Two of the New Year highlights at Wegman’s are the seminars our Mr. Ed gives on Rose Pruning and Fruit Tree Pruning.

Mark your calendars now for January 4, 2009 from 1 pm to 3 pm, Mr. Ed and Matt Leddy, Professor of Horticulture at CSM, will conduct their annual Fruit Tree Care and Pruning Seminar at the Nursery. The how, why and when to prune deciduous fruit trees and citrus will be discussed. Spraying and fertilizing schedules will be outlined. We also will have instructional handouts available for you to take with you. All of our bare root stock will have arrived so you can pick up the new additions to your garden after the demonstration.

The next Sunday, January 11, 2008, we will host the Rose Care and Pruning Seminar from 1 pm to 3 pm. Mr. Ed will conduct our annual “hands-on” rose pruning seminar at Red Morton Community Park, 1400 Roosevelt Ave., Redwood City. Come prepared to prune roses. Bring your pruning shears and gloves because you will practice what you learn! If it rains, wear rain gear and water-resistant shoes. Mr. Ed will demonstrate pruning 'Hybrid Tea', 'Floribunda', 'Miniature' and 'Tree' roses. He will also outline fertilizing and spray schedules. There will be instructional handouts to take with you.

Dress weather-appropriately for both events as they are outdoors. We will serve light refreshments at both events and there is, of course, no cost.

Plan to attend both of these informative seminars!

Unfortunately, harmful insects and plant diseases will survive during our relatively mild winters. As a result, during the past few years we have seen massive numbers of aphids especially on roses and plum leaves early in the year.

In addition to plum and rose aphids--wooly aphids rose slugs, cucumber beetles and thrips overwinter in great numbers. Most of these insects overwinter by laying eggs in cracks, crevices and in plant bark. Insect eggs can withstand temperatures much lower than the mature insects and then as the weather warms in spring, the insects hatch and resume their life cycle.

Plant diseases such as rust, mildew, black spot, bacterial canker, brown rot and shot hole are completely resistant to low temperatures and unless cleaned up will pass undiminished from one season to the next.

One of the ways to reduce the amount of insects and disease in our home orchards and gardens is by spraying plants with a dormant spray during December, January or February. Plants such as roses and deciduous fruit trees are dormant at this time, hence the term dormant spray. Because the plants are dormant, sprays used at this time of year are twice as strong as can be used when the plants are in active growth.

One of the oldest dormant sprays is Bordeaux mixture, developed about 1878. It is a mixture of copper sulfate and hydrated lime. It was originally sprayed on grapes as a poisonous looking mixture to prevent stealing and accidentally discovered to prevent downy mildew from infecting the plants. Bordeaux mixture is very difficult for the home gardener to produce, is very unsightly and can be toxic to some plants. Consequently, equally effective and more easily prepared dormant sprays are now available.

For gardeners who wish to use Bordeaux, Calcium Polysulfide (sold as Polysul Summer and Dormant Spray) is available. It smells bad and can not be used on Apricot trees but is as effective as the old Bordeaux mixture for controlling fungus diseases. More commonly, fixed copper solutions such as Microcop or Liqui-cop are being used to control fungus diseases. Microcop contains 90% copper sulfate and is the only one strong enough to control peach leaf curl. Liqui-cop has 31% copper and can be used on all the other plants. Sulfur products must not be used on apricot trees.

In addition to these fungicides, a horticultural oil (we recommend Master Nursery Year Round Spray Oil) must be added to help control overwintering insects. They can be mixed together and sprayed on the dormant plants. A slightly coarse spray should be used and the plants should be sprayed especially thoroughly until dripping. Plants with thick bark must be sprayed to reach hidden insect eggs and fungus spores.

Infected leaves and fruit must be gathered from the ground and stripped from the plants and disposed of, not composted. This total procedure will not guarantee that your plants will go through the entire season without disease or insects since they can blow in from neighbors who were not as careful as you. It will ensure that your plants will get off to as clean a start as possible.

Finally: horticultural oil for the insects, copper for the fungus and bacteria.

Below are links to our Care Guides on:

Dormant Spray Schedule for Fruits and Vines

Fruit Tree and Vine Care Calendar

Wegman’s has an extensive collection of Bare Root Stock. Check our availability by clicking on the links below and then come in and pick up your favorites because bare root season lasts only about a month.

The AARS Winners for 2009--Carefree Spirit, Cinco de Mayo or Pink Promise--are at Wegman’s too! For rose lovers--bare root is the most economical method to add to your collection. Wegman’s has all of the AARS Winners available in bare root as well as many other roses. Our 2009 Rose List is arranged by color so it’s easier to choose that perfect addition to your garden. The Rose Gallery link will bring you to pictures and information about each individual rose to help you in choosing the perfect rose.

Bare Root Berries, Grapes and More

Bare Root Fruit Trees

Flowering Bare Roots

Multi-Fruit Bare Roots

Bare Root Roses