SFA Gardens Lecture Series to Feature New Products Specialist

SFA Gardenswill host the monthly Theresa and Les Reeves Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, in Room 110 of the Agriculture Building. Wayne Pianta, New Products Specialist with Ball Horticultural Company, will present “Plant Breeding, Garden Performance and New Product Development: What Makes the Cut and Why? A Survey of Recent Introductions.”

As a product technical specialist for PanAmerican Seed Company, Pianta works with many universities, trial gardens and botanical gardens to test and evaluate new products for their suitability and adaptation to regional environments around the United States. He is a member of the Colorado State University Trial Gardens Committee and the Gardens and Grounds Committee for the Dallas Arboretum. In his current position, he works with a network of the largest wholesale producers and retailers of ornamental plants to introduce these products to consumers.

The Theresa and Les Reeves Garden Lecture Series is usually held the third Thursday of each month at the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture’s SFA Mast Arboretum. A plant raffle will be held after the program. The lecture is free and open to the public, but donations to the Theresa and Les Reeves lecture series endowed fund are always appreciated.