If you are reading this column, I imagine you have an
interest in gardening. Well, this is an opportunity to hit a gardening homerun.
The Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society’s 23rd annual Rose Show is
going to be at Cypress Gardens on Saturday, April 25, 2015, from 1:00 to 4:30.
The Rose Show is dedicated to Dr. Frank Heinsohn whose name is well known in
the rose community both locally and beyond. Photography is a new section of
competition this year. For more information go to www.charlestonrose.com.
What a deal! For only 10.00 (adults), 9.00 (seniors), 5.00
(children) you can see the cypress swamps (even take a boat ride), butterfly
house, turtles, reptile house, walking trails, gardens and all the other many
attractions of Cypress Gardens plus
ROSES! There will be roses from world class exhibitors as well as backyard enthusiast.
If you are photographer, you can take a picture of anyone’s rose and even Photoshop
it! Again for more information go to www.charlestonrose.com.
What a fun time of year in the garden. Lawn is going from brown
to green (transition), trees are leafing out, and shrubs are putting on new
growth. Mosquitoes are coming out hungry, fire ants are foraging, mole crickets
are tunneling and mating, fleas are attacking the pet and aphids are attacking
new growth on shrubs.
I always know when the new growth is coming out on the azaleas
and camellias. At Possum’s we get flooded with questions about large deformed
leaves on mainly sasanqua camellias and some azaleas. The old leaf gall has
struck again.
Hopefully, you or your neighbors oak tree has done all the leave
and tassel dropping it is going to do for another year and you can put out a
fresh layer of mulch (be careful not to build up the mulch too thick) for the
spring.
I’m seeing some beautiful containers and hanging baskets as I
travel around the area. Try some Hydrostretch to help hold moisture in your
pots, so you will not have to water so often and your plants will not wilt so
quickly.
Carpenter Bees have been making many people’s life miserable
with their buzzing around and drilling into wood weakening it and exposing it
to the elements.
Palms and Sago palms are going to be pushing out new growth
soon. Be sure you get a real palm fertilizer and not one that someone in
marketing is calling a palm fertilizer (yes, it happens).
I have seen some scale in its crawler stage. This is a good time
to control them.
