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McKinley Park hosts annual prune-athon

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED DEC 30, 2019

Volunteers again will gather to prune McKinley Park's hundreds of roses; this photo is from the 2014 prune-athon. The Saturday event is open to all, but be sure to bring pruning shears and work gloves. (Photo: Debbie Arrington)

Dry weather expected for huge event to finish pruning 1,200 roses in one morning

Get out your pruners! It’s time for one of Sacramento’s biggest volunteer gardening events of the winter: The McKinley Park Prune-athon.

Starting at 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, volunteers will prune the McKinley Park Memorial Rose Garden. Their goal: To finish pruning all 1,200 roses by noon.

“This fun yearly event will be held in dry weather this year! Yay!” said Lyn Pitts, the garden’s volunteer coordinator. “But it will be cold, so dress warmly!”

Last year, the prune-athon was almost rained out. But 85 hardy volunteers still showed up and pruned the garden during a steady drizzle.

In East Sacramento, the prune-athon has become a New Year’s tradition as the garden community and McKinley Park neighborhood come together to nurture this beloved rose garden. Considered among Sacramento’s most romantic places and a popular setting for weddings, the rose garden was featured in the hit movie “Lady Bird.”

Friends of East Sacramento, which now oversees this public garden and Clunie Community Center, provides refreshments and lunch for volunteers.

“We order minestrone soup and clam chowder from Evan's Kitchen to feed all the volunteers when we're done,” Pitts said. “Everyone is invited and there’s no age limit.”

Minors and their parents are required to fill out a participation waiver, available by emailing friendsofeastsac@aol.com .

McKinley Park is in the midst of a two-year construction project to build a 6 million-gallon storm water vault 22 feet underground. Expected to be completed later this year, the vault project has torn up much of the park. When the vault is finished, $1 million in upgrades including a new baseball field and benches are scheduled for the park.

The rose garden is getting some renovation, too. Pitts and her volunteers recently spread around the roses 150 cubic yards of wood chips donated by Florin-Perkins Landscape Materials. (There’s still more wood chips to distribute, too.)

The rose garden is on H Street between Alhambra Boulevard and 33rd Street. Admission is free and no experience is necessary; rose experts will lead pruning demonstrations and offer advice.

Bring work gloves and pruners. And dress in layers; the morning will start in the low 40s before warming into the 50s.

Details: www.friendsofeastsac.org .

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Keywords:

Sacramento McKinley Park Rose Garden winter weather events roses winter gardening gardening pruning rose pruning Friends of East Sacramento McKinley Park dormancy

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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3

November still offers good weather for fall planting:

* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.

* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.

* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.

* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.

* Plant garlic and onions.

* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.

* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.

* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.

* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.

* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.

* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.

* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.

* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.

* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.

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