Volunteers can sign up for Saturday's annual prune-athon
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Getting the McKinley Park Rose Garden to look this good in spring takes a lot
of work in winter. The annual pruning event will be held this Saturday. (Photos:
Debbie Arrington)
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Got shears? It’s pruning time at McKinley Park’s Memorial Rose Garden. Volunteers are needed for Saturday’s annual Prune-athon, when the garden’s 1,200-plus roses get a yearly trim.
No prior experience is necessary. It’s a great opportunity to learn about rose care while also helping a beloved local landmark.
Experienced pruners are welcome, too. Wear thick gloves, long sleeves and closed-toe shoes.
Considered among Sacramento’s most romantic places, the McKinley Park rose garden has been the site of hundreds of weddings and other special events. It was also featured in the hit movie “Lady Bird.” This annual pruning helps those roses look so good in spring, summer and fall.
Volunteers need to be at least age 13 and must fill out a participation form, available here: https://wave.vomo.org/project/annual-pruning-event Registration and parking are free.
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Many hands -- and pruning shears -- make the work go faster
at the McKinley Park Rose Garden. This photo is from several
years ago.
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Questions? Email friendsofeastsac@aol.com.
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Food in My Back Yard Series
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April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
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April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
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March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
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March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
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Garden Checklist for week of May 11
Make the most of the lower temperatures early in the week. We’ll be back in the 80s by Thursday.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)
* Plant dahlia tubers.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to maintain moisture. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch-to-1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
* Remember to weed! Pull those nasties before they set seed.
* Water early in the day and keep seedlings evenly moist.
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