JCJC Horticulture Club

04/30/2023

Tree planting and spring clean up 🌳🌸

04/30/2023

Spring 2023! We are always busy doing something…

04/30/2023

Jeff Howell at Rocky Creek always gives a great tour!

04/30/2023

Thanks Gary for such a great tour!

04/30/2023

Planting seasonal color on campus. These students grew, designed and installed the color beds this year.

04/30/2023

Students touring Bracys Nursery with a fantastic tour guide. 😊🌸

01/28/2019

PRUNING NOTES for TREES

Young Shade and Flowering Trees

The most critical thing young trees do in the first three years after being planted is to establish their roots. A year or 2 after planting is a good time to start the pruning that will train them and give them the proper form and structure they’ll need for future growth. This is best done in late Fall to late Winter.

When pruning a young tree, first be sure it has a dominant central leader like a trunk or major branch. Next, select the permanent branches that will be the structural framework. These branches should have a wide angle of attachment to the main trunk for greatest strength and be uniformly distributed around and up and down the main trunk (vertical and radial branch distribution).

While selecting the permanent branches you may need to leave a few temporary branches to help the tree grow. These temporary branches aid in caliper development during the early years and can be removed after 3-4 years or as soon as the permanent branches have filled out. Prune anything that is not a permanent or temporary branch.

Suckers (growth at the tree base) and watersprouts (vigorous vertical growth in the canopy) are not beneficial to trees and can be removed anytime.

Mature Shade and Flowering Trees

Mature trees need only occasional pruning to maintain plant health. This typically includes removal of dead wood. This process is called "dead wooding" or "cleaning out". Crown thinning is another pruning technique that involves "opening up" the canopies of deciduous trees. This procedure allows sunlight pe*******on into the interior tree canopy and results in a stronger tree during adverse weather events. Another popular pruning technique for mature trees is “thinning out”. This reduces the height and spread of the tree while maintaining the natural shape.

01/24/2019

Want to know the options for a career in Horticulture? take a look at this website.

The Seed Your Future movement was created for YOU! We want to help you find a life-long passion for plants and a rewarding and meaningful career. Perhaps you're already interested in art, or science, or fashion, or medicine, or technology - or something else. There is a plant job for every one of th...

12/06/2018

03/06/2018

Floral design wedding bouquet 💐👰🏻🤵🏻✅

02/09/2018

Landscape Rose Care / Management (notes from senior horticulturist Allen Owings)

Roses continue to be one of our most popular ornamental plants, and home gardeners should learn about and be aware of recommended management practices for them.

Although they come in many types, basic care is the same for most roses. Keys to success include correct sunlight conditions, ideal soil pH, proper pruning, regular fertilization, proper mulching, disease management and insect control.

Roses need full sun in order to perform their best, grow their best and bloom their best. This means eight hours or more of direct sun daily. Less than eight hours is not sufficient for ideal performance. Many of us underestimate the amount of sun that our landscape receives.

Soil acidity or pH is important. Ideally, soil pH should be in the 6.5 range, which is considered slightly acid. Do not guess on soil pH. Use the results of a soil test to find out if you need to change soil pH.

February is the time for heavy pruning for most rose varieties. Prune in early to mid-February in south Louisiana and in mid- to late February in north Louisiana. Then prune lightly again in late August or early September.

Hybrid tea roses need to be pruned more heavily than floribunda, grandiflora and landscape shrubs roses. As you prune roses, reduce the height by half and also thin out a few of the older interior canes in the bushes.

Fertilization is very important, especially if you don’t follow some of the other management practices and care considerations more carefully.

To maximize spring growth and first flowering in April, fertilize roses in late winter to early spring using a slow-release fertilizer. You can also fertilize again lightly in early summer and again after late-summer pruning. Consider an epsom salt application once annually.

Mulch roses with 2 to 3 inches of pine straw. You can use other mulches, but pine straw seems to be best. Refresh the mulch layer as needed. New mulch can go on top of old mulch. Mulch suppresses weeds, minimizes soil temperature fluctuations and conserves soil moisture.

Managing for disease and insects is important. You should follow a preventive fungicide application program to control blackspot fungus on hybrid tea, floribunda and grandiflora roses. .

Usually landscape shrub roses, like the popular Knock Out and Drift varieties, do not need fungicide applications.

If disease is an issue, It is important to control blackspot in spring. If the disease gets started, it is difficult to get under control later in the year.

Major insects affecting roses are thrips and aphids, which should be monitored in early spring. They usually are abundant about two weeks before roses start blooming in April. Most garden insecticides along with organic insecticides like horticultural oil and spinosad will control these pests.

If you want to plant roses, think about low-maintenance varieties like Knock Out and Drift.

Choosing the right varieties and following these recommended practices will help your roses be successful long-term in the landscape.

11/30/2017

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here at Jones County Junior College , thanks to Vesely's Nursery!