Temecula Valley Rose Society

President's Message

Our thanks to Sochie Rumbold for our March day trip to the Big Oak Tree in Pechanga, the largest in the U. S. estimated to be around 1600 years old with a trunk 20' around and rising up to 96'. This tour turned out to be very informative as we had a great tour guide who not only gave us a lot of history but took us to see an actual village which was not shown last time. We look forward to our next day trip to Casa Romantica in San Clemente.

Rose Haven is coming alive and soon we will have a rainbow of colors. Please be sure to visit the garden around the 2nd or 3rd week in April to see the stunning colors of the First Bloom. Thank you Bonnie for all the great pictures that you continue to take.

There are many wonderful plans this year for Rose Haven especially with the upcoming realization of "The Tree of Life" project where several types of vegetables will be grown. This will be a major addition to the garden when it is completed.

I must mention the wonderful job by all the Board Members that were present at the Orientation for new members last Saturday morning. Our thanks to Ron Rumbold for the organizational structure and bringing the rose bushes for all the new members, to Rebecca Weersing for the wonderful history of the garden since inception, to Barb Purdy for all the information given on Youth Gardening, to Bonnie Bell on Communications, to Sochie Rumboldt on Programs, to Frank Brines on Docent Training, to Bernice Wendt who made sure that every new member receive a cook book, a questionnaire and a flyer and card for the First Bloom. Kathy Turgeon did a terrific job in heading the entire program. This will continue to be a valuable yearly tool for all new members and I must say that although we struggled through a very chilly morning everyone seemed to enjoy all the information they received and each one left happy with a rose bush of their choosing.

We send our best wishes to Margaret Grunland (although a bit late) and to Jim Moss for a speedy recovery from their surgeries.

Until next month and to quote Emma Goldman..."I'd rather have roses on my table than jewels on my neck."

In Memoriam

Leave a Legacy

• Two decorative gates for the Romantic Garden have been donated by Virginia Boos, Frank Brines, and Wayne Blizzard. Frank and Wayne will install them - but could you help fund the concrete bases? Each gate will require about $50 of concrete mix.
• A tree-lined promenade is planned adjacent to the gazebo hill. It will feature six Western Redbud trees and/or six Flowering Peach (i.e., non-fruit bearing). The estimated cost will be about $30 per tree.

Horticultural Miracle

Rose Haven Update

Activity is in high gear in the upper gardens this month. The student vegetable garden will have a complete makeover using plans from the Murrieta firm Growing Organic. The design is a 'Tree of Life' with paths forming the branches and trunk and plantings forming the leaves. The development hopefully will be complete by our May 21st celebration. Also this month the Hall of Fame area will receive a DG foundation for the central circle and path areas as well as new plantings and placement of two benches. The improvements will certainly complement the area.

Thanks to volunteers, a lavender bed was planted between the Hall of Fame and dry stream bed. We look forward to them filling in and showing off their colorful flowers. And the weeds—they sprang up everywhere after all the recent rain. So we are back on weed patrol until they are eradicated.

All the above projects were discussed at our March committee meeting. We invite all those interested in the garden development to our next meeting Wednesday, April 27th at 9 a.m. Progress on the activities will be reviewed. 30500 Jedediah Smith Road.

Great Oak Tour a Success

Member Meeting Program

The program for April should be of great interest to every one in the Temecula Valley who loves the fragrance of Lavender and beauty of an easy to grow plant. The presentation is entitled "Propagation, Cultivation and Enjoyment of Lavender in the Temecula Valley."

Our speaker is the owner, grower and operator of the Temecula Lavender Company. She grows and produces lavender and lavender products in the Temecula Valley. Ms. Schneider has taken her love for lavender and its many uses and created a business to educate and share her love for this most magical of herbs. The lavender is lovingly grown at Solidago Farms located in Temecula Valleys wine country.

Prior to her current position, Ms. Schneider has worked in the marketing departments of several Temecula wineries, as well as public relations firms and non- profit organizations. Ms. Schneider is an entrepreneur with a focus on the development of Temecula's future while maintaining an emphasis on it's past. She is a Docent of the Temecula Valley Museum and received a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from Northern Arizona University in 1989.

