Keynote Speakers
IPC23 features respected experts from around the world to inspire you and give you the tools to grow more beautiful flowers.
IPC23 features respected experts from around the world to inspire you and give you the tools to grow more beautiful flowers.
Our four keynotes include the owners of the three largest plumeria nurseries in the world and a pioneer in the field of plumeria DNA research!
Pre-Keynote Presentations:
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Keynote 1 - Thursday: Who is the Plumeria Society of America?, John T. Burford, PSA President, Texas
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Keynote 3 - Friday: How and Why to Register a Plumeria – Updates!, Mark Wright, PSA Registration Chair, Texas
Dr. Nichole Tiernan
Botanical Research Associate, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
DNA Insights into Plumeria Species (Saturday)
Molecular DNA is often used to gain perspective on the evolution of plant groups. Dr. Tiernan will present a brief introduction to some of these techniques and her recently published results from the first molecular phylogenetic analysis of the genus Plumeria. This work utilized next-generation sequencing methods to generate DNA sequences for the entire (or nearly entire) chloroplast genome. While the key endemic species were included, representative species from each island were also included as well as species with substantial morphological variation. The results of this work indicate that the species have grouped by single-islands or close neighbor-islands. We can see interesting patterns of adaptive radiation with ecological habitat shifts among species. The results also suggest that Plumeria pudica may be more closely related to the Caribbean species than previously thought.
Bio:
Dr. Nichole Tiernan is a Botanical Research Associate at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden where she works with the Million Orchid Project(TM), the nation’s largest educational outreach program dedicated to orchid conservation. She did her Ph.D. in the joint program at Florida International University and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (FTBG). Her doctoral research focused on the systematics, or the classification of the Caribbean Island occurring species of Plumeria L., and
included the first molecular phylogenetic analysis for the group. Her fieldwork included collections from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. Her work is the first to combine extensive fieldwork, molecular DNA, ecogeographical and morphological studies for the species. Nichole graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2007 with a BS in Biological Sciences and a focus in botany. Previous work at the New York Botanical Garden and now at FTBG have given her a great admiration for the opportunities botanical gardens offer for exploring and conserving worldwide plant biodiversity while also offering an important platform for science communication.
John Ingwersen
Owner, Jungle Jacks Palms, Plumeria & More
Behind the Scenes at Jungle Jack’s Plumeria (Thursday)
Explore Jungle Jack’s world of professional plumeria nursery management! Our plumeria journey started with Jack himself planting a packet of Hawaiian plumeria seeds in 1985. Using Jack’s selective breeding expertise, previously used to breed new plants like the Baby Queen palm, our production groves grew to over 100 acres in northern Thailand. Large scale production like ours is only possible due to the many, many lessons and techniques that we learned over the past 37 years. During the Thai winter, we harvest 100s of 1000s of cuttings to ship to our customers all over the world. When our own 80 lb. boxes arrive in the US in March, we get busy! Each of the 60,000+ cuttings needs to be tagged, rooted, watered and fertilized – just like you at home, but on a much larger scale. In this informative talk, John Ingwersen, co-owner of Jungle Jack’s, will share the ins and outs of his commercial plumeria nursery, including many aspects that home growers seldom consider.
Bio:
Jungle Jack's Plumerias actually started in 1986 with a small packet of Hawaiian seeds grown in Jack Ingwersen's personal garden in Thailand. In 1995, John and Christina Ingwersen founded Jungle Jack's Palms focusing on palm introductions, cycads, and other exotics. Based on that success, Jungle Jacks Thailand was established in 2006, quickly followed by its first plumeria catalog in 2007. They have now grown to one of the largest distributors of plumeria to the world.
Doug Brunner
Owner, Maui Plumeria Gardens
Challenges of Setting Up a Plumeria Farm in Hawai’i (Friday)
As the saying goes, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans.” When he took a break from his career at the Pacific Stock Exchange and moved to Maui over 20 years ago, Doug's life took an unexpected turn. The island's beauty and the fragrance of plumeria blossoms captured his heart. Doug's new passion for plumerias and his desire to share their beauty with the world inspired him to start Maui Plumeria Gardens. With a single plumeria tree in his backyard, he began expanding his collection, which now includes thousands of trees and hundreds of varieties. MPG has shipped tens of thousands of cuttings to numerous countries throughout the world.
Bio:
As the saying goes, "life is what happens when you're busy making other plans." When he took a break from his career at Pacific Stock Exchange and moved to Maui, Doug's life took an unexpected turn. The island's beauty and the fragrance of plumeria blossoms captured his heart.
Doug's new passion for plumerias and his desire to share their beauty with the world inspired him to start Maui Plumeria Gardens (MPG). With a single plumeria tree in his backyard, he began expanding his collection, which now includes thousands of trees and hundreds of varieties. MPG has shipped tens of thousands of cuttings to numerous countries throughout the world.
Ampol Orrungroj
Retired San Diego Nurseryman
A Conversation with Ampol (Friday)
We'll be interviewing Ampol in the keynote session so we can mine his remarkable, decades-long knowledge about growing plumeria. He is known for his quick wit and gentle instructions. He will share his planting and fertilization methods, stories of connecting with other early growers in So Cal, his discovery of grafting almost 50 years ago and why he grafts plumeria, and much more. We’ll also have an open question-and-answer time.
Bio:
While many plumeria growers may not know his name, Ampol Orrungroj has had an incredible impact on the plumeria community that has spread across the US. For years, his plants were known to be the healthiest, best-grown plumerias in So Cal. His planting and fertilization methods were followed by many growers. And, in the early 70s, he was the first person to graft plumeria.
He was born and raised in Thailand and remembers sitting under the plumeria trees and taking in the fragrance as a child. When he moved to the United States, he continued his love for all plants, leading to opening his nursery in San Marcos in San Diego’s North County in 1987. His collection of sansevierias and gasterias led to his becoming the largest supplier in San Diego. He expanded into house plants, poinsettias, and of course, plumeria. He retired a few years ago.