*No meeting in July, Aug & Dec. Click Find Us for location details
Check out our FaceBook Page for the latest news.
Membership $20 / year, Guests $5 (can be applied to membership)
March 19 SpeakerMarilyn Holt Fertilizer - What, Where and When Doors open at 7:00 pm Speaker begins at 7:30 pm Marilyn Holt is a gardening enthusiast, international speaker who once owned and operated Pelargonium Nursery, exporting plants internationally. She was Editor of the B.C. Council of Garden Clubs "The Bulletin" for seven years. She is also a Horticultural Judge. Marilyn is currently the Garden Center Manager for the Abbotsford Buckerfield's store which is BC owned and operated. Website: Buckerfield's   | Gardening StuffThe Bees Need Your Help!!
Neonicotinoid pesticides are slowly killing bees. 75% of the world's honey is now contaminated with bee-killing pesticides. Please educate yourself and make sure you are not part of the problem.
March Gardening To Do list By Angelika Hedley General - Water esp. under eaves, evergreens if rainfall is low - Compost unrotted perennials/vegetation once bees, ladybugs have emerged from hibernation Plant - Plant: lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower - Sow grass seed after 20th - Tie-up climbing roses, clematis, cane fruits Start: tender annuals, tomatoes, strawberries, onions, chard, spinach, parsnips Prune - Roses when the forsythia blooms - Trim hedges Plant Health - Prepare ground/Turn vegetable patch - Top dress/fertilize annuals - Top-dress nitrogen: roses - Top-dress compost, organics: evergreens - Feed ammonium sulphate or fish fertilizer: rhubarb Click here to see the entire calendar | Jan Speaker RecapHoward Wills of Fernwood Nurseries SEMPERVIVUMS by Heather Fayers
Howard Wills of Fernwood Nurseries in Peters Marland, Devon, England wowed us all with his wonderful photographs and enthusiastic advice on growing the common house leek. Culpepper recommended them for lightening and fire prevention in the home; and curing burns and stomach ailments in the person! There are fifty species which originated in the mountainous regions of Europe and Northern Africa. From these, over 5,000 hybrids have been developed. Sempervivums are hardy in our coastal climate. Similar looking Jovibarba, Aeoniums and Rosularia species need to overwinter in a dry frost free environment. They produce many tiny seeds but the best way to create new true ones is to cut off and propagate the little plants that form around the ”hen” or main plant. Just sever the stolon and pot up the little “chick.” The Grace Rollerson collection at UBC in the Alpine garden merits inspection to determine which species you might enjoy growing. These plants range in colour from green to deep red or black to chartreuse. They flower in two to three years in good conditions after which the mother plant dies. Removal of the spent flowers keeps the mound open to the sun and prevents rot from setting into the shaded offsets. His photos showed amazing changes in colour and leaf form depending on the season. While easy to grow, they are particular about full sun and quick drainage. As the photos of his experiments illustrated annual applications of slow release fertilizer and potting on to slightly larger pots create show winning displays. Potting mix: To 1/2 multipurpose compost add 1/4 grit and 1/4 sterilized loam to which slow release fertilizer has been added. Top dress with horticultural grit. When purchasing a new plant, look for one with chicks so you know it won’t immediately go to flower and die. To move your mound of Sempervivums along put the potting mix into the new slightly larger pot then with your existing pot create a hole or space in the middle. Remove top dress grit and tip the mound into the hole carefully. The idea is not to break up the cozy collection of plants. Top dress the new pot. No more than 4 to 6 inches in soil depth is needed. If your pot is deeper fill the excess space with packing chips for drainage. Remember, they will grow shingle cracks and wall crevices for several years. See his website: http://www.fernwood-nursery.co.uk/ |
