Be prepared for mud while learning about rose care
Volunteers in a previous January prune the McKinley Park roses. Two days of Prune-a-thons are scheduled this year, on Jan. 7 and 14. Debbie Arrington
It may be soggy, but we’ll be pruning. Despite heavy rains this past week, the Prune-a-thon at McKinley Park’s Memorial Rose Garden is expected to be held as scheduled on Saturday, Jan. 7.
Sacramento-area parks were closed mid-week due to concerns about falling trees and branches. (Or in the case of the rose garden, falling palm fronds.) But all parks are expected to be reopened by Saturday morning.
From 9 a.m. to noon, volunteers will be out in force to prune the beloved garden in McKinley Park.
Located on H Street near 33rd Street in East Sacramento, the rose garden is home to about 1,200 rose bushes, all in need of some TLC. All volunteers are welcome; no experience is necessary.
Skilled rosarians from the Sacramento Rose Society will lead volunteers, supervised by Sacramento parks employees.
Registration and parking are free. Water and light lunch will be provided. Volunteers under age 18 must have a parent’s or guardian’s signature to participate. Tools and instruction will be provided. Bring gloves and, if possible, bypass pruners.
Dress warmly. Considering how muddy the garden will be, wear closed-toe, water-repellent shoes or boots.
The Prune-a-thon is a great opportunity to learn about roses or reinvigorate pruning skills. It’s also a wonderful chance to show this historic rose garden some love.
In addition to tackling pruning (the biggest chore in any rose garden), the Prune-a-thon serves as a recruiting event for year-round rose garden volunteers.
Can’t make it Saturday? A second Prune-a-thon session is scheduled for 9 a.m. Jan. 14.
For details and to register in advance via QR code: https://bit.ly/3HQU9JM
Comments
0 comments have been posted.Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.
Food in My Back Yard Series
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
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
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
Local News
Thanks to Our Sponsor!
Sites We Like
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.
Powered by California Local
