agreement - The Rhododendron Society of Canada, Niagara Region

Niagara Region Chapter - Rhododendron Society of Canada Interests
The stated purpose for the existence of the NRC-RSC is:
We are a non-profit organization whose aim is to promote, encourage and
support interest in the genus rhododendron.. Our goal is to encourage gardeners
to grow and appreciate these plants, by providing educational meetings with
knowledgeable speakers, access to topical publications and hosting joint
meetings with other chapters.
The mechanism through which these goals are pursued is affiliation with the American Rhododendron
Society and encouraging membership in the Chapter. By extension we encourage individual
membership in the American Rhododendron Society. The Chapter’s presence in the community is
maintained through periodic Newsletters and through a comprehensive web site which focuses on
information relevant to rhododendron culture in Central Ontario.
Membership in the Chapter and in the American Rhododendron Society is encouraged by providing
personal guidance to growers, through dynamic speakers and making rare or newly developed
rhododendron and azalea cultivars available, at low cost, to members only.
Funding for this presence is maintained through annual General Plant Sales open to the general public.
A less important but significant revenue source is the Plants for Members program (P4M).
For several years the Niagara Chapter has provided a P4M program through which interesting
cultivars have been made available from members’ collections, from David Hinton, from the
Massachusetts Chapter of the ARS and similar sources. These cultivars have been provided to
members only on a cost recovery basis plus a small profit. The Brueckner hybrids are of interest to
the Niagara Chapter because they represent an important collection of hybrids developed in Canada by
a Canadian. These hybrids are, generally, little known except to a restricted number of avid growers
and collectors.
Collaboration with the Brueckner family represents an opportunity to more widely disseminate these
cultivars, to test them among specialized and average growers in central Canada, and to evaluate these
cultivars for this region. Making them available to a wide Rhododendron Society membership in
Central Canada would be a challenging and interesting test program.
Furthermore, making these cultivars available through the Chapter would enhance the value of
membership in the Chapter and would be totally within the goals of the Chapter.
It appears that collaboration with the Brueckner family would satisfy the goals of each of the two
entities.
Taking the Cuttings
It is proposed that a maximum of 12 cuttings be taken of each of the following cuttings.
While we recognize that a number of these cultivars are commercially available and a small but
good supply is available at Nettle Creek Nursery and, probably, at other nurseries, we recommend
that cuttings be taken of all Brueckner hybrids available on Mrs. Marta Brueckner’s property or
BRG (in Mississauga).
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