JANUARY 2015 NEWSLETTER 

Article by Bob Keetley taken from the Nottingham & Notts Fuchsias Society Newsletter – January 1996: -  

BUYING PLANTS 

Many of you will soon be buying plants from various sources and if you are not careful you can buy very much more than plants, such as pests and diseases.  These can include Botrytis, Rust, White Fly, Vine Weevil etc.  If you are buying from a source where you can examine the plants it is easy for you to check before you pay, but if you are buying by post you are reliant on the nursery.  If you are not satisfied with the quality of your plants, either phone them with your complaint and ask for their advice, or return the plants in question with the Delivery Note stating the reason for doing so.  If everyone with a complaint did this we would find that the quality of plants supplied to us would improve.  Plants are expensive items when postage is included and Suppliers should not be allowed to get away with poor quality.

When I receive plants I keep them separate from my others until I am satisfied that there is no problem.  Remove all dead leaves from around them and do not over-water, this should prevent any Botrytis problems.  Check for Vine Weevil grubs (white and about half an inch long) by examining the compost, especially peat based which they love.  Many people have difficulty in identifying Rust.  If you have a brown spot on a leaf it does not automatically mean that you have it.  Rust usually starts in small circles and is made up of browny-orange spots which look dusty, they stand up much the same as rust does on steel.  If you have any doubts, isolate the plant immediately and wash your hands before touching other plants.  Rust can often be cured by removing all the leaves and dipping the plant in a fungicide, but keep it isolated until you are certain of the cure.                                                     

Heather Taylor is our speaker tonight, and she will be speaking to us on ROSES.  Here’s a list of definitions which you may find useful: -

KNOW YOUR ROSES

It helps greatly to know how to interpret the labels on roses.  Select your roses from these main groups:

Species Roses – vigorous descendants of wild roses, with long arching shoots and single flowers.

Old Roses – the oldest rose hybrids, mostly double flowered, including the Gallica and Damask roses.

Hybrid Roses – also known as large-flowered bush roses.  Typically, flowers are about 10cm (4in) in diameter with high, conical centres and outer petals that curve back as they open.

Floribundas – also known as cluster-flowered bush roses, these are similar to hybrid teas but with smaller flowers in clusters of up to 20 blooms.  Dwarf varieties are called Patio Roses.

Modern Shrub Roses – bred for their abundance of flowers and good disease resistance, in a wide variety of forms.

Climbers – repeat-flowering plants that send out long shoots and small clusters of blooms.

Ramblers – roses that flower only once a year, with more flexible shoots than true climbers.

Miniature Roses – plants with twiggy shoots and tiny leaves much smaller than those of patio roses.

Ground-cover Roses – low-growing, spreading roses, branching very freely and often repeat flowering.

Excerpt from ‘The Gardener’s Wise Words An Country Way’ by Ruth Binney.

SOCIETY NEWS:

4 CORNERS – Next month’s Meeting:

Once again, with the help of willing volunteers, we will be doing something a little different.  For those who weren’t here last year.  We have 4 speakers situated in the 4 corners of the room.  They have been tasked to talk on their chosen subject for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes members move clockwise round the room and will thus have the opportunity to listen to all 4 speakers.

If any of you would like to support us and volunteer to take up such a position, please let one of the committee members know. Many thanks.

NEW YEAR BUFFET.

Also, we plan to hold a buffet similar to that at our AGM. Contributions to the buffet would be greatly appreciated and a list will be circulated so that we can ensure that there will be variety on the buffet table. Many thanks.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS:

Following our Committee meeting in January, we have decided on attending the following sales events in 2015:

Beechdale Pub; Autokarna; Wollaton Park Community Centre Coffee Morning and/or Summer Fete

Dates are yet to be finalized. In addition, we hope to attend a couple of Nurseries this year, these too are yet to be confirmed.

Remember our next meeting

Will be

Tuesday 24^th February 2015

MEMBERS – 4 CORNERS

&

BUFFET