Grant funds are available from the Perennial Plant Association (PPA) to be used for research. Although our basic criterion for research proposals requires a direct relationship to the herbaceous perennial industry, preference will be given to quality proposals for research on slow release fertilizers, growth regulators, growing media, propagation techniques, and invasive species.

The grants are available to any recognized non-profit entity in the United States or Canada. No overhead will be paid to the institution on these grants. Although the researcher may wish to publish the results in a referred journal fi rst, the grant recipient is expected to make a written report of the fi ndings to the PPA. The written report will be published, all or in part, in Perennial Plants, the PPA journal. When resultsare published elsewhere, mention must be made of the Perennial Plant Association support.

Proposals will be evaluated by the PPA Research Committee. Applicants will be notifi ed of the decisions by September 1, 2008. Awards will be mailed to recipients in September 2008.

Applications must be submitted electronically in word document form by June 1, 2008 to ppa@perennialplant.org. Questions should be addressed to Steven Still (614)771-8431 or ppa@perennialplant.org.

The amount of the grant awards will normally range from $1,000 to $4,000. Funds supplied by PPA may be used for plant material, research supplies, greenhouse/growth chamber/fi eld plot rental, computer time, publication costs, travel expenses, or other expenses directly related to the project. Funds may not be used to pay overhead to the institution. The proposal should be arranged in the following format and the text should not exceed four pages. Please note all materials must be included to be considered.

Format of Proposal

Cover Sheet: With signatures and titles of applicable institutional officials.

Introduction: Statement of the problem and its significance to the perennial industry. Synoptic review of the literature citing several published papers.

Materials and Methods: Experimental procedures including proposed analysis of data.

Literature Cited: A full citation for each publication cited, e.g., author(s), date, title, journal or publisher for books.

Proposed Budget: Be specific as to what and where the funds will be allocated. (Expenses must be directly related to the project.)

Qualifications of Investigator(s): Limited to a one-page synoptic curriculum vitae of each researcher including experiences related to the present project.

Submit an electronic Word document to Dr. Steven Still at ppa@perennialplant.org. Type "research grant application" in the subject line.

Proposals must be sent by June 1, 2008.