PeninsulaNorthwest
PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2012
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Heated or not, hothouse plants need water dahlia bulbs, tuberous begonias, corms) needs some moisture if it is to successfully reproduce next structure. Andrew year. A temperaEvery plant can reach the May ture-controlled wilting point, in which it becomes growing strucso dry that no amount of moisture is the most ture, no matter how copious or ideal setup for bathed in, can save it. Dehydraoverwintering tion kills. prized or Your fuchsia and begonias are expensive no exception, so moisture is plants such as required. your fuchsias. In your unheated greenhouse, And because the danger is twofold. a greenhouse The first is daytime temperacan grow such Dear Andrew, tures. a superb and superior product I have my fuchsias and begoover what you can buy next year, Twofold danger nias in an unheated greenhouse one would wonder why anyone for winter protection. On a sunny January day that would not fully turn on a greenDo I need to give them any is only 34 degrees outside (or house. water for the next five months? even 28), the inside sunlight temBut again, that is only Julie because of how much money can peratures can be in the 60s, 70s, 80s or even higher (Aaaghh!). be saved, how beautiful the Julie, the answer is yes; howThen at night, temperatures ever, that simple answer is, I am plants produced are and just how joyous puttering in a greenhouse inside that same structure sure, inadequate for you, the (unheated) can dip below freezing, truly is — especially during the readers and this newspaper, so which is not a good thing at all. dark and dreary winter. let me elaborate at length. In the day’s warm temperaWith that said, let’s get back First, a heated greenhouse is to the particulars of your precise tures, plants will want to grow referred to as a hothouse, but I and grow by pushing up tender question. dare say an unheated greenAny plant or plant part (e.g., new sprouts that definitely will house is called an underutilized JUST THE OTHER day, I was visiting a client and going over the spots where their bulbs were to be planted, and I noticed how great their variegated geraniums looked under the grow lights inside the garage. We dug them up to winter them over because of how expensive they are and how much better they will be next year. So imagine how perfectly coincidental it felt as I read the following email question that very evening:
A GROWING CONCERN
freeze to death come a frosty night. So what to do? I actually overwinter fuchsias in their original pots or baskets outside but embedded deeply in mulch (my compost pile). By digging a hole and completely immersing the pot or basket in mulch or compost, I protect the plants from a frost that could penetrate from the sides and ground. Warmth keeps them comfortably dormant and alive. The natural rains keep it moist, and having the pot raised above ground level (but surrounded by mulch) drains incredibly well so the plants don’t rot away, which they easily could do. Then in April, out they come — into the sun, fertilizer and daily care. Now, your begonias are another story. In an unheated greenhouse, they surely will die another victim of that hard night’s frost. If they are leafed-out plants, then placing them indoors in a sunlit and warm window, such as in the kitchen, would work perfectly well.
Couch-potato canine Briefly . . . Diners helps a better fit for some foundation Make-A-Wish developed to work all day like the retriever, husky and sheepdog, but rather to find other go all out for a short period Gina of time and then chill out Spadafori active breeds as for hours. well — They’re big, but they’re dogs couch potatoes by choice. whose Many guarding breeds, genetics such as Rottweilers, boxers have pre- and Akitas, also have relapared tively minimal exercise them to requirements. work All dogs love and need both hard their exercise, but not all and dogs will go crazy if they often. don’t get a ton of it. What are they doing to Most small breeds are burn off all that natural easy in the exercise departenergy? Barking, digging, ment, too, not because they chewing and often making their owners very unhappy. don’t need a lot of it, but If you’re thinking of get- because it’s not as difficult to exercise a small dog ting a dog, think seriously with short legs. about which breed you A Yorkie, pug or corgi want and whether you can provide an active dog with can get good exercise in a small yard or on a brisk the exercise he needs. walk.
PET CONNECTION
Get their heart beating
_________
If you can’t honestly say your dog will get 30 minutes of heart-thumping aerobic exercise at least three to four days a week — daily is better — then you really ought to reconsider getting an active large breed. Instead, consider the alternatives. For large breeds, look at the sight hounds, such as the greyhound I suggested, the saluki or even the massive Irish wolfhound. These breeds were not
Pet Connection appears every Sunday and is produced by a team of pet-care experts headed by veterinarian Dr. Marty Becker and journalist Gina Spadafori. The two are the authors of several best-selling pet-care books. Email them at pet connection@gmail.com or visit www.petconnection. com. Or write to them c/o Universal/UClick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
SEQUIM — Black Bear Diner is working with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to raise money for the nationally recognized nonprofit organization. Through December, the diner’s annual “Save Room for a Wish” fundraising promotion offers diner guests two opportunities to participate in efforts to help grant life-changing wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions. Each time a customer purchases a pie, cake or cobbler, Black Bear Diner will donate $1 to Make-AWish. Guests can enjoy a “NoBake Strawbeary Cheesecake” or Fudge Ripple Cream Pie, or they can choose from an existing menu dessert. Guests also can purchase a $1 or $5 wish star to help make wishes come true in their local community. The Sequim diner also will host a pancake breakfast fundraiser and a dinner party, with proceeds from both events going to the charity.
