Long Island Horticultural Society
NOvember News & Notes
President's Message...
Hi Fellow Gardeners,
The clocks just went back, the temperature is 48 degrees, and I have finally accepted the reality that FALL IS HERE!
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I know it’s a beautiful time of year, but I always hate to say goodbye to the garden. Especially when I am, as usual, way behind in my fall gardening chores!
The window boxes, patio pots and hanging planters are filled with dried-out annuals that should be in the compost, and my spring bulbs are waiting to be planted.
I did manage to get several small shrubs planted in my border, and I hope I will be rewarded with a display of low-maintenance, colorful mini-shrubs next summer.
My new native pollinator garden did fairly well for its first year, and it’s nice to know that I am being a good gardener by NOT cutting down or clearing out the area, but leaving it for overwintering guests! So, looking at the “glass half full”, what do we have to look forward to in the coming months? At LI Hort, great things are coming, including the following:
Our November Speaker will be Marta McDowell, a noted writer and lecturer who combines her love of gardening and her fascination with the lives of famous gardeners and garden writers to create wonderful, entertaining, beautifully illustrated books for which she’s won major awards. These include “Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life”, “Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life”, “All the Presidents’ Gardens”, and the subject of her talk for us, “Gardening Can be Murder”! Huh? You will have to come to find out what she means! At the meeting, there will be an Exhibition Table display related to her books and her presentation.
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Our December meeting will be “All-Fun-All-The-Time” with our December Holiday Party! There will be Decorations, Games, our Elfin Chorus, Delicious Treats, and especially our Holiday Auction!
We are still in the early planning stages, so stay tuned for more news about the event.
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In December we will be having a MEET UP, hosted by Toni Cabot, to enjoy the magnificent Planting Field Arboretum Holiday Display, and there will be many more local Day Trips in the coming year.
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LI Hort Planting Committee will be hard at work through the seasons; planning and developing our Monarch Butterfly Garden and our Arbor Day Tree/Shrub planting.
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For me, and I believe for many of you, the best thing about winter may be settling in with a good book - or pile of garden catalogs - and trading the outdoor lounge chair for a cozy sofa, pillow, and throw cover!
That’s another reason why Marta’s presentation will be so timely. I’ve read three of her books, and will look for the others.
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I’m looking forward to seeing you at our upcoming meetings, and sharing the beauty of the seasons with you!
Happy Gardening,
Ronnie Branczio
Breathe Easy w/ Houseplants
Now that the weather is turning cooler we turn our attention to indoor plants which can help us Breathe Easy.....
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.
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HOT NEW HOUSEPLANTS
To get excited about
Alocasia Jacklyn is a recently discovered plant in the aroid family, recognized for its vivid green leaves adorned with fine dark lines and uniquely shaped like a stag's head. Native to Indonesia, it has stirred some debate regarding its botanical name and origin, being considered a possible mutation of Alocasia portei. Known for its striking appearance, this plant captivates collectors and is relatively easy to care for with the right conditions.
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Light: Bright indirect light.
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Soil: Pot in chunky, well-drained soil that holds moisture
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Water: Only water when the top few inches of soil have dried out to avoid root rot.
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Humidity level of 60% or more. More humidity leads to bigger leaves with better color.
This is a multi-part series. Check back next month for another must have houseplant!
November 16 Meeting
Speaker: Marta McDowell
Topic: Gardening Can Be Murder
For more information please visit the Meetings page
Doors open at 12:30pm
Place Horticultural Competition entries by 1pm.
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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.
2026 LIHS Board of Directors
Slate of Officers
President: Ronnie Brancazio
1st Vice-President: Ann Wetzel
2nd Vice-President: Kathy Readinger
Treasurer: Maria Hoffman
Recording Secretary: Margaret Duryea
Corresponding Secretary: Connie Knies
Membership Secretary: Pat Martin
Directors Term 2023-2026:
Patty Jarrett, Frank Lomuscio, Wendy Lomuscio
Directors: term 2025 -2028:
Carlos Taborda, Andrea Gibson, Marty Nyear
Directors Term 2024 - 2027:
Barbara Hanft, JoAnn Semeraro, Jenny Holmes
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Thank you everyone that volunteered to be on the board!
Slate will be voted on at our November meeting.
October
Horticultural Competition
Phalaenopsis orchid, ornamental grasses, Candy Corn and Potpourri
Click on gallery to view slideshow
Horticultural
Marty Nyear 1st Place P43B Philodendron 'MoonLight'
Andrea Gibson H21 1st Place Echeveria sp.
