asia. His title this year is "Not the same old Rhododendron Species Foundation - Some Highlights of a Blossoming Organization and its Garden". The subject, then, is the Rhododendron Species Foundation itself. Steve gave this lecture last April at the national convention of the American Rhododendron Society in Everett, Washington. Everyone who heard it was enchanted, and those of our members who were in attendance then agreed that the rest of our Chapter should hear it, and that they were more than willing to hear it again.

 

For the benefit of new members, and since his accomplishments should be known by horticulturists and gardeners, I repeat what I said in earlier biographical sketches:

 

Steve is one of the major plant explorers in the world today, in the words of Keith White ‘an intrepid explorer along the lines of the great plant explorers of the early 20th century’. I have spoken to no one among several people who have been on expeditions with Steve who didn’t praise him for his special style of participation on these expeditions—his intrepidity, his great knowledge of plants, his value as a comrade and colleague. He also has the capacity to convey vividly the enthusiasm and excitement in undergoing difficult physical conditions and being rewarded with great plant discoveries. He has certainly been involved as much as anyone in discovering species of rhododendrons that hadn’t been known before, and also adding to the gene pool of those already in cultivation. 

 

Steve is now the sole Director of the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden, located, as most of you know, in Federal Way, Washington, a suburb between Seattle and Tacoma. For the benefit of newer members, I should also mention that the many recent plant expeditions that have been carried out in Asia, by Steve Hootman and others, not only provide our gardens with beautiful new plants, but also contribute to the conservation of the species in their dissemination among gardeners, when they might otherwise be brought to extinction by destruction of their natural habitats. This is where the Rhododendron Species Foundation comes in. Steve has gone on as many expeditions as anyone, bringing back propagating material collected in the wild. All the plants introduced through the RSF are propagated and eventually offered for sale, with first choices going to RSF members. At the same time, especially beautiful clones of more familiar species are vegetatively propagated and distributed in a like manner, with similar benefits to the horticultural world. The RSF, and Steve particularly, also have much to contribute in the way of education about the natural species of rhododendrons. In fact, for the last few years groups of Canadian gardeners, some of them considered quite expert in their own rights, have been going down to the RSF regularly for a series of classes on rhododendron identification, conducted by Steve. These classes have become increasingly more popular. Steve is evidently an excellent teacher. He has been awarded the ARS Gold Medal.