Beautiful spring roses start in the cold of winter

Now is the best time to prune roses, and tips will be offered at a free rose pruning seminar from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Saturday. The event is sponsored by the Woodland Library Rose Club and takes place in the Leake Room at the Woodland Public Library, 250 First St. Demonstrations in the adjacent garden will follow.

Local experts will demonstrate the key pruning techniques that produce stronger plants and healthier blooms, what pruning cuts to avoid, how to prune different rose varieties and how to properly sharpen gardening tools.

Free to attendees will be handouts on rose pruning, winter care and a rose gardener’s calendar.

The outdoor pruning demonstration will focus on a variety of rose types in the library’s garden and how pruning those roses vary.

Attendees are asked to bring their tools to the event so they may receive tips from Rose Club members on how to sharpen and keep the tools in good working condition. A representative from Hida Tool Co. will show and sell handcrafted Japanese garden tools.

Rose experts and Master Gardeners will be available to answer questions.

For more information, call Maryellen at 530-666-5096 or find the Woodland Library Rose Club on Facebook.

The club was founded in 1989 by a group of rose enthusiasts with a mission to help all rose lovers learn about growing roses. An American Rose Society affiliate, the club consists of rosarians, Master Gardeners and neighborhood gardening enthusiasts who care for and preserve more than 600 varieties of roses on the grounds of the Woodland Public Library.

The club presents regular public seminars on rose care and gardening topics, as well as an annual Valentine’s Tea, a Woodland home garden tour and other educational and fundraising events.

For more information, visit http://bit.ly/woodlandlibraryroseclub.