Maureen Wawrzonek 1st Place C9A Dahlia 'Kelsey'
Andrea Gibson 1st place C9B Arrangement: Dahlia, licorice, celosia, marigold, yarrow, goldenrod
Botanical Arts
David Papayanopulos 1st Place Q44 Photograph Rubeckia
Ann Wetzel 1st place Q46 Ceramic Artichoke Luminary
Mary Wagner 1st Place Q45 Watercolor Bee
Holiday Meet-Up
ON Sunday Dec 7th, there will be a Meet-UP at the Main Greenhouse, at Planting Fields, to view the holiday display and other greenhouse exhibits. This is not a formal tour but opportunity to meet up with our trip Coordinators,
Courtney, Toni and Ronnie and enjoy the indoor live holiday display. Registration is limited to 25, no charge,
there are only a few open slots. Come to our Nov LIHORT meeting to sign up and get more information.
The Language of Flowers
The language of flowers has been recognized for centuries in many countries throughout Europe and Asia. They even play a large role in William Shakespeare’s works. Mythologies, folklore, sonnets, and plays of the ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and Chinese are peppered with flower and plant symbolism—and for good reason.
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Learning the special symbolism of flowers became a popular pastime during the 1800s. Nearly all Victorian homes had, alongside the Bible, guidebooks for deciphering the “language,” although definitions shifted depending on the source ... continue reading here
From the editor....
This August I traveled to Buffalo to see family but like one of our past speakers mentioned I typically check the area for garden related activities that I can visit while traveling. I found the Buffalo Botanical garden.
The Buffalo botanical garden is on the small side; they have 1 conservatory, 3 sections. The dome is quite impressive and there are full grown tropical trees growing inside. I did see they are looking to expand and grow "beyond the glass".
I have to say we are very spoiled on Long Island we have some of the best gardens to visit here; so the Buffalo Botanical garden didn't have much that I hadn't seen before; except for the creatures that roam the grounds - they have weasels in Buffalo! I tried to get a photo but they move quite quickly.
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The Buff BG has a towering waterfall that flows into a Koi pond inside the Conservatory. Visitors can stand on the little bridge and watch the koi in the swimming in the pond. It is a very tranquil space.
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The Bonsai collection was of particular interest; I hadn't seen most of the plants they had being trained as bonsai before. It was a collection of tropicals such as Lantana, Bougnvilla and a dwarf pomaegranate. They had a beautiful weeping fig forest that has been in training since 1938!
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Indoors they had a art display of a local art league, beautiful paintings and a great resource for local artists to get exposure to a wider audience. All in all the experience at Buffalo Botanical gardens was an enjoyable one. I got to see a few plants I hadn't see before Mexican flame vine (Senecio confusus) , Picotee Sky Flower (Duranta erecta) and a Mast tree (Polyalthia longifolia) that was used to build ship masts. It was an enjoyable day, save the heat and humidity, but we gardeners are tough cookies!
-Ann Wetzel
Check out the Garden Calendar page this month to learn about winter veggies.
Day Trip to Sisters of St Joseph, Environmental and Sustainability Center
by Toni Cabat
Trip to Sisters of St Joseph, Environmental and Sustainability Center, was another successful day trip offered to LIHORT members on Oct 15. In 1896 the Sisters established a center in Brentwood ; first building a school and over the years added many structures to the vast land they bought.
By 2015 they formally established and Land Ethic Statement and took off from there to develop a vast wonderland, in partnership with many organizations and local organic farmers. They developed Sustainable Landscape, Renewable Energy- Solar panel farm- Preserving Woodlands, Stormwater Management, an incredible alternative waste management system, Maintain a Garden Ministry and lease an agricultural easement on 28 acres to organic for-profit and non-for-profit farmers. The Long Island Native Plant Initiative is also on the grounds. The Garden Ministry provides Brentwood with children and women's educational programs, free community gardens and a Free table of fresh produce and food items, as well as retreats and recreation for the community. The tour of this vast undertaking was led by Heather Coste, Director of Ecological Sustainability and her assistant Christine. Our members learned so much and those who could not walk the tour were offered a golf cart ride. To read more about this center or to walk the property, go to https://brentwoodcsj.org.
photos © Stuart Germain
We are looking for 2 volunteers to help out as greeters, please see Carlos Taborda at the next meeting if you are interested in helping out.
Food Donation
Please bring non-perishable food to our November meeting. We are collecting for the Food Bank in Huntington.
Ronnie's Recap
At our October Meeting we were fortunate to have a “Double Feature” (remember those?), including a Member Tutorial and a Speaker Presentation, both of which were interesting, educational, and very enjoyable!
TUTORIAL
At the start of the meeting LIHS Vice President Kathy Readinger spoke to us about the MASTER GARDENER programs of Suffolk and Nassau Counties.
In her very well-organized, complete and engaging presentation, Kathy explained what Master Gardener programs are, what they are not, what MGs do, how the programs are structured, and how one can go about becoming a Master Gardener.
