分会概况与隶属关系
Mason·Dixon 分会(The Mason·Dixon Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society)是美国杜鹃花协会(American Rhododendron Society,简称 ARS)第 9 区(District 9)下属的三家分会之一,1981 年由马里兰州中部的杜鹃花爱好者在 Westminster 创立。分会现任联络人是 Kelly Bollinger(主席)、Harry Reid(副主席)、Georgia Myers(秘书兼会员)、Bill Mangels(财务),前主席 Sonny Coble,网页管理 Webmaster 邮箱公开在 mdrhododendron.org 联系页。章程会员中保留有 1981 年首批入会的元老。
地理位置与活动中心
分会会员绝大多数来自马里兰州中部,以及宾夕法尼亚州、西弗吉尼亚州、马里兰州东岸、弗吉尼亚州的邻近地区,准会员则覆盖更广的范围。常规会议和多数活动地点是 Westminster 镇北郊的 Bear Branch Nature Center(300 John Owings Road),所有常规会议均向公众开放。分会每年固定参展马里兰州 Timonium 州博览会场的 Maryland Home & Garden Show,随后在 Frederick County Home Show 与 Carroll County Home Show 设立展位,2011 年 10 月开始参加 Carroll County Fall Home Show。
教育课程与杂交育种小组
分会的教育课程主要在春秋两季在 Bear Branch Nature Center 举行,主题围绕杜鹃花和杜鹃花的各类议题,同时涉及景观园艺的其他方面。近年主题包括山茶花、冬青树和春季开花的球茎花卉,先后邀请过 Potomac Bonsai Association 前主席 Jim Sullivan 谈杜鹃花与杜鹃花盆景、Potomac Valley 分会 Jane Goodrich 谈 Joe Gable 早期杂交工作、Northern Virginia 杜鹃花协会 Joe Klimavicz 谈他与女儿们在后院培育的杜鹃花新杂交品种,以及数位美国顶级专家谈美国本土杜鹃花。每个夏季会举办扦插示范并举行年度扦插拍卖。
杂交育种小组与品种登录
分会下设的杂交育种小组(Hybridizers Group)于 2006 年初成立,每年聚会两次,讨论新品种杂交方向。2008 年首次进行批量扦插,重点繁育分会会员自主杂交的品种和由 Joe Gable、Charles O. Dexter 培育的较稀有的杜鹃花栽培品种。会员登录的杂交品种包括 ‘Sonny’s Love’、’Reileyridge Bright Day’、’Yellow Cloud’、’Miss Curlicue’、’Reileyridge Target’、’Inch’、’Reileyridge Sweet Sue’、’Gilbert Myers’、’Reileyridge Picotee’ 等。分会已故会员 H. Edward Reiley(1928–2008)是前 ARS 主席、2004 年 ARS 金奖(Gold Medal)得主、《Success with Rhododendrons and Azaleas》作者,其登录的杂交品种包括 ‘Ed’s Red’、’Reileyridge Bright Day’、’Reileyridge Double Delight’、’Reileyridge Low Boy’、’Reileyridge Picotee’、’Reileyridge Sweet Sue’、’Reileyridge Target’。
年度大会与跨界协作
分会年度大事是 5 月的 Show and Sale(花展与销售),地点在 Westminster 的 Carroll County Ag Center,与 Carroll County Farmers’ Market 同日举行,展出来自分会与受邀种植商的杜鹃花、杜鹃花、冬青、萱草与其他多年生植物。2006 年 5 月,分会与第 9 区另两家分会(Potomac Valley Chapter、Middle Atlantic Chapter)和杜鹃花协会(Brookside Gardens Chapter of the Azalea Society of America)在马里兰州 Rockville 联合主办 ARS 与杜鹃花协会的联合大会。入会费按日历年度计,个人/家庭 40 美元、商业/法人 90 美元、赞助 75 美元、特别赞助 150 美元、个人终身 1000 美元,可通过 ARS 总部(P.O. Box 525, Niagara Falls, NY 14304-0525)在线或邮寄加入。
Chapter Profile and ARS Affiliation
The Mason·Dixon Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society is one of three chapters in District 9 of the ARS, founded in 1981 by rhododendron enthusiasts based in central Maryland around Westminster. A number of charter members from 1981 remain active in the chapter today. The chapter’s current officers are President Kelly Bollinger, Vice-President Harry Reid, Secretary and Membership Georgia Myers, Treasurer Bill Mangels, Past President Sonny Coble; chapter contact goes through the Webmaster email listed on mdrhododendron.org.
Geography and Activity Hub
Chapter members are largely drawn from central Maryland, the Pennsylvania border counties, West Virginia, the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, while associate members cover a wider region. Regular meetings and most events are held at the Bear Branch Nature Center, 300 John Owings Road, north of Westminster; all regular meetings are open to the public. The chapter maintains booths at the Maryland Home & Garden Show at the State Fairgrounds in Timonium, the Frederick County Home Show, and the Carroll County Home Show, with the inaugural Carroll County Fall Home Show added in October 2011.
Education Programs and Cutting Auctions
Educational programs run primarily in fall and spring at the Bear Branch Nature Center, covering rhododendrons and azaleas alongside broader landscape gardening topics. Recent themes have included camellias, hollies, and spring-flowering bulbs. Past speakers include Jim Sullivan, past president of the Potomac Bonsai Association, on rhododendrons and azaleas as bonsai; Jane Goodrich of the Potomac Valley Chapter on Joe Gable’s pioneering hybridizing; Joe Klimavicz of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Azalea Society on backyard azalea hybrids developed with his daughters; and several leading authorities on native American azaleas. Each summer the chapter hosts a cutting demonstration followed by the annual cutting auction.
Hybridizers Group and Registered Cultivars
The chapter’s Hybridizers Group was formed in early 2006 to explore possibilities across the genus Rhododendron, meeting twice yearly to share experiences and select new crosses. The group’s first major cutting crop was stuck in 2008, focused on chapter-raised hybrids and on less common rhododendron cultivars originally developed by Joe Gable and Charles O. Dexter. Registered chapter hybrids include ‘Sonny’s Love’, ‘Reileyridge Bright Day’, ‘Yellow Cloud’, ‘Miss Curlicue’, ‘Reileyridge Target’, ‘Inch’, ‘Reileyridge Sweet Sue’, ‘Gilbert Myers’ and ‘Reileyridge Picotee’. The late H. Edward Reiley (1928–2008), a former ARS president, 2004 Gold Medal recipient and author of Success with Rhododendrons and Azaleas, registered cultivars such as ‘Ed’s Red’, ‘Reileyridge Bright Day’, ‘Reileyridge Double Delight’, ‘Reileyridge Low Boy’, ‘Reileyridge Picotee’, ‘Reileyridge Sweet Sue’ and ‘Reileyridge Target’.
Annual Show and Sale and Joint Conventions
The annual chapter Show and Sale takes place each May at the Carroll County Ag Center in Westminster, alongside the Carroll County Farmers’ Market from 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The judged truss show features rhododendrons and azaleas, with companion plants such as hollies, hostas and other perennials offered for sale by the chapter and selected vendors. In May 2006 the chapter co-hosted a joint ARS / Azalea Society of America convention in Rockville, Maryland, with the Potomac Valley Chapter, the Middle Atlantic Chapter and the Brookside Gardens Chapter of the Azalea Society of America. Membership runs on a calendar-year basis: Individual/Family USD 40, Commercial/Corporate USD 90, Sustaining USD 75, Sponsoring USD 150, Life single USD 1000, with applications processed through the ARS office at P.O. Box 525, Niagara Falls, NY 14304-0525.
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