In brief
Orchid show: Orchid lovers can view rare and unusual blooming orchid displays at the Northwest Orchid Society Fall Show and Sale Nov. 13 and 14 in the Snoqualmie Room at the Seattle Center.
Attendees can attend talks and demonstrations on growing orchids. Plants can be purchased from 10 orchid growers from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Nov. 13 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 14 in the sales area.
American Orchid Society accredited judges will evaluate displays and plants and those attending can view displays from noon to 7 p.m. Nov. 13 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 14.
A donation of $3 is suggested to attend.
The Northwest Orchid Society, the Puget Sound’s largest group of orchid hobbyists and commercial growers, meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of every month from September to July at the Center for Urban Horticulture at the University of Washington. Meetings are free and open to the public.
For more information, contact Kathy Murray at 425-257-0583.
Horticulture basics: Washington State University Master Gardener program presents “Horticulture Basics,” a series of classes for people who work in the green industry and want to increase their horticulture knowledge.
Classes are 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays, Jan. 6 through March 10. The fee is $300 and includes all training materials. Space is limited.
Applications can be picked up at the Snohomish County Extension office, 600 128th St. SW, Everett, and are available online at www.snohomish.wsu.edu/ hot_stuff.htm. Deadline for applying is Nov. 12.
For information, call Holly Kennell at 425-357-6025.
Gardening workshops: The Arlington Garden Club sponsors a series of workshops for the public.
“How to turn your thumb green” series teaches fall and winter gardening tips, tricks and fundamentals. The three-part series includes a class about vegetable gardening, container gardening and winterizing. Each class is taught by a Snohomish County master gardener.
Workshops are held 10 to 11:30 a.m. the second Saturday of the month in the community room of the Boys and Girls Club, 18513 59th Ave. NE, Arlington.
On Nov. 13, the final class in the series is “Winterizing Your Garden” with Wink Cushman. Learn how to put gardens to bed for the winter and find out what to do now to save time in the spring.
Registration recommended. Call Linda at 360-403-7769.
Rose care: Garden roses need some protection from the winter, even a relatively mild one, and a little work now can pay off in glorious blooms and healthier plants next spring.
The best protection for roses and other outdoor plants is good health, said Steve Hutton, president of The Conard-Pyle Co., in West Grove, PA, known for its award-winning roses.
If this year’s heat has taken a toll on your roses, Hutton offers some practical suggestions to help improve the health of your roses and give them a better chance of surviving the winter.
These tips apply to conventional garden roses such as the hybrid teas, grandifloras and floribundas.
1. Water to prevent winter drying. It’s important to water roses well before the ground freezes. Apply the water with a soaker hose over an extended period of time.
2. Prune slightly to curb breakage. Around Thanksgiving is a good time to do some limited pruning. Just remove a few inches of twiggy top growth of the plants – nothing more.
This will prevent snow and ice from accumulating and possibly breaking the plants during the winter. “It’s important not to trim back the main stems of the roses because these hold food for the roots during winter,” Hutton said.
3. Clean up to reduce disease. To minimize disease problems, Hutton suggested cleaning the ground around the roses of any fallen leaves or other plant debris that might be harboring parasites.
As an added precaution, spray the stems of the roses with a fungicide as well as the ground under and around the roses, which can prevent black spots next spring.
4. Mulch well to insulate from the cold. The most serious damage to roses, and any other plants that are marginally hardy, occurs when the ground is frozen and the roots cannot take up moisture, Hutton said.
Covering the stems protects against this problem and also keeps the crown of the plant from getting too cold and dying.
Mound six to 10 inches of soil up the canes of the roses. For added protection, place leaves, evergreen boughs or similar material among the plants as insulation.
5. Fertilize to get a jump on spring. One way to reduce your workload and get the roses off to a better start is to apply fertilizer after mulching. Use a fertilizer specified for roses or any balanced fertilizer such as a 10-10-10. Follow the directions and apply to the top of the soil, even on frozen ground or on top of snow. Winter rains and snow melts will carry the fertilizer down to the roots, ready to nourish roses when the spring sun warms the soil.
6. Looking ahead to spring: When the forsythia starts to bloom, it is time to wake up rose plants. Remove the winter protection from around the canes. If you did not fertilize in the winter, now is the time.
Prune the canes of the roses. In most cases, they should be cut leaving no more than 12 inches of old canes. Prune out any light, twiggy growth from the base of the plant. This creates a stronger plant with lots of blooms.
As new leaves start to show, spray roses with fungicide to control black spot, covering the stems, new shoots, leaves and ground around the plant.
Herald staff and news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