________ Andrew May is an ornamental horticulturist who dreams of having Clallam and Jefferson counties nationally recognized as “Flower Peninsula USA.” Send him questions c/o Peninsula Daily News, P.O. Box 1330, Port Angeles, WA 98362, or email news@peninsuladailynews.com (subject line: Andrew May).
2013 calendar sale PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles-based global nonprofit Mangrove Action Project has published its 12th annual Children’s rt Calendar for 2013, with hopes to raise support for MAP’s work in Asia, Africa and Latin America to conserve and restore the planet’s still-threatened mangrove forests. Annually, MAP invites teachers and their students from around the globe to participate in an international art contest. They learn through their participation about the beauty and biodiversity of the mangroves and the students’ attempts to depict through art what they have experienced on field trips to mangroves and in classroom studies. Children from 12 nations entered the contest by answering the question: “What do the
mangroves mean to my community and myself?” MAP’s 2013 Children’s Art Calendar is now available to order at www. mangroveactionproject.org or for $11 at Port Book and News and Odyssey Books in Port Angeles and Pacific Mist Books in Sequim.
Holiday concert PORT ANGELES — All Port Angeles High School bands, choirs and orchestras will perform in the school’s annual holiday concert in the high school’s Performing Arts Center, 304 E. Park Ave., at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The concert is free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early for this annual event showcasing Port Angeles High School student musicians. Peninsula Daily News
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EVERY MONTH, I go to my local public radio station for a short feature on pets and their care. Although I’m always prepared for the topic we’ve chosen for the show, I’m sometimes caught offguard by the questions other guests ask me in the “green room” before the show. These are all extremely accomplished people in their own fields, but in my area of expertise, they can have some pretty off-themark ideas. Such was the case recently when a top atmospheric scientist asked me to confirm for him that the vizsla, a Hungarian hunting breed, would be a “lowmaintenance” pet. Low maintenance? Not unless your idea of that includes a couple of daily exercise sessions that would exhaust someone training for a marathon. Like many hunting dogs, the vizsla is bred for a hard day’s work in rough terrain. For someone looking for a dog who’d snooze the days away alone in a downtown condo, his choice of dog could hardly be worse. He told me he wanted shorthaired, medium-sized and laid-back, and he was surprised when I suggested he consider a retired racing greyhound, likely a female to come in on the smaller size. He thought a racing dog would have nonstop energy, but on the contrary, greyhounds are lovingly known by their families as “40 mph couch potatoes.”
If they are in bulb (corm) form, then bedding them down in a cool, dark place is preferred. I will describe this storage process in next week’s column. But Julie, what I would strongly suggest is putting some nighttime heat in that greenhouse. Grow those fuchsias, and take cuttings to produce even more next year. Even now, start all sorts of seed crops (e.g., pansies, violas, snapdragons and alyssum) for early outdoor April plantings with the gorgeous, lush and flowering plants you produced. But whatever you do, keep your fuchsias moist (not wet or dry) as well as your begonias plants. If they are dormant, read next week’s article on bulb storage.
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Choose a snoozer www.tracywealthmanagement.com Securities and advisory services offered through FSC Securities Corporation, member FINRA/SIPC. Tracy Wealth Management is not affiliated with FSC Securities Corporation or registered as a broker-dealer or investment advisor.
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oliday xtravaganza
Tickets: $20/person; $15/youth 12 and under. Available at Port Book and News, Pacific Mist Books, and online at our website link: www.jffa.org www.j
features Geoffrey’s extraordinary violin virtuosity, the dancin’, fiddlin’ Gothard Sisters, special musical guests, and even a visit from auld St. Nick.
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You want a dog to snooze the day away? This is that dog. That doesn’t mean the vizsla isn’t a good dog . . . for someone else. I have high-energy dogs of a similar hunting breed, and I manage their exercise needs by making sure there’s room for lots of fetch in my schedule. If I couldn’t or didn’t want to exercise them constantly, I wouldn’t have dogs like these. But too many people don’t consider a dog’s energy levels when choosing an animal companion, and that often leads to frustration for both dog and owner. Look at the big, active dogs we adore, such as the Labrador, golden retriever and German shepherd. These breeds are high on the American Kennel Club’s list of the most popular, and they’re also wellrepresented as adoption candidates in shelters, both purebreds and mixes. You don’t have to go far down the popularity list to