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Quotation of the Week: "Let no one think that real gardening is a bucolic and meditative occupation. It is an insatiable passion, like everything else to which a man gives his heart." — Karel Capek

The Rose: "Queen of Flowers"

A Basic Rose Primer — from Planting to Cutting: Planting Your plants should be moist and in perfect condition when received. Keep them in a cool place until planting. If a plant appears dry, soak the entire plant in water for two days. The bushes usually come pruned ready for planting. Should you find any bruised or broken roots, remove them with sharp shears. Do not expose the roots to sun or wind. Loosen all labels so they will not cut into the plants. It is a good idea to check these labels annually, to keep them from girdling and killing the branch. Select a location free from tree or shrub roots. These roots tend to rob the plant of food and moisture. The location should have at least a half day's sun. Dig a hole 18" wide by 24" deep. If you do not have good drainage, your soil preparation will need to be more thorough. All plants need organic matter to grow properly. Kellogg Earthrich is a great ready-to-use medium. Partially fill the hole with the mixture, making a firm cone-shaped mound in the center. Place the crown of the roots (the point on the trunk where the roots spread) over the cone, spreading the roots outward and downward. Fill in above the roots, firm lightly, and fill with water several times until the soil is thoroughly settled. Finish filling the hole. When finished, the bud union (the point on the trunk where branches form) should be slightly above the level of the ground. Mound moist soil at least 2/3 the height of the plant and leave until the new growth is 1 to 2 inches long. The soil should then be gradually removed to the ground level. We cannot over-emphasize the importance of mounding. Drying winds or warm sun can draw enough moisture from the canes to prevent the roots from becoming established. Mounding can be the difference between life and death for your plant. Should you find a plant remaining dormant after the others have leafed out, make a cylinder of fine wire mesh, tar paper, cardboard or anything that will hold moisture. Place the cylinder around the plant and fill it with sopping wet peat or soil to a level almost covering the plant. This should bring the plant into leaf within 10 days. An inverted bucket or 5 gallon can may also be used. Mulching Mulching is very important. It keeps the soil cool in summer and warm in winter. It retains moisture, controls weak growth, and renews and rebuilds the humus content of the soil around the plants. We recommend Kellogg Gromulch. Fertilizing Roses are heavy feeders and to get the maximum bloom, feeding should be frequent. On newly planted roses, we prefer to start feeding them with Whitney Farms Rose & Flower Food when the growth is about 6 inches long and repeat the feeding every two or three weeks. For established plants, feed once every 6 weeks. Watering Roses can take lots of water during the growing season if the drainage is good, but will not tolerate wet feet. Either overhead watering or flooding is acceptable and, in most soils, a good deep 18" to 24" watering once a week is sufficient. If the weather is very hot and dry, more frequent watering may be necessary. Basal Canes vs. Suckers The difference between basal canes and suckers can be difficult for the inexperienced rose gardener. A basal cane is the lush growth that originates at the bud union. The foliage and thorns have the same characteristics as the top growth. This is the best wood on the plant and should be encouraged. A basal cane may, however, grow very tall with a large cluster of blooms on the end. To avoid this, pinch out the tip of the cane when it is about 18" tall. A sucker comes from below the bud union point where branching begins. The foliage, thorns, and types of growth are entirely different from that at the top. This type of cane is generally much longer and more willowy in growth than a basal cane, and does not terminate in a bud. Suckers rob the top growth of needed nourishment, and should be cut off closely to the point of origin. Spraying Like all living plants, roses may be attacked by insects and fungus diseases. A good fungicide and insecticide may be combined to control both in a single spraying. While spraying once in ten days is usually sufficient, this may vary in different locations. We will be glad to assist you with your particular problems and recommend specific sprays. Pruning It is difficult to have a set rule for pruning, as various types of roses require different methods. As a general rule, however, one should cut out the old wood, keep the new wood, and above all, retain the symmetrical shape of the plant. The remaining new wood should be cut back half the length of its growth during the previous season. Each cut should be made a quarter-inch above an eye facing the outside. Weak wood and crossed branches should also be removed. Plants pruned severely will produce fewer, but higher quality blooms. Moderate pruning will result in a greater abundance of blooms. Climbing roses, as a rule, produce blooms on canes that grew during the preceding year. You will get more blooms from your climber if the canes are trained to run parallel with the ground. Older plants may be pruned by removing several of the oldest canes, characterized by their heavier growth and woodier appearance. Floribunda roses are pruned in much the same way as hybrid teas, but require milder pruning which results in a greater mass of bloom. Cutting Roses On newly planted bushes, cut off the flower with a very short stem, leaving as much foliage as possible. Only a few varieties of roses will bloom the first year. On older plants, leave three or four strong leaves on the stem, cutting a quarter inch above a leaf pointing to the outside. Single and semi-single roses should be cut just as the petals open showing color; double roses, as the petals unfurl to not over half-open; very double roses, when about 2/3 open. It is best to pick in the late afternoon, when the sugars in the plants are at the maximum.

