Dear Helen: A property I听bought around a year ago has many lovely plants that I鈥檓 attempting to identify. I听moved to the Island from the prairies. One is a small deciduous shrub blooming with red flowers before the plant develops leaves. Another is a large evergreen shrub with wide clusters of tiny white florets. A听third is bearing fragrant clusters of small pink florets on听leafless stems. I think it鈥檚 a听daphne.
K.S.
The red-flowering deciduous shrub is most likely Chaenomeles (flowering quince), possibly a听variety called Texas Scarlet. These shrubs are valued for being among the earliest to bloom.
The evergreen shrub with broad, tight clusters of white florets is probably Viburnum tinus, a vigorous plant that can be听kept in bounds with trimming. The plants produce sporadic bloom from late summer onward, with full flowering in听the spring.
The pink-flowering deciduous shrub could be February daphne (Daphne mezereum), but the way the clusters are held along the stems, in small, pendulous clusters, leads me to think the shrub is听more likely Viburnum bodnantense 鈥楶ink Dawn,鈥� a tall, rambling shrub that bears nicely scented flower clusters from autumn through spring.
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Dear Helen: I think I should have听pruned my clematis vines earlier, because the stems have begun to sprout all along their length. Is it all right to prune them down to the ground now, or should I leave them now that they are sprouting?
C.W.
Pruning time depends upon the听kind of clematis you have. Early bloomers, that is those flowering before June, are pruned after the bloom period. Because they flower on growth made in the previous year, an early pruning would remove blooming growth. Examples are Clematis montana, alpina and macropetala varieties.
Summer-flowering clematis vines bloom on the new, current听season鈥檚 growth. The old,听previous season鈥檚 growth needs听to be cut down close to听the听ground in winter. If left unpruned, they will听flower only听in the far, upper regions of听new growth proceeding from the old.
All my summer-blooming clematis vines are small-flowered kinds, C. viticella and听C.听texensis varieties, which I听cut down to the ground in听early February, before they can sprout. Some years I鈥檓听late, however, and I鈥檝e never observed any harm from听a cutting down after sprouting has started.
Large-flowered varieties that bloom in summer, like the popular Jackmanii, should be cut back in late winter to a pair of strong looking buds as close to ground level as possible. A common pruning height for these vines is around 30 cm.
Dear Helen: What can I do about clouds of flies in my compost?
sa国际传媒
Flies, as well as rats and raccoons, are attracted to food in compost bins. Fruit trimmings are a particular attraction.
It is often recommended to bury fruit and vegetable wastes from the kitchen in a compost heap, but I鈥檝e found the ultimate solution is to bury this material in garden sites that will benefit from the nutrients and enhanced moisture retention that the on-site composting mass will bring. Kitchen fruit and vegetable trimmings decompose amazingly fast when buried. I keep a container beside the kitchen sink to receive the trimmings, and bury the contents in the garden when the container is full.
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GARDEN EVENTS
VRS meeting. The Victoria Rhododendron Society meets Monday, 7:30 p.m. in Garth听Homer Centre, 813 Darwin Ave. Paul de Greef will talk about rain gardens and managing rainwater. Guests are welcome free of charge.
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Peninsula meeting. The Peninsula Garden Club meets Monday at 7 p.m. in听the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney. Club member Bryan Taylor will share tips for finding plant information on the Internet. Visitors are welcome. Non-member drop-in fee is $5.
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Hardy plants. The Victoria Hardy Plant听Group meets Tuesday at听7听p.m. in听Knox Presbyterian Church, 2964听Richmond Rd. Daniel Mosquin, research manager at UBC Botanical Garden, will speak about the public gardens of Vancouver. Everyone welcome. Non-member drop-in fee is $5.
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Lawn to meadow. The Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, 505 Quayle Rd. in听Saanich, is offering a workshop on听Converting Lawn to Native Meadow on Sunday 1 to 4 p.m. Participants will learn about planning, site preparation, meadow plants, and maintenance. Cost听to HCP members $45, others $60.
