President Nancy and Vice President Marlow were unable to attend the meeting because of the passing of Marlow's mother so Mary Anne Kurtz ran the meeting.
What's blooming in your garden? Members have winter aconite, hellebores, and snowdrops.
The church rental fee has been paid in full for 2024.
At the January meeting we discussed the idea of the club purchasing a microphone to be used by our speakers. Club members are in favor of the idea, but more research had to be done about what type we should purchase. The microphone which Diane researched was found to be too expensive at $1700. The microphone that Diana uses at Soergels is more budget friendly and sells on Amazon between $20 and $50. Before the club purchases the microphone, Diana will borrow one from Soergels to try out at our next meeting.
Please note that there are a couple of corrections to the directory. On page 5, Martin Karl’s first and last name are transposed. Also, Jane MacCredie’s cell phone number should be corrected to 724-816-3601. Please change the number in the address listing and in the phone chain.
Due to voter registration taking place at Northmont Church on April 23rd we won't have access to Fellowship Hall or the cupboard where we store our hostess supplies. Our meeting will be held in the sanctuary and we'll have snacks in the library.
Plant Sale Coordinator, Mary Anne reminded club members to think about what plants in our gardens need to be divided so that they can be potted and brought to our Perennial Plant Sale on May 18, 2024. Also, we will need more plant tags for next year. Please be on the lookout for old plastic mini blinds that are being discarded. No need to wash them. Give them to Mary Anne.
Claudia gave an overview of what the committee for the 75th anniversary of LAGC is working on for the celebration. Here are the ideas that are being developed:
- Tree purchase and planting - the club will collaborate with the North Park Rangers, Allegheny County Parks Foundation and Tree Pittsburgh to plant 75 trees near the Pie Traynor Loop in McCandless
- A potted annual plant will be given to the first 75 customers at our 2025 plant sale
- A new garden plaque will be purchased for the Chapel Garden at Passavant Hospital
- Celebration party on Tuesday, September 24, 2025. Tentatively the get together would take place at the McCandless Heritage Center where our club history archives are stored. Alternatively, the event will be held at Northmont Church
- Crocus bulbs will be purchased as party favors
- LAGC member photo with banner
- Acknowledgement of members with 25 or more years of membership
- Recreating the History of LAGC video
Thank you to Claudia and the committee for presenting these great ideas. We can't wait to see how things develop into a fantastic celebration!
Mary Jo who presented the 75 tree planting..Club members enjoyed delicious green shamrock cookies, clementines and snack mix brought by Stephanie. Terry’s pots of hellebores and air plants artistically arranged on pieces of driftwood completed the lovely tablescape.
Stephanie
Terry
Program: Trimming Fruit Trees
This month’s speaker, Adam Voll, farm manager at Soergel's Orchard, came prepared with apples for the audience and a large branch from an apple tree to demonstrate pruning skills. Adam has a degree from Penn State University in Agricultural Systems Management with a minor in Horticulture.
| Adam Voll and Mary Ann |
Our speaker explained that pruning is an essential task at the farm every year. The time to prune apple trees is when the trees are dormant which is in late winter or early Spring or after the harshest weather has passed. |
As a commercial grower, Soergel's Orchards prune their apple trees so that they can make the apples appealing to their customers in color, size and blemish free skin. The benefits of pruning are increased sunlight to the lower and interior branches, improved air circulation to lessen excess moisture which can cause disease, and removal of dead branches which can harbor pests is done. Keeping the tree at a manageable height for fruit picking is also a consideration. Opening the canopy encourages larger, healthier fruit.
Adam talked about the steps to properly prune an apple tree. First, assess the tree’s size and shape. Second, remove any dead, damaged or diseased branches. Third, remove any branches that are too long, growing too close to one another or suckers growing from the base of the tree. Fourth, give the tree a trim to shape it and encourage branches to grow shorter and thicker to be strong enough to hold the apples.
Pruning promotes growth so you have to make planned cuts at a bud or branch with pruners or loppers. It's important to remove no more than a third of the tree.
Our speaker recited an old saying that says if you can throw a football through a tree and don't hit anything then you did a good job pruning.
Although our speaker provided his expertise in pruning apple trees many of the same principles can be applied to pruning other fruit trees. It's always important to remove any diseased branches and to open up the tree for good air circulation and don't take off more than a third of the tree.
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