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

April Birthdays & New Members

Little Rose Show Competition Begins April 21st

Hoping that we all have some beautiful new blooms for the first Little Rose Show of 2011. This is a fun experience, as well as a teaching tool, learning to exhibit in a rose show. Lenore Vogel and I will be on hand to assist the entrants, and then we do the judging of the specimens and present the awards. This is informal compared to an official adjudicated rose show, but still there are rules to be followed. To see entry and judging criteria go here.

Member Profile: Jim & Laurie Moss

I was born in New Mexico but grew up in the southern Colorado town of Trinidad, graduating from High School in 1959. After graduation my parents and I moved to California and, after a month or so, I enlisted in the United States Air Force. My career field was Fire and Crash Rescue. Basic Training was in Texas; Technical Training in Colorado. After training I was transferred to Eielson AFB in Fairbanks, Alaska, arriving there in January 1960. I was in Alaska for 18 months. After that I was again transferred to Grand Forks AFB in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was here that Laurie and I met... actually we first met at Maple Lake, Minnesota in 1962. Laurie grew up on a farm in eastern North Dakota. I was discharged in August 1963.

After a "long distance" courtship, Laurie and I were married in Buxton, North Dakota in August 1965. At the time I was a Firefighter at the Rocketdyne division of North American Aviation (now Boeing), this after a quick stint working as an ambulance attendant for Goodhew Ambulance in downtown Los Angeles.

I was hired as a Firefighter by the city of Orange, California on August 1, 1966. We were living in the San Fernando Valley at that time but moved to Orange when I was hired. I was promoted to Fire Engineer in 1970 and Captain in 1971. I worked for Orange until my career was cut short by a series of back injuries resulting in a medical disability retirement in 1992.

As to education I hold an AA degree in Fire Technology from Santa Ana College and a BA in Political Science from Cal State Long Beach. Laurie also attended Cal State Long Beach and earned a BS and an MSN in Nursing. She worked as a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner for 24 years, serving the school districts of Placentia-Yorba Linda, and also Chino Valley Unified.

We have two daughters, Maren born in 1968 and Paula in 1970. Both girls are now teachers and married. Maren and her family live near us in Murrieta and she and her husband Jeff have two children. Paula and her husband Dave and son live in Hailey, Idaho. As a result, since Laurie's retirement, we spend half of the year in Murrieta and half in Idaho. We enjoy the opportunity to be near both families.

At our first home in Orange (1967 to 1973) we had a few roses and knew nothing about growing them and paid little attention to them. When we moved to Anaheim in 1973 we put in about 30 or more roses over the years and attempted to learn more about how to do it properly. By the time we moved to Murrieta in 2007 we had a very respectable rose garden and knew a fair amount about the hobby.

After moving to Murrieta we decided to relandscape our home and get rid of the grass, replacing it with a rose garden. We read an article in the newspaper by Frank Brines in which he mentioned Rose Haven and the days when there would be people there. So I went to Rose Haven one Saturday in November 2009 and asked Frank if he would help me start our garden. We now have 43 very healthy and beautiful roses in our garden, thanks to Frank and other members of the TVRS.

I have been a member of the American Rose Society since 2006 and the TVRS since 2009.

When not tending roses, we enjoy travel, outings in our jeep, camping, music and reading. I have worked on the Moss family genealogy for years and have an extensive data base on the computer. I also had a custom cabinet business for many years and still dabble a bit making furniture and other small projects. Laurie likes to shop for antiques, refinish old furniture, indulge in home decorating projects, sew and make quilts.

A Majestic Plant

A Yucca (Spanish Bayonet or Our Lord's Candle) is in the process of blooming at Rose Haven. Located near the Water District road, just about where May's new Lavenders have been planted, it grows about a foot a day and the blossoms are beginning to open. With any luck it will be gorgeous for months.

I managed to get a pod of the seeds from the last Yucca that bloomed at the garden to sprout. I should have separated the seeds, but as I had no (zero) success planting Yucca seeds in the past, I just tried sprouting the entire seed pod in warm water. I rinsed it every day, like sprouting alfalfa seeds, and it worked.

