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NEW HAMPSHIRE NEWS 



lease, and low-phosphorous fertiliz- 

 ers on any lawns or areas with grass 

 25 feet beyond the water line. HB 

 1126, seeking to repeal the entire 

 shoreline protection act, was heard 

 the following day. 



Also on the 17th, the Environment 

 and Agriculture Committee held 

 hearings on HB 1399 and HB 1323. 

 HB 1399 prohibits stockpiling of 

 sludge and requires that it be 

 treated prior to deposit on land. HB 

 1323 requires anyone applying hu- 

 man manure to notify all owners of 

 property abutting the site prior to 

 doing so. This should be accom- 

 plished by publishing a notice at 

 least seven days beforehand in a lo- 

 cal newspaper of general circulation. 



Anyone interested in knowing the 

 results of these hearings should con- 

 tact his/her local representative. Bill 

 Stockman (603-569-5056) would also 

 be able to give you information. 



Meetings, Seminars, 

 Shows 



In celebration of its centennial, the 

 Thompson School of Applied Sci- 

 ence, UNH, Durham, is offering a six- 

 part lecture series, with each of the 

 six curriculums sponsoring one lec- 

 ture. On March 25, the Forest Tech- 

 nology curriculum is sponsoring a 

 lecture by Dr. Alex Shigo, the well- 

 known tree expert. His talk is tenta- 

 tively titled "Some Good News for 

 the World of Trees." For details, con- 

 tact lohn Bozak at 603-862-1099. 



On April 17, the Horticulture Cur- 

 riculum is sponsoring a lecture by 

 Mark Zelonis, Executive Director of 

 Heritage Trust of Rhode Island, a 

 statewide historic preservation orga- 

 nization which oversees Blithewold 

 Mansion & Garden in Bristol, Ri. His 

 talk is entitled, "Country Villas and 

 Seaside Resorts: A Glorious Century 

 of New England's Public Gardens." 

 More than two dozen former estate 

 gardens will be featured. Gardens to 

 be discussed (and seen — the talk 

 utilizes the speakers's personal slide 

 collection) include Blithewold, Fuller 



Gardens, Naumkeag, and Chester- 

 wood. All this begins at 7 PM in Room 

 219 of Cole Hall. For more informa- 

 tion, contact Chris Robarge at 603- 

 862-1074. 



Two plant-related shows in New 

 Hampshire are worth noting. The Uni- 

 versity of New Hampshire Green- 

 house Open House will be held on 

 March 29-30 in conjunction with the 

 Little Royal Horse Show on the 30th. 

 Cosponsored by the UNH Plant Biol- 

 ogy Department and the Thompson 

 School Horticulture curriculum, it will 

 be held in and around the greenhouse 

 complex on Mast Road Extension. 



On April 26-28, the New Hamp- 

 shire Orchid Society will be present- 

 ing its show at the Nashua Armory on 

 Daniel Webster Highway. 



Both shows feature a mix of exhib- 

 its, lectures, and sales. In both, there 

 will be plenty of people knowledge- 

 able in their fields to share ideas 

 and answer questions. For informa- 

 tion about the Greenhouse Open 

 House, contact Bill Lord at 603-862- 

 3203; for the Orchid Society show, 

 Joanna Eckstrom at 603-654-5070. 



W 

 (One additional piece of orchid-re- 

 lated news: as of March first, a new 

 judging center will open at Tower 

 Hill Botanical Garden in Boylston, 

 Massachusetts. The opening of this 

 supplemental judging center means 

 that orchid enthusiasts in the Mari- 

 time Provinces and New England as 

 far south as northern Connecticut 

 who want their plants professionally 

 judged and critiqued will no longer 

 have to travel to New York judging 



Overall, the poinsettia crop this year seemed on the short side. New 

 earlier varieties tend to be shorter and cycocel applications will shorten 

 the plant even more. 



However, in the last few years, there has been an industry trend to fertil- 

 ize less, causing shorter and — at times — off-color plants. This trend is not re- 

 stricted to poinsettias, but is seen in plant production in general. Plant size 

 and vigor can relate directly to nutrition 



Unless you're growing in a heavily charged mix, most plants will respond 

 to a light application of fertilizer at the time of transplanting. New Guineas 

 transplants require less — and poinsettias, more. 



Cool cloudy months can make a liquid feed program difficult because of 

 the slow drying of the soil. Controlled-release fertilizers can help whether 

 you're watering or not. 



Except for New Guineas, a 200ppm weekly application of fertilizer is a 

 good rule of thumb. The beauty of this rule is that, if at any time, you feel 

 growth is too vigorous or soluble salts too high, all you have to do is leach 

 with clear water. In essence, you begin at zero again. Since we all grow with 

 soilless mixes these days, leaching is very easy. I'm not condoning the days 

 of pulse feeding where we fed at lOOOppm and the ground ran blue with run- 

 off, but a little more fertilizer — whether it be CRF or liquid feed or both — can 

 solve size and color problems. 



Jim Zabhcki, Territory Manager, Scoffs Company, Norf/ieasf, can be reached at 

 603-224-5583. 



FEBRUARY ♦ MARCH 1996 



