Squash Bees are in Oregon!

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Ashland Garden Club

Few insects can digest the pollen of squash plants. But where squash plants go, squash bees have followed. Now, they’ve made it from Mexico and the Inter-mountains West all the way to Oregon. Learn about the journey of these special bees and their kinship to this family of plants.

Oregon State University https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/pollinators/great-oregon-squash-bee-hunt

Journey of the Squash Bee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAQVNl0C-H0

Rogue Valley’s Bee Girl Website: https://www.beegirl.org/blog/squashbee

Squash Bee *Peponapis pruinosa* ~ Photo USDA ARS, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Milkweed Flower

Posted on August 1, 2021 by Ashland Garden Club

July 2021; Garden of the Month

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Ashland Garden Club

1023 Linda Avenue:

The fascinating garden at 1023 Linda Avenue is the Ashland Garden Club’s Garden of the Month for July. Owner Sandra Archibald is completely responsible for this garden, including design and maintenance. She does have a guy who mows the shrinking lawn in the back and helps with cleanup in the Fall.

The most remarkable feature of this garden is the living fence of weeping blue atlas cedar that Sandra planted in the northeast corner of the property a year or two after moving in late in 2007 and has trained along the deer fence since then, protecting her raised planting beds and the rest of the yard. She designed the curving paver paths and trellis along the front of the house. There are more curved paths and walls she designed in back as well as a charming gate and peaceful Japanese garden section.

This is her favorite time of year in the garden with coreopsis and poppies putting on a grand display. In Spring, large established iberris plants make a nice show against the conifers. Other times echinacea is a standout. As the back garden has become shadier over the years, she has added mini-hostas and plans to add more conifers since discovering the fabulous variety at the Oregon Garden in Silverton. She loves the Japanese forest grass she has in pots because it’s always beautiful, even when it dries out annually.

Sandra urges persistence in the garden. She adapts readily to the changing environment, trying things and sometimes moving and replacing plants that don’t thrive. She averages at least ten hours per week working in her garden all seasons except Winter. Her hard work and creativity are evident.

Article by: Ruth Sloan, AGC Garden of the Month Chairman. (Thanks Kaaren Anderson for bringing this garden to my attention years ago.)

All photos by Larry Rosengren

Plant Sale Today: 5/11/19

Posted on May 11, 2019 by Ashland Garden Club

Saturday May 11, 2019 9-Noon Ashland Garden Club 40th Anniversary Plant Sale The Club’s biggest fundraiser of the year!

Visit us Today at the Ashland Safeway parking lot where members will be creating beautiful Mother’s Day bouquets onsite and selling member-grown perennials, annuals, succulents, native wildflowers, vegetable plants and much more! NEW: Credit Cards Accepted!

Christmas Cactus

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Ashland Garden Club

Scientific Name: Schlumbergera

A Christmas Cactus in full bloom makes an extraordinary gift for gardeners, and non-gardeners, alike. With proper care a Christmas Cactus is very long lived. The one shown here is over forty years old and still provides an amazing display of flowers every Christmas season.

Christmas Cactus Care:

Light/Temperature: Prefers a warm location with bright indirect sunlight. Shade it from intense sun and keep the plant away from heater vents, fireplaces and cold drafts.

Soil: Plant in well draining potting mix made for succulent plants. Its ideal soil is composed of equal parts of garden loam, leaf mold or peat, and clean course sand.

Water: A Christmas Cactus is a tropical succulent, it is NOT a true cactus, therefore it requires more water than a true cactus. Its watering needs vary with air temperature and humidity, but in general keep the soil just barely moist throughout the year. But, do not over water or the stems will get flabby and droop, and don’t under water either or the stems will be shriveled and limp. Note: if your plant tends to dry out and/or wilt frequently, then it’s time to re-pot it into a slightly larger container.

Fertilizing: Supply plant with a weak solution of houseplant fertilizer every two weeks.

Flowering: The secret to good bud production is cool temperatures and extended darkness.

Cool temps: The best temperature for bud development is 55F-61F degrees for a period of 6 weeks. Start providing cool temps in November for Christmas blooming.

Extended Darkness: The plant also needs 12 hours of darkness every night for 6 weeks. You can accomplish darkness by covering the plant with a cloth each night or move it into a dark area overnight. For cactus to bloom at Christmas time, darkness treatment should start in early October. Then, when buds start to appear increase its light exposure. Do not move the plant when it starts blooming, because it is sensitive to location during this time.

Color: Flower colors ranges from pink, white, yellow, salmon, fuchsia, red and any combination of these.

Rest time: In February, after it has bloomed, the plant should have a rest period, so during this month water it sparingly and stop fertilizing.

Re-potting: A Christmas Cactus blooms better if slightly pot-bound, so re-pot only when needed every 3-4 years. Re-pot the plant into a slightly bigger pot in the spring when it is not in bloom.

Propagation: Propagating Christmas cactus is easy. Cut a y-shaped segment off the tip of the plant, this cutting should have 2-3 joined segments. Allow the cutting to dry for a few hours and then plant it in moist peat & sand soil mix, insert about a quarter of its length below the soil surface. Place it in a well-lit area, avoid direct sunlight and water it sparingly to prevent rotting. In two or three weeks the cutting should show signs of growth at the tips of its leaves, these are usually reddish in color. Once it has rooted transplant it into a pot.