Temecula Valley Rose Society

President's Message

Meet our new president

May Olson was born in Panama City, Panama. Her father had a wholesale pharmaceutical business that was very successful there. Her mother was, and remains at one hundred, very strict and strong willed and is in her own apartment there.

May attended The Villa Cabrini in Burbank when just eleven, and continued her education at the Metropolitan Business School in Los Angeles at sixteen, quite an experience for a young girl. She met her first husband dancing at the Hollywood Palladium and with him had four children. She returned to Panama for several years after the break-up of her marriage, then brought her children back to California and working for some of the top Insurance firms, specializing in medical claims. She met her second husband, like the first, dancing. He was a production manager for The Los Angeles Times. They were happy together until his untimely death to cancer several years ago.

She learned to love roses while caring for the gardens of her homes. When the Olson's retired to Arizona a friend introduced her to the Rose Society in Mesa. She has been a Society member since, and when she moved to Murrieta she contacted then membership chair Denise Vaccaro right away. She serves on our Board of Directors and took a turn at the Membership and Outreach committees for our group. We welcome her to the new office and hope all will give her all the help she asks for.

In Appreciation...

As the year ends we are once again struck by the wonderfully upbeat leadership Ron Rumbold has shown as our President for 2007-2009. From the first meeting he led, his goals and vision has been important through this difficult year. His work towards improving our financial situation and long term planning have been tangibly rewarded. Ron's concentration on keeping grant writing on the front burner has also been very successful.

Ron and Soche have also been successful in concentrating on membership recruiting in a year of difficult choices for our traditional supporters. As a team they have been lovely host and hostess to the club at their marvelous home, and gracious in the donations, both to our monthly drawings and in many other ways. Thanks, and thanks again.

At the December meeting we once again expressed our continuing appreciation to John Weersing for putting together this Newsletter month after month. He took the opportunity in his presentation to solicit articles from all the members and to thank those who month after month get their articles to him early. It is recognized that this newsletter is always almost perfect. If you would like to contribute, please contact him at this address. John also maintains our website, a remarkable feat to say the least.

James Marlow contributed a distinctly monetary and difficult task this year. Weed abatement at Rose Haven has become a yearly headache, and this year we had the good fortune to James' help. Thanks again and please, please, please keep up the good work.

Hummingbird Feeding Demo

I just heard back from Starr Rausch, co-president of The Garden Club. She said they would be happy to accommodate any of our members who would care to go to their meeting January 12 at 10:00 at the community center (CRC) at 30875 Rancho Vista Rd., Temecula to see the Hummingbird Lady. She may not have any baby birds to feed so early in the year, but she is a force of nature. Any of our members who want to go could RSVP me at 693-2814.

You guys would love it. She usually pulls these tiny baby hummers out of a pocket to give nectar to every little while.

Member Meeting Program

Tom Carruth is a self-described plant 'freak' whose passion for plants blossomed as a child, despite growing up in the Texas panhandle (a climate not known for it's plant life). His passion grew into a profession after he received a Bachelor's Degree in Horticulture and a Master's Degree in Plant Breeding from Texas A & M University as a graduate assistant to Dr. Leonard Pike.

Since 1975, he's worked in the rose industry in California, training under and working with the late Bill Warriner of Jackson & Perkins Co. in Tustin, CA (3½ years) and Jack Christensen of the former Armstrong's Nursery in Ontario, CA (7 years). He is currently in charge of the rose hybridizing effort as Director of Research & Marketing at Weeks Roses in Pomona, CA.

A light buffet luncheon will be served around noon. Guests are welcome.

Our Programs Committee invites each and every member to join us at 1 p.m. after lunch for our newly-forming Rose Library Discussion Group. We will gather together for an informal discussion of rose books and other materials owned by the Society. This will last about one-half hour. Rebecca Weersing, Programs Vice President

January Birthdays & New Members

January Membership Drive

Remember that January 1 starts the official 2010 Membership Drive that continues until February 28, 2010. Any new membership applicants (not renewals) who join the Rose Society during that period will receive a 5 gallon rose bush (while supplies last). The bare root roses have been purchased and potted by Ron Rumbold and are already budding at this time. The distribution of the roses will take place at the scheduled Member Orientation Session.

I have enjoyed working as Membership Chairman this past year, and also setting up our excursions. Please welcome your new chair, Saundra Felker, who will do a wonderful job for 2010.

