For those of you who have been wanting to know some details on the 2007 Southeastern Citrus Expo.... I have a news flash! After talking with Bob McCartney of Woodlanders Nursery in Aiken SC, he has agreed to help host the event in Aiken this year. We talked about several things that will need to be confirmed before posting the final results but I will tell you that Bob has been instrumental in planting cold hardy citrus trees all over the town and a group tour of all of his plantings in definitely on the agenda. Bob went down to Florida back in the 80's after one of the devastating freezes and collected seeds from the trees at the Arboretuem that survived the blast. He then brought those seed back to Aiken and began planting the resulting seedlings all over the place. These trees have proven to be both fruitful and very cold hardy. In my opinion, a more dedicated "citruholic" would be hard to find! Bob has been in attendance at every Expo since the first one in 2002. Some other field trips are in the works for that Saturday but as I said, I will wait til things are a little more firm to announce them. The date is Nov 17th so go ahead and mark your calenders for this years "Citruholic" convention! Smile

The info is here in .doc format http://www.filefactory.com/file/78ddd8/

5th Annual Southeastern Citrus Exposition

USC-Aiken
Aiken, S.C.
Saturday, November 17, 2007

Citrus Expo Sponsors:


• Bob McCartney and Woodlanders Nursery

• The City of Aiken

• Rahn’s Plant Connection

• McKenzie Farms Nursery

• Southeastern Palm Society


Lodging Information
• Quality Inn of Aiken has offered a rate of $59.99 for anyone who mentions that they are coming to Aiken for the Expo. This includes a continental breakfast and is directly across the road from the Mi Rancho restaurant. Phone number for the Quality Inn is (803) 641- 1100.
• Rose Hill Estate offers Bed and Breakfast at reasonable rates. Contact them at (803) 648-1181 or on line at WWW.Rosehillestate.com
• Another Bed and Breakfast nearby is Annie’s Inn Bed & Breakfast. Either see the website at http://anniesinnbnb.com or call (803) 649-6836

Event Registration

In order to secure a boxed lunch, please register for this event no later than November 13 by email (citrusman99@hotmail.com) or by calling (843) 389-4831.

Agenda

• 8:00 am - Expo registration and fruit contest entries. All fruit entries must be made by 9:00 am, and contest rules and instructions for fruit preparation can be found online at www.sepalms.org.
• 9:00 am - Opening welcome by this year’s host, Bob McCartney of Woodlanders.
• 9:15 am - Richard Croxton, retired professor at the University of South Carolina, will speak on the success of his 14-year old pink grapefruit. The tree, which began life as a seedling, grows in Mr. Croxton’s Columbia back yard, and has produced large quantities of commercial-quality grapefruit over the years in a Zone 8 climate.
• 9:30 am - Carl Heatwole of Olar, South Carolina, will tell about his first two years of growing an acre of satsumas commercially on his dairy farm in Bamberg County, South Carolina. The talk will include Mr. Heatwole’s use of a micro-jet sprinkler system to protect the trees from cold.
• 10:30 am - Coffee break and viewing of the fruit contest entries.
• 11:00 am - Question-and-Answer session with our panel of citrus-growing experts
• 11:45 am - Lunchtime, with a catered box lunch available for about $7.50 per person. During the lunch break, winners of the fruit contest will be announced and ribbons awarded.
• 12:45 pm - Raffle drawing for citrus plants. (Proceeds from the raffle help offset the costs of the Expo.)
• 1:00 pm - A shuttle bus tour of the citrus plantings in Aiken, including the historic Rose Hill Estate (whose lush gardens occupy an entire city block), Hopelands Gardens (Aiken’s outstanding public garden with many rare and interesting plants) and Woodlanders Nursery and its display gardens. The city of Aiken is generously providing the shuttle bus at no cost.
• 3:00 pm - The shuttle bus tour and Expo end.

At 7:30 pm on Friday evening, November 16, a group of “citraholics” will get together for dinner at Mi Rancho, a Mexican restaurant at 3607 Richland Avenue West in Aiken. All are welcome to attend, and a large private dining room is reserved.

Plant Sale!

There will also be an outdoor plant sale that will run from 8:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Many of the hardy varieties of citrus discussed at the Expo will be available for purchase. Don’t miss out!

Oh, that is so exciting! And only 4-1/2 hours away!

Now all I need is a babysitter for our dogs!!

I've got two bottles of JoeReal's homemade wine to share with everyone who attends. One bottle will be given to the person who travels the farthest from Aiken SC to attend. I'm looking forward to this event and hope that lots of you folks will plan to attend.


Peace(whats that?)...............Scott

Is that the Calamondin wine?

you betcha susan!

I dont think its included in the link about the Expo but there is a 3 dollar registration fee for this years Expo.. This is to pay the caterer for coffee and pastries during the break. If anyone is planning on staying on site for lunch, the caterer will supply a box lunch. We are asking that you pre register before Nov 13th so we can give a head count to the caterer for the lunches. If staying for lunch, the cost will be 10 dollars instead of the 3.00 payable at the Expo .This years fruit contest winners will be announced during the lunch hour. To pre register just email me or call.. my email is citrusman99@hotmail.com or home phone is 843 389 4831. I look forward to seeing many of my "citruholic" friends there... PS. Dont miss out on the "Citruholics" Banquet that Friday nite!

I have eight seedling HB Pomelo trees. First eight people to post their intention to attend can pick up one at the expo.
Flying in to Columbia? I may be able to provide ground transportation to the expo.

Scott

OK, I'll bite! you guys knew that I would!

Can we bring non-citrus stuff?

Suzan,

Not sure what you mean by "non-citrus stuff". If you mean plants to offer at the sale, you can bring any plant that is legal in the state. If you mean other fruits, yes, but for show and tell only. There is no plan to have any fruit entries in the judging, outside of citrus.

Ned

Yes, I meant for the sale or raffle.

Suzan,

By all means, bring anything you feel like you can part with. We will be looking forward to seeing you there.

Ned

I've got this marked on my calender. I attended the expo a few years ago when it was at Riverbanks zoo. this will be fun!

There was a nice segment featuring the Expo on the SC public radio program "Our Day". Stan gave a great interview and provided great information about the expo. Stan did not mention his farm by name, but
did talk about Ned Rahn, Woodlanders, and a gentleman from Colorado.
I'll check to see if the interview is online.
Nice job, Stan.