Purdue Extension Service

Vanderburgh County, Indiana

Pruning and Garden Demonstrations for February

By Larry Caplan, Extension Horticulture Educator, Vanderburgh County, IN

For the Evansville Courier and Press, February 1, 2009

There are two opportunities this month for gardeners to further their education on a wide range of topics.

On Saturday, February 21, the Gibson County Master Gardeners will be hosting a day-long seminar entitled "Once Upon a Garden." The seminar will be held at the Princeton Community High School Auditorium, at the corner of Old Highway 41 & Old Patoka Road in Princeton, Indiana. Registration begins at 7:30 am, and the seminar itself runs from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm (all times CST).

The speakers include Dr. Dan Egel, from the Southwest Purdue Agriculture Center in Vincennes, who will be talking about Detecting and Controlling Plant Diseases in the Home Garden. Dr. Michael Dana, from the Purdue Horticulture Department, will be discussing landscaping with perennials, as well as French and English gardens from the Renaissance to the present.   Other speakers include Maxine Huff and Pam Irvin, talking about Growing Gourds; Jann Kiesel on hummingbirds; and Jack Brown from Tenbarge Arbor Care, talking about tree maintenance.

The cost of the program is $35 if you register by February 6; the fee goes up to $40 after that date. The fee includes continental breakfast, lunch, and materials. There will also be door prizes given away. For more information, contact the Gibson County Master Gardeners at: 812-385-4921, 812-386-0007, or 812-385-8486. 

The other program for February is a hands-on demonstration of pruning landscape trees and shrubs on Saturday, February 28, running from 9 am to noon, CST. I will be conducting the program, with help from experienced Master Gardeners. We will be holding the demonstration at Hartman Arboretum, located on Evansville's West Side, near the German Township Booster Club. Contact me for directions.

The Arboretum is a perfect place to walk around and actually do some hands-on pruning. There will be some walking involved, but most of it will along level grassy areas. Contact me if you need special assistance getting around.

This program is free of charge. You are encouraged to bring some pruning shears and loppers with you, so you can try out some of the procedures we discuss. You should also dress accordingly for the weather!

In the event of really nasty weather, we will move the demonstration to March 7. I hope we don't have to do that, as that is the same weekend as the Wesselman Nature Society Sugarbush demonstration. I'll talk more about that in a few weeks.

For more information, contact the Purdue Extension Service at (812) 435-5287.