Helen Uhlig, treasurer of the Lights of Love Committee, discusses the latest entries in the Lights of Love Book of Honor and Remembrance with Ann Durusky, director of Volunteers and Advisor to the LOL committee. The book is displayed in the Lenoir Memorial Hospital lobby. This year’s tree lighting ceremony will be held at 7 p.m., Dec. 2, in the visitors’ parking lot near the Airport Road entrance. Entertainment will be provided by the 11th Hour singers from Pink Hill. Honorary tree lighter will be Henrietta Conner, a volunteer who is a cancer survivor. Lights of Love provides the community an opportunity to remember or honor friends and relatives by sponsoring lights on the Lights of Love tree on the hospital grounds. These tax-deductible donations range from $10-$100 and all proceeds benefit the hospital’s comprehensive cancer programs and oncology patients. For more information or to receive a donation form, call Ann Durusky at 252-522-7006 or download a form at lenoirmemorial.org.
Caring for Knock Out roses
A caller recently asked how to provide good winter care for Knock Out roses. Knock Out roses are frequently grown because they produce prolific flowers and are resistant to the disease black spot. Healthy plants respond well to general winter weather conditions.
Like other roses, this series needs 6 to 8 hours of sunshine, good soil, proper spacing and quality care to grow well. Good care of roses includes the use of 3 inches of an organic mulch, such as pine straw or bark.
Mulch helps regulate soil temperatures, preserve soil moisture and prevent weeds from germinating. Pruning and watering are two more aspects of quality care. Plants need about an inch of water per week, if rainfall is lacking.
Pruning is important to stimulate new growth and to control the quality of the flowers. The ideal time to prune is when the buds are swollen but the new growth has not emerged. This is usually January or February in our area.
Knock Out roses are considered full-grown when they reach 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide. Healthy shoots can be cut back by up to one half of the growth on vigorous plants.
Remember to open the center of the bush to increase air circulation and prevent disease. Cuts are best angled away from an outward facing bud.
Dead, diseased and dying limbs can be removed at any time of year. Knock Out roses usually grow vigorously so prune according to the growth expected.
Roses are heavy feeders and need additional nutrients to help them thrive. A soil analysis by NCDA & CS can help provide information about pH, texture and nutrient content of your soil.
A pH of 6.5 is recommended for roses. Fertilizer is recommended three times during the growing season with the last application made in July.
Looking out for your plants in the previous ways should encourage healthy roses to produce flowers during much of the year.
Peg Godwin is horticulture agent, Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Center, 1791 N.C. 11/55, Kinston, NC 28504. Reach her at 252-527-2191 or Peg_Godwin@ncsu.edu or 252-527-2191.