Canenine Rose pruning is one of the worst jobs in the garden A reminder that tickets to see and hear John Brookes at the Newcombe Theatre on Saturday (Feb. 22) are still selling for a modest $10 each, and an opportu- nity like this doesn’t come our way terribly often. Please call Stevenson’s Garden Design (656- 8945) if you need further informa- tion. Another item of interest for those of you who may be growing (or even considering planting) fruit of any description, the B.C.Fruit Testers Association is holding its Annual Spring Meeting at the Agricultural Research Sta- tion, 8801-E. Saanich Rd., Satur- day, Feb. 29th, from 9 until 3 p.m. Bring a lunch with you, and come and hear the guest speaker, Mr.Lon Rombough, Oregon author and consultant, who will talk about grapes during the morning, and uncommon fruits during the afternoon. There also will be the usual sale of rootstocks and scionwood, plus several demonstrations of pruning and propogation. These are really helpful to those amongst us who remain uncertain about how to do these wonderous things ... things that encourage fruiting, or perhaps add other varieties to our present trees. Beth Ross called to ask about pruning roses, and unless some- thing really horrid happens in the way of freezing weather, then I think we might as well get at it This is, without a doubt, one of the worst jobs in the garden, ranking right alongside pruning the pyracantha (said she, using the pliers to try to remove a foot-long thorn from the ball of her thumb!) ( shuddering and hollering the whole time!) This time of year, every year, I think seriously about turfing out the roses and planting turnips instead! No more black spot, no more mildew, no more crown galls, no more aphids, and no more rose pruning to do! But then I remem- ber that haunting perfume, those wonderful colors, those elegant shapes ... pull on my heaviest gardening gloves, and “himself’s” old leather jacket, sound “CHARGE!” on the bugle, and once again stagger forth to do battle! Prune off all the long stalks first, so you can get close enough make the fight a fair one! Now stand back and decide where you are going to cut. Remember what you want to accomplish, i.e., open up the centre of your shrub, reduce its height, encourage new branches to grow away from the middle of your bush, and rid the plant of all weak or diseased parts. I usually take out large branches first, to open up the working area, then take out skinny branches right back to their source. Next cut out obviously diseased branches at least an inch below any sign of disease, and remember, always make cuts just above an outward facing leafnode. Your pruned tea roses should end up about a foot to 18 inches in height: Climbing roses should only be pruned now to remove dead wood, or broken branches, or branches that are in the way. Leave further pruning until after flowering has finished, and then thin out old or diseased canes, and shorten side branches. When you have finished this terrible job, but before you head inside to bandage your wounds, pick off all remaining leaves, and take up all the fallen ones. I know this seems a ridiculous task, but, honestly, you will save yourself a lot of trouble in the future if you do this now. Take a look at the back of some of those still-green leaves. I'll bet you'll find white flies, or at least their eggs just waiting to hatch and Start their summer’s feeding, the rotten things! Either burn or gar- bage your rose clippings and leaves. Finally, spray your roses with any lime sulphur and oil you have left over from spraying the fruit trees, or spray (on a fine day) not only your pruned roses, but the soil all around them, with a mix- ture of benomyl (Benlate) and water, to which you have added a few drops of dish detergent. I find that this fungicide helps control both black spot and mil- dew, or at least delays its appear- ance! Nothing presently available seems capable of preventing it entirely, although there are roses which have some built-in resis- tance. Your garden centres can help here. Mrs. B. FE reports masses of robins passing through her Saani- chton garden. She was wondering what to do with a potted hyacinth that has finished flowering. To build up this bulb (which has been forced to flower ahead of its normal period) I’d fertilize it with a really dilute mixture of 20-20- 20, or a house-plant fertilizer, and then put it outside in a sheltered place where it will get rained on. Later on, when the foliage has died, plant it in with other spring- flowering bulbs such as daffodils or tulips. It may not flower next spring, but almost certainly will the year following. If you don’t have an outdoor garden maybe you could give your bulb to someone who does. Those of you whose geraniums are still out in the garden, looking pretty sad right now, but very much alive, may cut them back to about a foot in height, and keep the snipped-off bits to make cut- tings. I would build-up soil around each remaining geranium stem, then step on this soil to make sure your plant is firmly anchored to the ground. Winter winds have probably loosened its hold. I should probably talk about how to root geranium cuttings right now, but it will have to wait until next time. : I did promise a list of flower seeds, and I think I’d better get on with it first. As a general rule I don’t try to grow things such as petunias or impatiens, which are available by the million in any garden centre in spring. What J like to start are flowers that are either very expensive to buy, or almost impossible to find when you want them. Mind you I always grow some giant Zinnias, because my Mother grew Zinnias, and I learned to love them. This year I hope to plant a new pansy called Chalon, a California poppy called Ballerina, Colour Fountain Cleome, Cathedral Bells (Cobaea) (which is a vine that will replace the Heavely Blue morning glory on our trellis), Four o’clocks _goms. called Jalapa Jingles, either pink or TheReview Wednesday, February 19,1992 — A18 “Well, there might be, if you just room! some Bright Butterflies snapdra- plant a few seeds of each, you idiot!” Many of the resulting see- | -The next question is: Will there dlings will be put into pots or white Lavatera, Venidium Mon- be enough room to grow them in baskets and even then we will be arch of the Veldt, Nolana, some the greenhouse? The answer is, (as always) screaming for more scabiosa, some blue salvia, and OMORROW The Capital Regional District (CRD) and its member Municipalities and Electoral Areas will be conducting Public Information Meetings to acquaint Municipal Councils, community groups T, and the general public with the aims, scope and procedures of the Regional Transportation Strategy Project. The Meetings will also be the opportunity for those who wish to provide input to the Project on issues, concems and problems. If you are concemed about traffic, transit, , cycling, ete. ION and want to , work together with your municipality and the CRD to develop new transportation strategies, come and share your views with us at one of the following meetings. PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETINGS DATE: TIME: MUNICIPALITY PLACE: Feb. 24 7:00PM North Saanich Municipal Hall Feb. 26 7:30PM. Central Saanich Municipal Hall Mar. 3 7:00PM Sidney Sanscha Hall 2243 Beacon Ave. Sidney ; 7 - 9764 5th St. 655-1984 2323 Bevan Ave. 656-3339 The Review Carrier of the Week STEPHEN & AMANDA O’KEEFE have been selected as Carriers of the Week. Stephen is 6 years old and Amandais 10 years old, students at Green Glade School. His interest are playing baseball and hockey. Hers are , swimming and — reading. They have been carriers since 1990.