Long Island Horticultural Society
February News & Notes
President's Message...
Hi Fellow Gardeners,
Well, this has been quite a winter - and it’s not over yet! How are you all managing with the bitter cold and the snow? Right now I am looking out my window at the huge piles of snow along the street, beautifully coated with black exhaust sludge from the passing cars. Truly a “Winter Wonderland From the Dark Side”!
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Personally, I have been managing by going out as little as possible, wearing lots of fleece, and curling up on the couch with Riva, a good book, and an indulgent hot chocolate. I’ve been bingeing on Agatha Christie, but now I will look for some of the books recommended by our speaker Marta McDowell in her “Gardening Can be Murder” talk.
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When I need a pick-me-up, I look at our LIHS Calendar with all those beautiful reminders of our past and future growing seasons!
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I’m about to place my seed order for my Rudbeckia Indian Summer and a few varieties of viola (for pressing), and after our Tutorial on "Seed Starting for the Monarch Butterfly Garden" I’ll begin working on that project. This is my favorite indoor activity for getting through the winter and believing that spring really will come!
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Another bit of hopeful news: I have been storing my dahlia tubers on my unheated, enclosed porch, which has reached much lower temps than is usual. The tubers are inside peat moss, inside plastic bags (with a slight opening), inside a carton - and so far so good! They are firm and just barely moist. Since this is my first time growing dahlias, and I was gifted with some excellent tubers in the fall, I am especially concerned about doing this right and following advice to the letter.
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Another fun activity which I am contemplating is coming up with an entry for the newest category of our Horticultural Competition, which encourages a creative combination of plant and other materials, perhaps as a table setting. Hmmm. Still thinking! Hope you are too.
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It was so disappointing to have to cancel our January meeting, just when we were all anxious to get together and resume our wonderful mix of fun socializing and serious learning. Fortunately our speaker, Anthony Marinello, was able to re-schedule for our February meeting. Anthony is a terrific speaker and a friend to LIHS, and his talk is especially timely as we consider which perennials are best suited to our own gardens and our new Monarch Garden.
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Stay warm, keep dreaming of spring, and I’ll see you on February 22.
-Ronnie Branczio
4 Steps to a Productive Garden
Start with the Soil
Your plants are only as strong as the foundation they grow in. Test your soil’s pH and nutrient levels, then amend with compost, organic matter, or slow-release fertilizers as needed.
This applies to containers too, remove 1/3 of the soil used last year and top with new fresh potting mix. Add compost or leaf mold if available or boost soil with organic fertilizers and microryza fungi.
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February 22 Meeting
Speaker: Anthony Marinello
Topic: Benefits of Native Plants for a Healthy Environment
For more information please visit the Meetings page
Doors open at 12:30pm
Place Horticultural Competition entries by 1pm.
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1pm Tutorial by Patty Jarrett Topic: Seed Starting for the Monarch Butterfly Garden
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​1:30 - 2pm LIHS Business, Announcements​
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​​Speaker starts at 2pm​​
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Please consider donating
refreshments to the hospitality table.
Day Trips for 2026
We'll be doing one field trip per month Feb.- Oct. 2026. Please check out the Trips Page for all the information we have to date. For more information please see Courtney Quinn at the next meeting.
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2026 New Introductions:
Shrubs
New shrubs for 2026 feature a focus on improved disease resistance, compact sizes for smaller gardens, and striking, multi-season color. Click here to continue reading
HOT NEW HOUSEPLANTS
To get excited about
How to Grow and Care for
Ficus Audrey
Move over fiddle leaf fig, there’s a new trendy ficus in town
A close relative of the fiddle leaf fig, Ficus Audrey is easier to grow and care for indoors and has a similar growth habit and appearance. However, it can be distinguished from the fiddle leaf by its smaller, slightly fuzzy oblong leaves and smooth, white-colored trunk. Continue reading here
From the editor....
As it is snowing again, I turn to thoughts of spring. I've received my seeds and my new growing system. I bought root trainers and peat free soil mix to start my usual annual seeds: orange cosmos, jasmine nicotiana and Zahara zinnias. I'm trying some new annuals this year: Estella purple salvia, raspberry sorbet zinnia, and Perfume Delight sweet peas; these are supposed to be a heat tolerant sweet pea. I'm hoping I get to enjoy them for more than one weekend. I also purchased a tea garden mix from Hudson Valley Seeds; all plants that can be used for tea making. In May I will be starting my usual mini veggies: Micro Tom tomato, Spicy Globe basil as well as some new mini veg: Baby Butterhead and Little Crunch snap peas(March Sowing), bush slicer cucumber and Little Prince eggplant.
