VENTURA : Workshop to Focus on Roses, Fruit Trees

A free workshop on the care and pruning of roses and fruit trees will be offered Saturday by the University of California Cooperative Extension.

The class at Ventura College will also cover watering, fertilizing and organic weed and pest control, as well as how to choose fruit trees that grow and produce well in the different areas of Ventura County, said Jim Downer, an environmental horticulturist who will lead the workshop.

“Variety selection is very important,” he said. “You can plant bananas in Ojai, but they’ll freeze, or you can plant an apricot tree in Moorpark, but it’s unlikely you’ll get apricots. We tell people what fruit trees do the best in the particular areas of the county.”

Participants are encouraged to bring their clippers for hands-on pruning experience, Downer said.

“We hold the workshop at Ventura College because their agriculture department has a small orchard of fruit trees and roses that need pruning,” he said.

The workshop will be divided into two segments: fruit trees are scheduled from 8 a.m. until noon, and roses from 1 to 4 p.m. Participants are asked to meet at the Ventura County Community College District office, 71 Day Road.