
DATE: Sunday, September 28, 1997            TAG: 9709270086

SECTION: HOME                    PAGE: G1   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: REMINDERS

SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER

                                            LENGTH:  150 lines

FALL TV PROGRAMS PREMIERE

HGTV, CHANNEL 27 in much of this area, has some interesting new garden programs scheduled. Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. there will be a live telecast when viewers can ask questions about how to get their home ready for winter.

Premiering Monday, Oct. 6, at 10 p.m. is ``A Gardner's Guide,'' featuring topics with a different gardener each week.

``Surprise Gardener'' premieres Tuesday, Oct. 7, at 8:30 p.m. and includes a team of landscaping and gardening professionals. On Sunday , Oct. 12, ``Great Gardeners'' will premiere with weekly profiles of people who have made significant contributions to the world of horticulture. Jim Wilson and Peter Seabrook, both known for their work on ``The Victory Garden,'' will host the series.

Bird lovers also have something to look forward to this season when Animal Planet launches ``All Bird TV,'' a 13-part series devoted to birding. It premiers at 12:30 and 4:30 p.m. Monday and also will air on Saturdays at 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.

The program is produced by the Animal Planet network, the National Audubon Society and the Nature Conservancy with professor and bird expert Ken Dial as host for a series of birding adventures. ALL ABOUT ORCHIDS

It's not too late to enroll in a class on how to grow orchids, taught by members of the Tidewater Orchid Society and beginning Oct. 7. The class meets at 7 p.m. at the Virginia Beach Central Library. It's free to members but $35 to others. It's smart to join the Society ($12 per individual per year) and attend free. To enroll, call 428-8949. IN KEEPING WITH TRADITION

If you have interest in historic gardens and homes, you'd probably enjoy ``Traditional Gardening,'' a newsletter that's celebrating its first year of publication. A one-year subscription is $15, mailed to the publication at The Barn at 189 Cordaville Road, Southborough, MA. 01772. RECYCLE PLASTICS

If you're interested in a mail-order source for a recycled plastic raised-bed kit, call the Recycled Plastics Marketing organization at (800) 529-9110 for a free catalog. A benefit of plastic is that its insect- and rot-resistant and comes with a 25 year warranty. SELECT THE RIGHT SOIL

Potting soil manufacturer A.H. Hoffman is attempting to make it easier for gardeners to pick the right soil by renaming its three mixes as Light, Medium and Heavy.

Light, (formerly known as Fertilmix) is designed for starting seeds and repotting African violets. Medium (formerly Professional Mix) is recommended for repotting medium-sized plants and for window boxes and hanging baskets. Heavy (formerly Original formula) helps plants mature and grow larger, and is recommended for tropical plants, cactus and large outdoor containers.

Hoffman products, on the market for more than 60 years and known for quality, are available in garden centers. For information, call (800) 725-9500. or write to 77 Cooper Ave., Landisville, Pa. 17538. HOW MUCH WATER

Frequently gardeners who attempt to grow orchids ask how often the plants need watering. The simple answer: allow the plants to approach dryness, gauged by pot weight or by the pencil trick (the wooden point of a sharpened lead pencil, when inserted into the potting medium, will darken with moisture if the plant has enough water).

Apply enough water so that it drains freely through the container. Never allow any potted plant to sit in its own water. Flowering plants may require more frequent waterings to make up for the greater burden of the flowers. Plants will require less water when not in active growth (generally winter) and more while growing (generally spring and summer).

Plants with pseudobulbs (as dendrobiums and cattleyas) generally benefit from drying out more between waterings than will those without, such as phalaenopsis. This advice comes from the American Orchid Society.

For further information, attend a meeting of the Tidewater Orchid Society, which meets the first Sunday each month at 2 p.m. in the Norfolk Botanical Garden auditorium. LANDSCAPE FOR LESS WORK

With both adults in many households working today, less maintenance is important to your landscape as well as to a peaceful life. The more elaborate or complex your landscaping, the more maintenance required. Thomas J. Koske of Louisiana State University recommends you: reduce the amount of lawn area; use ground covers and mulches such as pine straw or bark mulch; and minimize flower beds.

When selecting plants, keep in mind which plants require the least amount of pruning, watering, pest control and fertilization. Using native plants will usually reduce maintenance. Other items to consider for less maintenance include paving heavily traveled areas with bricks, mulch or rocks, using walls or fences instead of formally pruned hedges and installing an irrigation system. ROOT PRUNE WISTERIA

If your wisteria has failed to bloom, it's time to root prune. This encourages flowering next spring. Cut through the roots with a spade in a circle 30 to 40 inches from the main trunk. Louisiana State University officials say that for unknown reasons, some wisteria will never bloom. STORE PESTICIDES PROPERLY

Pesticides left over? Liquids need to be stored where they won't freeze or get too hot. Dry materials need to be kept dry. A locked storage area is essential to keep pesticides away from children, pets, wildlife and irresponsible adults. Pesticides should be stored only in their original containers. If labels aren't readable, turn the pesticide in to your local household hazardous waste disposal program. PLANT PERENNIALS NOW

This is an excellent time to plant perennials, and many are on sale now. For some ``lazy plants'' - those that take care of themselves - you can't beat daylilies, Siberian iris, peonies (sometimes hard to grow in the South so buy those that bloom early), hostas for shade, veronica, liatris and coneflowers. SUPER-TALL SUNFLOWERS

Want to grow sunflowers that grow 8 to 20 feet tall and produce the biggest sunflowers you have ever seen? The Sunflower Farm is offering a free packet of 10 to 12 seeds plus growing hints and ideas if you send a long, self-addressed envelope with two stamps to Sunflower Farm, P.O. Box 629, Burgin, KY. 40310. Additional packets of seed cost $1 each. PLANTING ROSES IN FALL

Now defunct, Houston Home & Garden was an excellent magazine in its prime. For fall planting of roses, their editors recommended placing roses in a raised bed filled with equal amounts of pine bark mulch, builder's sand, compost and barnyard manure, plus 25 pounds gypsum, 10 pounds superphosphate and 5 pounds of rose food. This soil mix should give you glorious roses next season. Garden centers sell roses cheaply this time of year to clear their inventory. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

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Pick out some pansies when the Virginia Beach Garden Club holds its

Fall Flower Festival and pansy sale, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday at

the Virginia Beach Pavilion. Entry is free. Vendors will offer

everything from orchids to edibles. Lectures include: Freckled Fox &

Co. at 11 a.m.; floral designer Sandra Baylor, 12:30 p.m.; and

Jeannette Wheeler on dried arrangements, 2 p.m. I'll answer

questions from 10 to 11 a.m. Call 428-3546.

Photos

A.H. HOFFMAN

Hoffman soil mixes have new names to make it easier for gardeners to