Roderick Cameron's blog

An article in The Economist proposes a radical approach for conservation of threatened species.

Nick Stoynoff and team organized a memorable Seed Exchange at the 8th IOS Conference.

Bob McCartney and his IOS Special Service Award were in his local newspaper, while Dirk Benoit received his Award in Belgium.

Jim Hitz designed a perfect follow up to the IOS Conference at The Morton Arboretum: three days touring varied sites in Indiana, with a foray into Michigan.

Twenty-one years to the day after the first IOS meeting took place, the Society held its 8^th Conference at the same venue.

The BBC's Oak Tree: Nature's Greatest Survivor documents a year-long study in which entomologist George McGavin investigates the sophisticated biology of one of the great icons of the British countryside - the oak tree.

The unexpected consequence of cutting down young oaks in the arboretum.

World Tree Story, a new book by Julian Hight, featuring notable trees from around the world, including many oaks, is availlable for advance purchase.

After taking charge of my father's oak collection in 2009, I noticed that several of the trees had forks in the trunks and hence co-dominant stems. Having no knowledge of these matters, I consulted Guy Sternberg, who I had visited in Starhill Arboretum in 2010, seeking guidance. I sent him a photograph of some of the oaks in question, and he replied with suggestions on how to tackle one of the worst cases: a Quercus dentata planted out in 1998. Guy described this tree as having a "Very Bad Fork" and prescribed a course of subordination or suppression of the weak secondary leader.

On April 25 Grigadale Arboretum in Argentina received a small group of visitors for its first Oak Day. Participants came from near and far (from Buenos Aires at 500 km, and even from Salta in the north of Argentina, almost 2,000 km away) and included IOS members Peter Laharrague and Marilyn Mulville, members of the International Dendrology Society, a researcher from a leading botanic garden, and other oak enthusiasts—or soon to be enthusiasts.