Buddy Lee, featured speaker at Spring Home & Garden Show

THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Houston has a generally moderate climate with scorching summers, mild falls and occasionally frosty winters. Often this dramatic change can play havoc on the plants, blooms and landscape of your home. Buddy Lee, a nationally known plant breeder and horticulturist, has patented Encore® Azaleas, a breed of azalea which blooms year-round.

Lee will be a featured speaker both days of the 12th Annual Spring Home and Garden Show in The Woodlands, set for Saturday and Sunday, March 8 and 9 at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center.

Lee crossbred traditional spring-blooming azaleas with summer-blooming azaleas to create the Encore® Azalea, the only patented brand of azaleas to bloom throughout spring, summer, fall, and often even winter with proper care.

Growing up on a dairy farm, Lee became interested at the age of 15 in the azalea nursery down the road, gaining a strong passion for plants and breeding natural species without altering or mutating their natural growth. At 16, Lee started learning about the different species of plants and began his collection of cuttings.

In the early 1970s, Lee experimented with a spring bloom, crossbreeding it with customary azaleas to get a new species. After much research, 15 years later, the Encore® Azalea, named for “the show goes on,” was born.

Currently, Lee is working on developing several new species of azaleas, including azaleas with colors on the leaves; and native azaleas that bloom yellow with a fragrance that matches the color.

At his presentations at the Spring Home & Garden Show in The Woodlands, Lee will discuss how to correctly plant azaleas to get the best bloom and how to treat azaleas in all seasons for blooming capacity. Bring your questions, share your successes and learn more about this amazing plant at EncoreAzalea.com.

Lee is past president of the Azalea Society of America, on the Board of International Plant Propagators Society-Southern Region, and director of plant innovations for Plant Development Services (Encore® Azalea, Southern Living® Plant Collection and Sunset Western Garden Collection.)

Other gardening and landscaping highlights of the show include popular host of KTRH's GardenLine show, Randy Lemmon; organic plant specialists John Ferguson and Mark Bowen; and numerous professional landscaping and outdoor living experts and feature exhibits.

Show Information:

The 12th Annual Spring Home & Garden Show in The Woodlands will feature exhibitors and entertaining presenters who will share new ideas and products that beautify both the interior and exterior of the home.

The Show will be held on Saturday, March 8 (9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.) and Sunday, March 9 (10 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.) at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel & Convention Center, 1601 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands, Texas 77380.

Speaking schedules for Buddy Lee and other presenters is available at WoodlandsShows.com.

Tickets are $9 for adults, $8 for seniors, and children 12 years and younger can attend for free. Cash only, with ATM available in the lobby.

Free covered parking is available in the parking garage behind the Convention Center next to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion on Six Pines and Lake Robbins. After parking, take the pedestrian skywalk connected to the 4th floor of the garage that will connect you to the hotel/convention center. Follow the show signs to take the escalator down to the lobby and show entrance.

For more information, call (832) 274-3944 or visit WoodlandsShows.com, where a downloadable discount coupon for $1 off admission is available.