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No Curse in These Black Pearls

By Tamara Galbraith Remember Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the movie blockbuster from a couple of summers ago? Lots of swashbuckling fun, eh? Well, they won't sprout a Johnny Depp or an Orlando Bloom (darn it...), but there are two 'Black Pearl' veggie varieties that are sure to be big hits with gardeners this growing season. A new exclusive from Burpee seeds, the 'Black Pearl' tomato is a tasty beauty. According to the Burpee website, these dark cherry tomatoes develop a unique, extra sweet, 'Concord' grape flavor when chilled. Like most vining cherry tomatoes, these plants produce tons of fruit well into fall. Unfortunately, live plants of this variety cannot be shipped to Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii or Nevada from Burpee, but the seeds are available. The other 'Black Pearl' worth growing is an ornamental pepper (Latin name Capsicum annuum) with spectacular, dark purple/black foliage and shiny, globe-like black fruits that mature to a glossy deep red. This plant is so handsome and sturdy, it has been named as a 2006 All-American Selections Winner. Exceptionally heat and drought tolerant, the 18-20" plant develops an attractive pyramid shape on its own, without pruning or pinching. It is disease and pest resistant, easy to grow from seed, and loves life in a container. Or, pair it in an ornamental bed with some silver-leaved plants for a stunning effect. And the more sun, the better the leaf color. Seeds for this beauty are now widely available. The peppers on Black Pearl are edible, but be forewarned...they are extremely hot. In fact, eating one may cause you to come up with your own Curse of the Black Pearl.

How to Plant a Bare-Root Deciduous Fruit Tree

Choose a spot in full sun with good drainage and adequate space for the tree to grow. (If space is limited choose a dwarf tree, or plant as an espalier, training it on wires; on an arbor; or against a preferably east-facing wall.) Prune off any damaged or broken roots, and plunge the remaining roots into a bucket of water to soak while you dig a hole. Dig a planting hole and check the drainage. If the soil is heavy clay, work at least 2 pints of amendment into the soil in the bottom of the hole. It will do no harm, and it may improve drainage. If gophers are a problem, line the hole with a basket made of poultry wire to protect the roots while the tree is young. Hold the tree in the hole so that the bump on the bud union faces north, to shade it from the sun, and the original soil line (look for it below the bud union) is 2 inches higher than the surrounding ground. (The bud union is the location where the variety was grafted onto the rootstock; on trees it usually appears as a slight bend in the trunk or a change in its width.) Backfill the hole by sifting the native soil you took from it back into the hold--around, through and over the roots. (Do not add soil amendment unless you're planting in pure sand.) Plant high, so that as the tree grows the area where the trunk meets the ground is high and dry. Press down with your hands to compact soil around and over the roots Make a watering basin. Mulch the ground around the plant and in the basin. If the tree does not already have a good branching habit, prune it immediately after planting; cut the tree to a height of 30 inches to 36 inches above ground. Remove most of the side branches (if there are side branches) except those needed for main scaffold limbs. You can produce a low branching tree by choosing to keep three low branches that are not exactly opposite each other. To protect the trunk from sunburn, paint it with flat white latex paint (not enamel) that you've slightly diluted with water. Water deeply by allowing the hose to lie on the ground and trickle into the hole until it penetrates around the roots. In fast draining sandy or decomposed granite soil, water often until the tree is established. If drainage is poor or if the soil is heavy clay, check once a week and water when the soil begins to dry out. Gradually lengthen the intervals between irrigations.

Deciduous Fruit Trees

All deciduous fruit trees need to be pruned for good shape from "childhood" up, and to bear well they need to be pruned at least once a year. The time to do the major pruning is January (unless you already did the job in December). A good rule of thumb is: deciduous fruit trees should be pruned during winter while the trees are dormant and after the leaves have fallen to the ground but before new buds have swelled. Each type of fruit tree needs to be pruned differently, so it's important to know which kind of tree you're pruning and how to prune it properly. For example, apples bear their fruit on spurs that bear again and again, sometimes for as long as twenty years. If you whack off all the spurs you'll have no fruit. In general, apple trees need very little pruning once a main framework of branches has been established. Plums also bear on spurs. The pruning of mature European plums is minimal, as for apples, but Japanese plums grow so vigorously that they need heavy pruning of new growth. Apricots bear partly on one-year-old wood and partly on spurs that continue to bear well for four or five years. They must be pruned so as to replace one-fifth of the bearing wood by heading back older branches. Peaches and nectarines need the heaviest pruning of all: their fruit is borne on one-year-old wood. By pruning them hard, you encourage new growth to replenish fruiting wood. Figs need very little pruning at all except to control tree size and foliage density.

Unmatched Beauty: Variegated Tapioca

by Tamara Galbraith What is it about variegated plants that causes so many gardeners to become slack-jawed, weak-kneed and self-indulgent? We open our wallets with heedless abandon at the site of a well-sculptured bi-colored leaf. It's almost embarrassing. Get ready to add the Variegated Tapioca (Manihot esculenta 'Variegata') to your list of must-haves. While the reddish leafstalks are lovely in themselves, it is the Variegated Tapioca's deeply lobed, chartreuse- and cream-colored leaves that will command envious stares and requests for cuttings. This tropical member of the Euphorbiaceae family can grow to be a large shrub or small tree. It is an outdoor annual through most of the U.S., but really just loves the heat, so bring it indoors during the winter if you have to. A native of South America, Variegated Tapioca does not like temperatures below 50 degrees F and is only hardy to Zone 9. The leaves will quickly drop if chilled - although they will likely come back if the plant is moved indoors. Variegated Tapioca is not picky about soil pH, and should be kept moist but not soggy. Full sun will definitely bring out the best foliage color...and that's what we all want, right?

What You'll Need: 2/3 cup butter or margarine, melted 1/4 cup peanut butter 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/4 cup light corn syrup 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 4 cups quick-cooking oats TOPPING: 1 cup milk chocolate chips 1/2 cup butterscotch chips 1/3 cup peanut butter

Step by Step:

In a mixing bowl, combine the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and vanilla; gradually add the oats. Press into a greased 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Bake at 400ºF for 12-14 minutes or until edges are brown. Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, for topping, melt all chips and peanut butter in a microwave or saucepan. Stir until blended; spread over warm bar mixture. Cool completely; refrigerate for 2-3 hours before cutting. Yield: 4 dozen bars