DATE: Sunday, November 2, 1997              TAG: 9711010112
SECTION: HOME                    PAGE: G3   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: GARDENING REMINDERS

SOURCE: Robert Stiffler

                                            LENGTH:  115 lines

EVERYTHING'S COMING UP CAMELLIAS AT SEVERAL EVENTS

THE VIRGINIA CAMELLIA Society will hold its annual Fall Show and Sale on Saturday in Chesapeake Square Mall at the J.C. Penney concourse. Show hours are 12:30 to 6 p.m.

Blooms for judging will be accepted starting at 8 a.m. Plants for sale include hard-to-find varieties grown by members, as well as some commercially grown. Prices range from $8 to $17. Call 588-4883.

The following day, on Sunday, Nov. 9, from 1 to 5 p.m., there will be a mini-show and sale of camellias at the Fred Heutte Center, 1000 Botetourt Gardens, Norfolk.

I've also learned that Stuart Clarke, son of the late Evelyn Clarke, the Virginia Beach woman who discovered and registered the Mrs. Lyman Clarke camellia, has grown some of those camellias and has them available for sale. Most are 2 feet high and cost $10. Call 498-1038. PREPARE PLANTS FOR WINTER

Frequent rains make it an ideal time to plant perennials, and many are on sale now at garden centers. Keep them well-watered until the ground freezes to promote good root development.

It's also a good time to rearrange plants in beds or start new beds. If perennials have grown too large, divide them and replant or give away extras. Cover tender plants at night when frost is expected. Impatiens are tender; geraniums are tough. Mulch all plants after the ground freezes with 3 inches of bark, pine straw or composted leaves. HOW TO FEED ORCHIDS

Beginner orchid growers often ask if the plants need to be fed while in bloom and what they should be fed. The American Orchid Society says flowering plants need extra food, and the plants should be fertilized with a product appropriate to the media in which they are grown.

In general, plants in a bark-based mix will need a fertilizer high in nitrogen (usually in a 3-1-1 ratio) while a balanced fertilizer will do for all others (usually a 1-1-1 ratio). If in doubt, apply the same balanced fertilizer you use for your other container plants.

Orchids will do better with too little fertilizer, rather than with too much. Follow the old adage ``feed weakly, weekly.'' Feed every week with a dilute solution. It is far easier to remember to feed every week with a diluted solution, rather than to remember if you fertilized the previous week. TIME TO DIG CALADIUMS

Cold nights mean caladiums have wilted, so it's time to dig them. Save the larger, vigorous tubers, spread in a shallow tray and store in a dry warm place at about 70 degrees. There are other ways to store them. Some people recommend peat moss; others hang them in a mesh bag.

I've tried both of those methods and find that only about 50 percent resprout in the spring. Even at that rate, you only have to buy half as many caladiums.

Tuberous begonias, although not widely grown in this area, also need to be dug and treated the same as caladiums. SOME SURVIVORS

In this part of the country, dahlias, cannas and gladiolus do not need to be dug up. Just mulch them well with pine straw or bark, and they'll winter through.

In a mild winter, geraniums, snapdragons and fibrous begonias, if in a somewhat protected area, will sometimes survive the winter. Don't count on it happening every year, but often they'll come back in the spring. MORE KUDOS FOR CORNUS MAS

Just two weeks ago, I wrote about the excellent qualities of the Cornus mas or cornelian cherry dogwood. The Dawes Arboretum has just listed the various problems that affect the 13 members of the dogwood family. Cornus mas is the only one not subject to nine problems that affect dogwoods. That's a great recommendation for any tree. TREAT APHID PROBLEM

If your crape myrtles were pestered by aphids last season, entomologist James Baker of North Carolina State University says the last generation of female aphids lays overwintering eggs. An application of a horticultural oil during the winter greatly lowers the number of surviving crape myrtle aphid eggs. Dormant oil is an organic method of controlling many insects. It smothers the bug or its eggs.

Any bright day between now and when freezing weather begins is a good time to get the job done. If you do not get it done this fall, late February to early March is another ideal time, before new growth begins. Such a spraying can prevent many insect problems next season. SPRAY LACE BUGS

Azalea lace bugs are another of the most frequently reported insect pests for this area. If you have them, spraying with Orthene now will help eliminate a problem next season. COURSE IN ENTOMOLOGY

The spring 1998 graduate course at Virginia Tech's Hampton Roads Research Center will be Advanced Topics in Entomology. Virginia Tech has altered its policy regarding graduate courses. No longer is there a limit of one course unless a person enrolls in a degree program. Through a program called Commonwealth Campus, students may take an unlimited number of courses without enrolling for a degree. The only requirement is that you have a bachelor's degree in any discipline.

Those interested in attending or applying for the spring 1998 course should contact Bonnie Appleton at (757) 363-3906. For details about the course, contact Peter Schultz at (757) 363-3907. NEW PRODUCTS AND LITERATURE

Some years back, this column reported that red plastic mulch increased yields of tomatoes as much as 20 percent in tests at Clemson University. The mulch is now available from Ken-Bar Inc., 25 Walkers Brook Drive, Reading, Mass. 01867-0704. Call (617) 944-0003 or (800) 336-8882.

If you want to get your compost tested at the prestigious University of Massachusetts Soil Test Laboratory, call Steve Bodine at (413) 545-2311. Don't send a sample.

I'd never heard of the Earthmade catalog until one recently arrived at my house. It's a catalog of good garden tools and more unusual gifts than most catalogs of this ilk. For a free catalog, write Earthmade Products, P.O. Box 609, Jasper, Ind. 47547-0609.

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