The picture of the sprouts, in a six inch pot, show how the seedlings look after 3 weeks. Like grass. They look just like grass. It is so easy to mistake them for just another weed. I have saved the last, dead, Yucca at Rose Haven for two years, hoping to find a single sprout near it. Who would have guessed that a seedling of such a majestic plant would look just like common grass.

 

Rose Care FUNdamentals

"With the up and down trends in the temperatures from January through March we have experienced several cycles of warmer temperatures followed by much cooler nights, in some areas in the lower 30 degrees. Certain varieties are prone to this phenomena and manifest the cycle by rapid growth then no growth at all. We tend to feed [weekly with] "Jump Start" (or SuperThrive) to counteract this effect. Some cultivars remain unaffected by this temperature change (e.g. 'Wild Blue Yonder' is a prime example)." Our spring this year has been a prime example of this varying temperature with cycles of chilly rainy periods further contributing to this phenomena by cooling the soil."

Summer is coming up fast and you are wise take time now to assess the efficiency of your irrigation system. Although "some in the know" have stated an end to So Cal drought, we need to continue to be water wise and conserve our supply for as we know Mother Nature is fickle and we still import much of our water. Many regional water districts implemented "tiered pricing" that could take a big bite out of our wallets. So, it's time for those of us who love roses to adjust our practices so we can continue to enjoy (and afford) the roses we love!

First off, how much water do roses need? According to Bob Martin, writing at larosesociety.com, water is the most important of factors when growing roses for exhibition. He explains that the amount of water a rose needs depends on many factors, including the weather, size of the plant, its variety, cycle of growth, and composition of the soil. He cites studies that show a rose bush will transpire (or evaporate) from 40 to 100 gallons of water over the course of a summer. Typically in Temecula, when temperatures are between 70-80 degrees, a mature, full-sized hybrid tea requires about 5-10 gallons (approximately 2"-3") of water a week. (A rose can survive on considerably less, but it will perform very poorly.) As the temperature goes up, the rose's water needs increase.

Next, let's consider your system for delivering water to your roses. Ideally, you are using a drip system. (If not, please consider installing one!) Go out and inspect your system: Turn it on and look for leaking, clogged, and broken lines and emitters. Fix the problems as soon as possible.

Now, figure out how much water your system delivers per hour. Typically, drip emitters are color-coded and in a rose garden you're likely to have pressure-compensating emitters that deliver a consistent amount-usually 2-, 4-, or 8-liters per hour. (Not comfortable with liters? A liter is about a quart-so those emitters deliver 1/2-, 1-, and 2-gallons per hour.)

1. Go around the garden and tally how many emitters you have of each capacity. Calculate the number of gallons delivered per hour.
2. Check your irrigation controller and find out how many hours you are running it per week.
3. Use both those figures to calculate the number of gallons you are delivering each week.
4. Adjust the length of irrigation to approximate the amounts the experts recommend.

Of course, applying a 4" to 5" layer of organic mulch will help conserve the water you deliver to the roses, distribute the moisture more evenly in the soil, and keep the root zone cool. All of these effects stimulate the growth of feeder roots and help your plants gather water more efficiently and consistently so they are less likely to "hit the wall" by depleting their water supply. Mulch also encourages the production of earth worms and other soil organisms that help make nutrients available to your plants in easily-absorbed form. Mulch also inhibits the growth of weeds, so your roses don't have to compete for minerals and water.

You might not realize it, but using an organic fertilizer also helps you use water more efficiently. Your program should include two applications each month beginning in March. Alternate between an organic granular product and a water soluble form. I use Dr. Earth applied 1/2- to 3/4-cup per standard rose, and 1/4- to 1/2-cup for miniatures. For my soluble treatment, I use fish emulsion diluted as directed on the container and pour about 2 gallons over each mature standard rose and 1 gallon for minis. For potted plants, dilute to half strength.

For more ideas, visit TVRS' Rose Haven garden at 30500 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula, as well as our web site: TemeculaValleyRosesociety.org/index.shtml.