WORKSHOP
We really do have some serious gardeners in our club. 15 club members showed up for a demonstration on how to put together a combination water garden/planter container despite a cool rainy day. Everyone must have enjoyed themselves because no one left despite the weather and everyone promptly went out to get together the ingredients for a water garden container. Below is a photo of the completed container that was put together at the demonstration.
HINTS AND TIPS
TIPS FOR DEADHEADING RHODODENDRON:
One of the small annoyances that accompanies the task of deadheading rhododendrons is the sticky residue left on hands from the spent blossoms. Try rubbing baking soda vigorously on the surface of your hands before washing with soap and water. This method may also be effective for removing the resins imparted by some evergreens.
SLUG BAIT: Use cornmeal to deter slugs - sprinkle around plants - especially the plants slugs like.
ROSE FOOD: Chop up banana peels and bury around your roses. They love it. Banana peels will ensure strong trunks and stems as banana peels contain 3.25% phosphorus and 41.6% potash.
MOSQUITO REPELLANT: Try a square of fabric softener sheet tucked into your pocket or belt loops to beat mosquitoes instead of using deet.
GENERAL ALL PURPOSE SPRAY: A good all purpose spray for white fly, spider mites, aphids and various other insects that get on carrots, celery cucumbers, eggplants and peppers. It can be sued every 10 days. Mix: one teaspoon liquid dish detergent, one cup of vegetable oil and shake well to emulsify. Then add to a quart of tap water.
Pruning Demonstration
We would like to give a very special thank you to Kim Kamstra of Kamstra Landscaping for coming out to do a pruning demonstration at the Vince's garden. Gardeners are certainly a hardy lot as 17 people showed up in the rain to see how to prune. Kim had an article in the News recently and gave the following advice on pruning.
REASONS TO PRUNE:
• To preserve the tree's health by taking out diseased or insect-infected damage.
• To reduce safety hazards, such as broken or dead branches and to clear branches from wires.
• To promote the tree's structure for future growth as it matures. For example, branches that are rubbing together should be removed.
WHEN TO PRUNE:
There is no wrong time to prune, but an ideal time is late winter before the new spring growth. That said, spring appears to have arrived, and there is still a window available for pruning of most trees and bushes in the front and back yard. Tree owners get a good picture of the branch structure at this time of year, before leaves arrive.
Tips for Proper Pruning:
You always want a clean cut with no peeling bark. Never twist a branch off, as this will prevent proper healing and make the tree susceptible to disease and harmful insects.
Never put anything over the wound of a tree. Years ago, people would put tar, cement or paint on the cuts and wounds of trees as home remedies.
Research has show that these foreign materials actually hinder the healing of the tree and cause far more harm than good.
Remember, pruning is best done in late winter or early spring. If you have a potential safety hazard, call a professional.
Remember pruning comes down to three simple factors: Identifying the plants you intend to work on, understanding why you are pruning and having the proper tools to do the job right.
Kim gave us some excellent pruning tips for a large variety of trees and shrubs. We covered fruit trees, spireas, potentillas, rose bushes, rhododendrons and many more. He also showed us some tips on grafting. If you are looking for someone to prune your trees give Kim a call at 604-467-5631
ROSE WORKSHOP
Linda Bishop sent in this article after attending Bill Meaghers excellent workshop on "Putting Your Roses to Bed". Thank you Linda for taking notes and taking the time to send them to me. Thank you Bill for once again giving your time and effort to this workshop.
• The best time to move, replace or plant your roses is between
• October and March when your plants are dormant.
• Roses are best placed where they will have good drainage and need at least 6 hours of sun a day. Roses like to be moist but do not like to sit in water. Test your drainage by filling the hole with water and let it sit. The water should drain away within an hour, if it doesn't, consider another area to plant or add drain tile to move water away from your bed.
• Roses like a soil ph of 6.5-6.8.
• Pruners used should be "by-pass" pruners meaning that when closed, the edge of your blade is not in contact with any other metal. This ensures a clean cut and you won't crush your stem.
• When winter proofing your existing roses, cut about 1/3 off the top, remove all leaves making sure that there are no areas where water could sit. Also remove any dead wood or canes that may be growing toward the middle or interfering with the growth of other canes.
• Clean up all the leaves around your plants especially if you have had problems with black spot or mildew. If you have had disease problems, never compost your leaves.
• You should use dormant oil /lime sulphur spray at this stage. In addition you can use a copper spray but spray each about a week apart. It's ideal to be able to get 2 or 3 sprays in, in a season, between October and February. At least try to get one of each spray in.
• When the area is clean and your canes are cut and cleaned of leaves, use "well rotted" manure and bury most of your plant making sure that the crown is well covered. You can also use leaves or straw under the manure as added protection.
• When cutting climbing roses, do not cut all the way to the ground.
• Cut the new growth back to about 3 or 4 eyes. If you plan to have your climber grow around a post or on an arbour make sure that you bend the cane horizontally around the post. This will give you multiple blooms whereas a cane positioned vertically up a post or arbour will result in single or very little blooms.
• When cutting shrub roses, don't take off too much top growth, but still remove all leaves.
• When removing suckers, do not cut them off at the ground.
• Suckers are connected to the root stock, not the crown. These should be torn off at the root; otherwise you have just pruned them and made them stronger.
• If you have an old bush with a lot of dead wood, cut this back hard right to the crown.
• If you have new bushes that you wish to plant but have no where for them right now, just select a temporary spot, dig a hole, place your bush in the hole and lay it on it's side. Bury the whole bush with compost or manure combined with soil. In the spring your rose will be ready to be placed in its desired spot. Make sure that when you remove them in spring that you dig wide around them so that you do not harm the plant.
• The best time to prepare a bed for fall planting is in mid summer to give the soil time to settle. The preferred method of digging a new bed is by "double-digging". When your hole is dug, organic matter can be added. Mushroom, well rotted steer or horse manure is excellent. Well rotted manure should not smell and is best used because it will not burn the roots. Peat moss should be added as well.
• When preparing new roses to be planted, cut back the top of your new plant to about 4 or 5 inches. Also prune the roots to ensure vigorous new growth. Take about 1 to 1 1/2 inches off. Remember that because it is fall, we are not concerned about the top growth. We need to establish are root growth over these dormant months.
• Dig a new hole spacing your plants about 2 feet apart. Make sure that the new hole is deep enough so that the crown of your roses will sit 1 inch below the surface, while also making sure that the roots are not forced or crowded into the hole. Dig your hole wide enough to allow about 3 to 4 inches 'breathing space' from the sides of the roots.
• Before placing your rose, mix well rotted manure or compost, peat moss and bone meal in with the soil at the bottom of the hole. You can also add super phosphate at this point. Mix very well so the bone meal does not burn the roots. Hold your rose in the proper position with crown 1 inch below the surface and backfill with both soil and manure.
• A useful trick is to lay a stick over the top of the hole and place the crown 1 inch below the stick. Half way through this process it is a good idea to water your rose in putting slight pressure on the stock to expel any air that may be caught around the roots. After all this is done make sure to mound up with compost and soil and clean area of all leaves.