January Southland Rose News

Rose Haven Update

Yes, winter is here (Southern California style) and the roses have entered their "rest mode" for the season, but there is still plenty of color and texture provided by the southwest areas with succulents, grasses, and native California shrubs. Rose pruning begins this month on Wednesday and Saturday mornings so we invite all of you to come out and participate. If pruning isn't your forte, the garden provides plenty of raking and general clean up. With your help the Spring bloom will be spectacular.

Rose Haven Garden – Succulent Area

At the previous Third Saturday Workshop members and students worked on erosion control, planting hardy succulents near the dry stream area where recent rain wrecked havoc. One high-school student cut- down the huge butterfly bushes, which was quite a job. Thank you so much, volunteers. Your help is thoroughly appreciated. The Third Saturday activity this month will be miniature rose planting as a youth gardening project.

Our next Garden Committee meeting is Wednesday, January 27th at 9 a.m. We will review the entry area design prepared by a landscape architect, and review bids for the actual work. The address to the garden is 30500 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula.

And lastly, a pitch for donations. If you would like to make a cash donation to help complete one of the garden projects listed on our website we will be very grateful. Your donation is tax deductible (consult with your tax preparer for your eligibility), as the Society is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Every little bit helps. We appreciate contributions large and small, and will provide you with a donation receipt. Think of us when renewing your Society membership.

This month and next you can find a wide selection of roses at the home improvement centers and nurseries. You may even have time to order roses from a catalog. These tend to be fresher because they come from the source. Whatever the source, roses come to you "bare root," packaged, and potted. Potted roses make the quickest and most successful transition to your garden; bare root ones are the slowest to thrive.

But where to plant those new roses? Well, if you did a great job caring for your roses in 2009, and still have some under performers, now is a good time to "shovel prune" (remove) them. And rather than tossing that plant in the green waste barrel, consider giving it away. Some plants that do poorly for you may perform better for someone else. That doesn't mean that you're a failure; it's just that another garden may have just the right combination of environmental variables that the particular rose variety needs for success.

If you decide to give away a bush, consider offering it to the Temecula Valley Rose Society for sale at the Rose Show May 1–l2, 2010! (How's that for a plug?) The show will be held at the Temecula Community Recreation Center on Rancho Vista Road, Temecula. Please remove the rose, put it into a pot, and care for it until the show. If possible, please include the name of the rose.

Well, that will leave you with a vacant spot in your garden where you can plant a new rose! (Whoopee!) And you can do that without removing any more soil from the hole. However, because the previous rose did poorly, it's a good idea to assess the spot. Does it have good drainage? Many gardens in our area have a very dense layer of clay beneath the topsoil that can prevent drainage. Even with our recent rains, holes you dig in your rose garden should not show standing or pooling water.

Now, if you do dig the hole deeper to improve drainage, you've created a new challenge: Loose soil reintroduced into the hole will tend to settle with each watering. If the new rose is grafted–that is, if it isn't growing on it's own rootstock–settling may bury the graft, and that can encourage suckers from the rootstock. Suckers draw away sugars and nutrients from the main plant; also, suckers tend to produce leggy plants with uninteresting blooms. To help prevent all suckering, before you place the new plant into the hole, press the soil down firmly.

Now, if your soil is high in clay, packing down the soil can introduce yet another problem: It can press out air pockets and make the soil less permeable to water and to roots. To avoid this problem, fill the hole with a good potting soil formulated for roses.

In the Temecula Valley January is a good time to plan your pruning schedule, but it may be a little too early to actually prune, depending on your microclimate. Pruning too early runs the risk of exposing tender new growth to killing frosts. A good rule of thumb is that new growth appears about three weeks after pruning, so the major annual pruning should be completed by the end of February if you want major blooms to appear 8 to 12 weeks later. (You'll want blooms for exhibiting at the Rose Show May 1, remember?)

I will provide detailed guidance on this major pruning in my February column. Also, please tell every rose lover you know that I will be giving a free pruning demonstration at Rose haven Heritage Garden on February 20, 2010. Rose Haven is located at 30500 Jedediah Smith Road (the cross street is Cabrillo Avenue) in Temecula. Spread the word and spread the joy of roses!

Be sure to visit Rose Haven, as well as our web site, www.TemeculaValleyRosesociety.org/index.shtml.