Beth Hawkes Beth Hawkes offers some advice on plant health to Wiscasset Garden Club members.

Beth Hawkes of Hawkes Farm and Greenhouse in Bath gave members of the Garden Club of Wiscasset a lively presentation January 3 on caring for outdoor plants that have been brought inside for the winter. She spoke, on a chilly day, at the club's monthly meeting held at the First Congregational Church in Wiscasset.

"It's a very cold day to bring my plants out," Hawkes said as she stood before them with a potted geranium, a philodendron, a rosemary plant, and a gigantic Boston fern which she proceeded to cut up with a knife. It's the best time of year to divide a fern like this, she said, saying that in May the new plants derived from the surgery will be beautiful. For cuttings, it is best to look for the newest, tenderest growth to root, she said.

When plants are brought inside they get a bit of a shock and leaves can become discolored. Among the tips she gave: rotate plants in the house so they don't get one-sided; don't over water, and use an all purpose fertilizer, although not as much as in the summer, and even less for ferns which do not need a lot of fertilizer.

She advised members to re-use for cuttings the small six-pack packages they buy in the spring. Fill them with a good dry-based soil, put a little rooting powder in the soil, and keep the soil fairly dry so the cutting will reach down into the soil to do its work. Use a spray bottle filled with water from time to time on the plant.

She said she uses a granular systemic on top of the soil to prevent the plant from getting white flies, aphids and spider mites.

Hawkes said it was a big transition for the Hawkes family to give up their florist shop in Wiscasset. She urged former Wiscasset patrons to come visit them at their shop in Bath.

Club member Elena Vandervoort of Bath introduced Hawkes, noting that Hawkes cares for the town of Bath's summer flowers and maintains the new gardens, which she designed, at the Sebasco Harbor Resort.

Before the talk, club members did flower design practice, had their business meeting, and enjoyed a delicious lunch catered by Joanna Bardo, Charlotte Henry, Sally Howe and Sandy Sarmanian.

Anyone interested in becoming a member of the club should call Jackie Weare at 633-5905. The club's goals include community involvement and the promotion of education so members become caretakers of the air, water, forests, land and wildlife.