Garden Club news

Barbara Anderson, Vice-President

It must be summer in north Texas; it is HOT and the Robson Ranch Garden Club is taking its summer break. But that does not mean that the board is not planning for our coming program year.

Circle the date: Monday, September 21, 10:30 a.m. in the Lone Star Room. Our first meeting of the season will be organizational, with new and renewing memberships being taken. The cost for one year is $10 per household, and we prefer a written check so that both the club and the member have a record of their membership being paid. Your dues pays for occasional door prizes at our meetings, perhaps entry fees to venues that we may visit, or we have even used those funds to help cover the cost of a bus for a road trip. Working with the HOA and Living Well Committee, we have also donated benches to the community garden area.

In addition to receiving the memberships, we will be discussing plant problems that we might be experiencing caused by the excessive rain of the spring. Fungus diseases and bag worms are common with such climate occurrences. Also with the clay and rock earth we have, the water perches underground and can cause root rot. That may cause many plants and trees to shed their leaves and otherwise look dead. However, there can be good news. With the dry weather we are having the roots can recover. Be patient; the recovery can be slow.

Do not fertilize now because that can add further stress to the plant, but a three to four inch layer of mulch might make your plants very happy!

We are hearing that rosette disease on rose bushes is still very much a problem, and the only solution is to completely remove the rose bushes and do not plant roses in that space for at least two years because the pathogen may still be in the soil.

We look forward to seeing you on September 21! For further information about the Garden Club, call Barbara Anderson at 940-239-6504.