Lecture is open to the public. Begins at 11:00 AM
Location: Wesley Hall at First United Methodist 175 N Main St Ashland, Oregon 97520
Fig Trees: Pruning & Fertilizing
Prune fig trees between late February and early March, before new growth appears.
Prune young trees for shape and good scaffold branching. A scaffold branch forms the main framework of the tree. Prune mature trees to maintain tree structure, health and easy harvest.
Pruning:
Do not remove more than 30 percent of the tree’s canopy in a given year. Figs bear fruit on new wood, so over pruning will not only reduce fruit yields it also causes the tree to focus on foliage production. Over pruning can also cause a hormonal imbalance, which regulates its growth and fruit production.
Prune out dead, diseased, and crossing branches, cut back excessively long branches, and shape to retain scaffold branches. Monitor pruning cuts for bacterial or fungal problems until they heal.
Fertilize:
Fertilize fig trees with an all-purpose fertilizer; a 10 -10 -10 ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Spread fertilizer evenly around the tree, keeping it at least 18 inches away from the trunk. Water the tree well after applying fertilizer.
Young fig trees: For the first two years in early spring apply 1 ounce of fertilizer once a month through August. Do not apply after August.
Mature fig trees: Apply in the spring when new growth appears, fertilize with 1/3 pound of fertilizer per foot of height.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor!
Article by: Carlotta Lucas, Ashland Garden Club board member
Choosing the right plant and planting it in the right spot in your garden is a difficult decision, but you can be assured you are buying the right plant suited for your garden by checking the hardiness zone on its label. By buying plants rated for your hardiness zone you’ve increased the plant’s survival rate and its ability to thrive in your garden.
This is true for vegetable seeds too. Each seed packet has the plant’s hardiness zone printed on the back.
Ashland has 3 hardiness zones: 7b, 8a, 8b. Check your zone by location here: https://www.plantmaps.com/en/us/f/hz/state/oregon/plant-hardiness-zones
Also, be ware that nurseries and stores sell plants that are not rated for the climate where they are being sold.
Ashland Garden Club member, Tsutae Novick’s art in the garden.
Tsutae enjoys making art and doing whatever brings love and joy into her life;
she enjoys meeting with people & making friends, traveling, singing, cooking, gardening; she likes animals, tea ceremonies, healing, spirituality, and sculpting with clay. She especially likes making little buddhas, which the Japanese call “Jizou”.
Tsutae’s Gallery: https://sairam414.weebly.com/gallery.html
Photos by: Lynn McDonald
Post by: Carlotta Lucas
Fall flowers for pollinators:
Today, Sun, Sep 22, 2024 is the first day of Autumn.
Monarch butterflies are migrating now and today I saw a one visiting my garden. This is the fourth monarch I have seen this summer. It spent several hours getting nectar and resting in the garden. It preferred the zinnia flowers more than all others. This monarch sampled other flowers, but kept coming back to the zinnias. I noticed it liked newer flowers more than the older ones. This suggests it’s a good habit to deadhead your flowers, since cutting back older flowers encourages new buds. If interested, you can report your monarch sightings to journeynorth.org Include the number of monarchs you observed and the length of time they spent in your area.
~Goly Ostovar, AGC Member
