Plant Swap with Master Gardener Extension Volunteers

Paulding County Master Gardener Extension Volunteers Invite you to a Plant Swap on Thursday, September 26, 2013 at 10:00 AM at Dallas First Baptist Church, Fellowship Hall,401 Main Street, Dallas.  

Gardeners are often reluctant to dig up and banish to the compost pile their extra plants.  Plant swaps are a fun way to share this abundance with fellow gardeners.  Master Gardener Extension Volunteers invite you to join us for this free, fun way to share some of your favorite plants with others and receive a few new ones for your garden!  Fall is a great time of year for cleaning up around the yard and also a great time for planting.  The Master Gardener plant swap will give participants the opportunity to share their plants with others and to receive new plants for their landscape at no charge.

Please bring only healthy plants that you would want to take home.  Exceptions can be made if the plant’s condition is made known and accepted by someone willing to give it TLC.  Pass along any specific care information that would help with successful growth.  This includes how recently the plant was potted up, especially if the plant would benefit from more container time to grow roots.

Label plants with botanic (if known) and common name, color, size, shade or sun, moist or dry, annual or perennials.   Labels can be made using Popsicle sticks, snipped pieces of plastic margarine tubs and old mini-blinds are good sources of plant tags.  Whatever you use, make sure the information is legible.  Printed information sheets about the plant can also be given with the plant.  Pass along any specific care information that would help with successful growth.  Bring well-rooted cuttings of houseplants. Seed gathered from your garden, perennials and annuals, bulbs, corms, rhizomes, potted shrubs and trees.

SEEDS – Clean seeds of husk and other debris and place in a plastic bag or any container that will hold a few seeds and label.BULBS, CORMS,

RHIZOMES, ETC. – Dry and clean off most of the garden soil – place in paper or plastic bags and label.

PLANTS, Shrubs or Trees– anything you think someone else would want.  Divided plants need to be in clean containers.  If the plant has been rooted recently indicated on the label so the person receiving the plant will know what kind of care the plant should receive.

Water plants the day before the swap so the containers will not drip and the plants will look their best.  It is easier to water the plants the night before so they are moist but not wet when you bring them to the swap.   

The authors of this article Betty Cosgrove and  Rachel Dutton, are Paulding County Master Gardener Extension Volunteers.  As representatives of the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, Master Gardener Extension Volunteers are trained experts, who answer questions about home horticulture, sustainable landscaping, and environmentally friendly gardening practices using unbiased, research-based information from the University of Georgia.  Remember, you can ask a Master Gardener or the County Extension Agent at 770-443-7616 or online at http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/paulding/askanexpert.html.