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'Rock star of roses' returns to Sacramento

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED JAN 9, 2019

Heritage rose expert Scanniello at three local events

Always entertaining as well as informative,
Stephen Scanniello will lead two workshops at the Historic City Cemetery.
(Photo: Courtesy Judy Eitzen)

Stephen Scanniello, the “rock star of roses,” returns to Sacramento for three events this week.

Probably the nation’s most famous heritage rose expert, Scanniello will be the guest speaker at the Sacramento Rose Society’s January meeting, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan.10, at the Shepard Garden and Arts Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd., Sacramento. His presentation is free and open to the public.

Roses brought friendships as well as opportunities for Scanniello, president of the Heritage Rose Foundation and curator of the New York Botanical Garden’s Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden. He’s created gardens for New York’s rich and famous. Among his rose friends is the original Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews. He’ll share stories about how those rosy relationships grew.

Scanniello currently is leading efforts to restore the garden of Alexander Hamilton’s Harlem home and Elizabeth Park, the nation’s oldest public rose garden in Hartford, Conn. He has lots of entertaining stories about those projects, too.

Saturday, Scanniello will lead two pruning demonstrations at the Historic City Cemetery’s heritage rose garden, the main reason Scanniello has become a frequent Sacramento visitor. Based in New Jersey, he’s made pruning the cemetery’s world famous roses an annual pilgrimage.

At 9 a.m., Scanniello will lead a workshop on how to prune climbing roses, using the cemetery collection as hands-on examples. Scanniello literally wrote the book on this subject; he’s the author of “Climbing Roses” and five other books.

At 1 p.m., Scanniello turns his attention to pruning heritage roses, including the cemetery’s many Victorian rarities. Known for their intense fragrance as well as bountiful blooms, these old garden roses need special attention. This expert will share how he treats these unusual bushes to bring out their best.

Suggested donation for each workshop is $10 with proceeds supporting the cemetery garden. Wear sensible shoes; paths can be slippery.

Street parking is available near the cemetery, located at 1000 Broadway, Sacramento. For details: www.cemeteryrose.org .

- Debbie Arrington

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Keywords:

heritage rose foundation Sacramento pruning Historic Rose Garden Sacramento Rose Society Stephen Scanniello Historic City Cemetery old garden roses

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Garden Checklist for week of May 19

Temperatures will be a bit higher than normal in the afternoons this week. Take care of chores early in the day – then enjoy the afternoon. It’s time to smell the roses.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. If you haven’t already, it’s 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.

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* 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.

* Don’t forget to water. Seedlings need moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants.

* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. 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.

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