Thank you, Kathy for addressing this topic, which many members have been inquiring about!
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SPEAKER PRESENTATION
We were then educated on the topic of “FIGuring it Out on Long Island” by Doreen Monteleone, which also addressed a topic of interest to many of our members, including this writer!
Doreen is an award-winning author of many articles and book entries on environmental issues, is a past President of the Bayard Cutting Arboretum Horticultural Society, and was honored in 2021 as a CCE Master Gardener Volunteer of the Year. Her main areas of expertise are sustainable gardening, culinary herbs - and FIGS!
She began by talking about the history of figs, which are such an ancient crop that it was probably a fig and not an apple with which Eve tempted Adam - she speculated!
We then learned about the many varieties of figs, their origins, cultivation needs, suitability for different environments, appearance, taste, etc.
Next she provided a great deal of information about how to select, grow, and care for figs here on Long Island, answering many of the specific questions from her audience. We learned about growing figs in the ground or in pots, how to winter them over, and why the old-timers who wrapped their fig trees and placed an inverted pail on the top were doing exactly the right thing!
Doreen had brought along a number of potted baby fig trees - and one larger specimen - and she generously donated them for our Raffle Table. This led to an immediate rush to buy more Raffle tickets, and was thus a great benefit to our organization!
In her presentation, Doreen not only educated us, but generated a great deal of enthusiasm for fig growing, thanks to her own passion for the subject, and her lively, entertaining style of presentation.
We will look forward to hearing from Doreen in the future about her other areas of interest!
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BOOK SUGGESTION
On the subject of figs (sort of), I highly recommend a book entitled “The Island of Missing Trees” by Elif Shafak. This award-winning novel takes place on the island of Cyprus and one main character is a pensive FIG TREE!
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 Ronnie Brancazio,
Stuffed Pork Loin With Figs
Thank you to Courtney Quinn for the Hospitality Table Centerpiece.
Donations to the Hospitality Table: Toni & Stuart Germain, Sharon Rubin, Laura Weill, Marge Duryea, Suzan & Dale Goldstein, Priscilla Baurschmidt, Courtney Quinn, Maureen Wawrzonek, Patty Jarrett, JoAnn Semeraro, Judith Dunn, Fran Andino
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Donations to the Raffle Table: Dave Papayanopulos, Katherine Readinger, Suzan & Dale Goldstein, Marge Duryea, Kathy MacLeod, Levente Hajdu, Courtney Quinn, Joan Insogna, Marie Failey, Laura Weill, JoAnn Semeraro, Joan McGillicuddy, Toni & Stuart Germain, Patty Jarrett, Judith Dunn
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A Special Thank you to Steve Siegelwaks of Green Earth Natural Foods for donations to our September & October Raffle table. Thank you to Cynthia & Donn Hopping for bringing his donations to our meetings.
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Houseplant Tutorial Lecture & Powerpoint presentation by
Laura Weill 12 minutes
Plant Bulbs Your Spring Bulbs Now
Plant fall bulbs for spring flowers. Tulips, Daffodils, Crocus, Fritillaria and other spring blooming bulbs are planted now. They can be planted up until the ground freezes but why wait until you can't feel your fingers, do it now. Bulbs get planted at a depth equal to 2 1/2 times the length of the bulb. So if your tulips measure 2 inches from top to bottom you need to dig a hole 5 inches deep. Too deep for squirrels to dig up. To protect smaller bulbs from being eaten, like Crocus or Anemone inter-plant with Daffodils or Fritillaria as these smell bad to squirrels and they wont go near them. Check out the articles below all about bulbs:
Now is the time to collect all those seeds from the garden whist dreaming of what next year's garden will look like. Take some time to relax and indulge in some coloring fun. Download these seed packets created by Patty Jarrett just for us. Click on the image to open the file.
How to Store Tender ”Summer” Bulbs Over the Winter
Some flower bulbs will not survive cold winters and need to be dug up and stored indoors over winter. Among these are cannas, elephant ears, gladiolus, tuberous begonias, dahlias, and other summer favorites. Many of these bulbs are expensive, yet they’re easy to keep, so it is worth it. Here’s how to store bulbs over winter.
After one light frost, it is time to remove those tender bulbs from the garden and pack them away for next season! If grown in containers they can be easily overwintered by hauling them inside, cutting back the foliage, letting the pots dry out to simulate the dry season conditions of their native lands, and storing them out of the sun in a cool, dry spot where they will not freeze. Basements are great for this. Continue reading here
Introducing our very own Long Island Horticultural Society Calendar
Featuring Members Garden Photos! Cost of the calendar is $20. Please bring cash or check to the November 16, 2025 Meeting or mail to Maria Hoffman, 951 Jerome St., Baldwin, NY 11510
