OHA Bulb Order

Click here for your OHA_bulb_order form. This is a PEC Society fundraiser as well. Please have your orders in by the May meeting. Our society will receive fifty cents for each package sold. Orders will be delivered for the September meeting.

Seedy Saturday Success

The Horticultural Society ‘booth’ at Seedy Saturday, upstairs at Books and Company. Lots of information about who we are, what we’ve done, and more.

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Lots of visitors, lots of interest, and new members as well!

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Click the images to see larger versions.

photo credits: Bert Jenkins

2015 Coach Trip

Join us for a July 7th trip for a Rideau Woodland Ramble (32-seater Highway Coach to Merrickville).

Where/When to get tickets:

Horticultural Meetings as listed for Picton
Seedy Saturday on Feb 21, at Books & Co. Picton
Plant Sale on May 16 at United Church in Wellington
County Garden Show, June 13, Crystal Palace, Picton

By phone after March 8th, 613 476 1931

Click here for full details on the trip.

Garden Tour – yours, for a great cause!

If you would like to open your garden for a tour to raise money for APPEC (a group fighting to keep out Industrial Wind Turbines from the South Shore). The planned date is June 27 and APPEC needs to know by the middle of February if you would like to volunteer your garden for this event.

Please call Johanna McCarthy at 476-0240 or send an email to jcmleewis@kos.net

When is a flower not a flower?

petersonDr. R. Larry Peterson PhD FRSC, University Professor Emeritus, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Guelph poses that question and other intriguing questions about plants, in a new book authored with Carol Peterson.

This unique full-colour book takes common observations of plants and presents scientific explanations for them that the non-specialist can understand. Using a question and answer format, 140 questions are posed, and each is followed by an answer illustrated with beautiful macroscopic and/or microscopic images. A total of 450 images are included. In addition to being of interest to a general audience, this book will be an excellent source of information for elementary to high-school students and their teachers. As well, it could serve as a supplementary text for introductory biology courses at colleges and universities to stimulate students’ interest in plants.

Published by Volumes Publishing Ltd., the book is available from volumesdirect.com.

OHA HASCAP – offer ends Friday.

A letter from Penny Stewart about the OHA’s HASCAP plant introduction.

Dear Societies
The OHA is going to make available on a limited basis Hascap plants at a break even cost of 4 for $25. Here is a bit about them

They will be dormant and in 3 1/2 pots. Priced at 4/$25.00. The OHA is not making a profit on this. It is to introduce and share something less known for our members.
The varieties are all LaHave from Nova Scotia and are as follows: Larisa, Erin, Vicky and Ruth.

If anyone wishes they can go onto the growers webpage and see the presentation themselves at www.lahavenaturalfarms.com

HASCAPS (Lonicera edulis, Honeyberry, Blue Honeysuckle)
haskapThis delicious member of the Honeysuckle family produces blueberry-blue fruit tasting like raspberries with a touch of blueberry and is absolutely loaded with antioxidants. Haskaps are cold-loving plants, native to northern Canada, Russia and the northern islands of Japan where they are popular for their flavour and health benefits (high vitamin C). Bob Bors, head of the fruit breeding program at the University of Saskatchewan started crossing several different tasting native selections to produce tastier varieties. Breeding has continued apace, including some Russian varieties creating larger, even tastier, and uniquely Canadian varieties. Haskaps are zone 1 – 3 hardy, need full sun and will grow in a range of soils but ideally in a neutral ph, highly-organic soil. You need two different varieties for cross pollination and good fruit set. Plants take up to 4 years to reach maturity at which time you can expect about 3kg (7lbs) of fruit per plant. They’re a tender-skinned fruit, perfect for jams, jellies, smoothies and yes, even wine! Height at maturity 90-120cm (3-4′), spread 90-150cm (3-5′).

Unfortunately I somehow misunderstood how this was all going to play out and did not canvas societies before this mainly because the original price proposed was much higher and I felt at the higher price they would not sell.

I have to get a number back to Rose Odell by Jan 9th and so I apologize for the rush on this. Please let me know by noon Fri JAN 9 if your society has an interest and in how many.

Sorry for dropping the (root)ball on this one .

Regards

Penny

Penny Stewart
Director District 3
Ontario Horticultural Association