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This newsletter is jam packed of exciting articles, to read to help everyone dream of spring. New introductions for 2026 of perennials and shrubs. See last month's newsletter for the 2026 new annuals and edibles.
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Please read the new horticultural competition manual so you are ready to design fabulous arrangements with plants and flowers that you have purchasd and well as arrangments classes for mixed media; where anything goes, plants, flowers, fruits & veg oh my, let your creativity fly!
Check out the article on how to force winter branches to speed up the arrival of spring at least in your home. Cut some forsythia branches, put them in water and let those cheerful, yellow flowers brighten up your home. The series of hot new houseplants continues with a very unusual white trunk fig. An article on how to get your garden more productive this year. Check out the slideshow of the bonsai collections at Longwood Gardens and a tour of NY Botanical Gardens.
-Ann Wetzel
Check out the Garden Calendar page this month to learn about forcing grape hyacinth
2026 New Introductions
Perennials
These new varieties focus on improved heat tolerance, drought resistance, and extended bloom times, suitable for various garden zones. Including the 2026 Perennial plants of the year Dark side of the Moon Astilbe (pictured) Continue reading here
How to Force Branches for some winter color
Cut some branches for forcing indoors. Forcing spring bloomers is an easy task. The hardest part is probably getting outside in the cold weather. Continue reading here
Welcome New Members
Patricia Getter
Lorraine Jaworski
The New Horticultural Competition Manual
The Horticultural Competition committee has done a re-write of the Horticultural competition manual. Our intention is to make it more inclusive to everyone to express their creativity even if they do not have a garden to harvest plants and flowers from. We have expanded the Floral Design Division and simplified the Plant Cultivation Division.
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We have new a floral design category that entrants can use store bought flowers and plants or borrowed/foraged plants and materials to create a wonderful design. Store purchased material is limited to just this floral design category. The new category is Class 2 Arrangements of Purchased/Borrowed Materials, located in the new Floral Division section. All the other categories in the competition remain as cultivated by the entrant for 6 months.
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We also added a mixed media category for everyone to let their creativity soar : Class 4 Mixed Media Arrangements: Can contain flowers, foliage, fruits and other materials. All of these plant materials must have been grown by the entrant. We also created the "Tablescapes" class for people that would like to present arrangements for a dinner table. Must contain at least 2 pieces from place setting; such as but not limited to dishes, glassware, tea cups ectera.
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We also aimed to simply the categories for plant cultivation entries. Classes are now broken down by type of plant: Trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, houseplants, orchids, cactus and fruits & vegetables.
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The botanical arts category remains mostly unchanged except for clarification that no plant material can be entered. All plant materials belong in one of the Horticultural Divisions. In the Painting category the media used must now be listed, such as but not limited to watercolor, pastel, acrylic ectera.
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The new manual will go into effect January 2026. Please read the new competition manual here. Please download print out the new entry slips here
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Thank you to all of the volunteers who worked on the new Horticultural Competition manual: Ronnie Brancazio , Katherine Readinger, Margaret Duryea, Ava Grego, Barbara Hanft, Maureen Wawrzonek, Ann Wetzel
2026 Scholarship
Every year the Long Island Horticultural Society, offers the Long Island Horticultural Society Scholarship for Horticultural Studies to honor the commitment of our organization to furthering horticultural education for Long Island students.
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The Society will offer a $3,000 award in 2026.
If you know of a Long Island student that would benefit from this award please encourage them to apply. Please visit the Scholarship application page for more information.
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For the 2026 Scholarship award, applications will be accepted between November 1, 2025 to March 1st, 2026.
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Cook's Corner
This month's recipe comes from Rosemarie Papayanopulos Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Breathe Easy with Houseplants
With us all spending a lot of time indoor due to this true NY winter our houseplants can help us Breathe Easy.
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Plants have this amazing ability to absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen through photosynthesis, making them natural air purifiers. By having them in our living spaces, we can enhance the air quality and create a healthier environment for ourselves, our families, and our pets. All plants produce oxygen but some are truly over-achievers and can really enhance your living environment. Continue reading here
Membership Form
Dues for membership are:
Single $35, Household: $45, Student $5
Please fill out the Membership Form here on the website, when renewing or joining. Just type your information into the form and print it out. Bring it with your dues to a meeting or mail it to the address on the bottom of the form.
Bonsai Display at Longwood Gardens 2024 © Ann Wetzel
