Temecula Valley Rose Society

President's Message

Although our beloved Rose Haven was not at it's peak for our last fundraiser, all in all we had a fairly good turnout, taking all things into consideration. Thanks to all the members who helped organize, set up and take down. A special thanks is due to Carol Hudson who happens to be an expert in succulents and native plants. Her hard work and dedication in that area of Rose Haven is very much appreciated.

On Friday, November 11 the Korean War Memorial Wall will be unveiled at Town Square Park in Murrieta at 12:00pm following the Veterans Day Parade, which starts at 10:00am at Ivy and Washington streets, and ending at Town Square. There will be a special section of flags for California recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor. Also, there will be a "Local Heroes" field honoring the men and women who've died since 2004 in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Murrieta Valley Unified School District will be taking all 5th graders on field trips Monday through Thursday November 7-10 to learn about our flag, the Memorial and the history behind it.

My best wishes and blessings for all our members and their families for a Happy Thanksgiving.

Rose Haven Update

Thank you so much everyone for your support of the "Last Rose of Summer" festival. Your contributions will make possible significant garden maintenance that is beyond control of our volunteer "gardening angels".

Fall colors at Rose Haven are popping this month. The blooming roses, succulents and water-wise plants are plentiful and gorgeous. Take a look at the pumpkins and squash in the Tree of Life garden. With the cooler weather, it's the perfect time to come on out and walk about.

A public rose pruning workshop will be held Saturday, January 14, 2012 in the morning. Come out and join us. There's always something new to learn or encourage new rose enthusiasts.

At our recent garden planning meeting we discussed pathway material for the gazebo area, structure for Hall of Fame area, and improved fencing surrounding Tree of Life vegetable garden. Major maintenance was planned and scheduled for January. Our next garden committee meeting is Wednesday, January 25, 2012 at 9:30. All interested members are invited to attend.

The Wednesday, Saturday volunteer schedule still applies, but work is light this time of year—hooray. The Garden address is 30500 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula. Check out our home page on the TVRS website with changing photos of Rose Haven at TemeculaValleyRosesociety.org/index.shtml .

The Southwest Garden

Youth Gardening in October

Our Tree of Life vegetable garden that our high school students work so hard in maintaining and Kathy Katz watches over so diligently is now full of some delicious vegetables that are ready for harvesting. We encourage our members to come to the garden any time and enjoy the fruits of our labor. We especially have a lot of tomatoes that are not being picked during the week and we hate to see them go to waste. Please come and help yourself.

The high school students continue to be a dedicated group that helps us out in many ways. In addition to helping maintain the vegetable garden they are always willing to help our members who need a hand with special events and general Rose Haven maintenance. This Saturday we let them harvest the pumpkins. These pumpkins are the tiny plants they saw grow and flower and produce a tiny fruit which became the pumpkin they will carve for Halloween. How many kids get to do that? They had a lot of fun doing it, but they worked hard to get to that point.

The third Saturday Young Children's Youth Gardening October program was "Why leaves change color in the fall". Rebecca put together a discovery hike that provided an opportunity to observe the seasonal changes in the garden. I helped them discover the difference between deciduous and evergreen trees in our Urban Forest. Kathy gave them a chance to harvest fall vegetables in the Tree of Life and made them aware of how many things are still growing in the garden in fall. Carol introduced them to the native plant area and pointed out the plants in this area that have a different growing cycle and she even sent them home with seeds to plant. Mi-ae and JoAnn gave them a hands-on experience with fall leaves, explaining why the leaves change color and how these colorful leaves can be used to make simple but beautiful artwork. JoAnn also made up a beautiful and educational poem to help the children appreciate the importance of leaves called "Thanks to the Leaves."

Rose Haven is a beautiful public garden, but to me it can't be more beautiful than when it is filled with children. Please join us any Saturday and help the children help us make Rose Haven a beautiful place.

Member Meeting Program

Kathy Swanson is a UCCE Master Gardener, Member of the Master Gardener Board and Coordinator of the Speakers Bureau, Master Composter, board member of Victoria Ave. Forever and a member of the American Rose Society, President of the Rain Cross Rose Society, and board member for Kids and Roses through the American Rose Society.

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

November Birthdays & New Members

Little Rose Show Results: October 2011

Let's Do A Big Little Rose Show

Since we won't be having a formal rose show this year, we plan to expand on the Little Rose Show at the November 17 member meeting. By then, our roses should be in plentiful blossom again, after the excessive summer heat. We're hoping that all members will participate by bringing at least one rose, after searching their gardens for the very best blooms. Entries are limited to 6 per person. You can use your own vases or we'll have some available. It's both educational and fun, and experienced rosarians will be on hand to answer questions.

Rose Care FUNdamentals

With the recent burst of energy, your roses will be hungry and thirsty. Until mid November, I recommend you feed them with a product that has a relatively low level of Nitrogen and higher Phosphate, that is, looking at the NPK numbers on the package, the "N" should be smaller than the "P". There are two things to keep in mind about NPK:
 1) The numbers indicate the relative proportions of each nutrient. For example, a product marked 4-2-2 contains twice the amount of nitrogen as it does either phosphorous or potassium. When I suggest you apply a product that is "low nitrogen product," I mean the first number should be lower than the second and third.
 2) The numbers indicate how concentrated the product is on a per pound basis. For example, a product labeled "6-6-6" contains six times the concentration of N, P, and K per pound than does a product marked "1-1-1." This is why it's important to follow the package directions: If you applied the same amount of 6-6-6 to a garden as you did 1-1-1, you'd likely cause "fertilizer burn."

Another tip for avoiding fertilizer burn: Water the plant 24 hours prior to feeding.

As our temperatures cool down, cut back on the amount of water you apply: Roses like moist but not wet soil. Also, while the weather is relatively comfortable, clean up of garden debris (such as dead leaves and petals); this will reduce the population of overwintering pests and give you a jump on spring, as well as a healthier garden next year.

November is a great time to sit back and start getting garden catalogs and ordering new roses for delivery and planting early next year. Get started now so you won't be disappointed later. And because our weather is still comfortable and the soil may be slightly moist from the recent rains, it's also a good time to prepare the site for those new roses. First, dig up any rose you want to replace. (If the rose appears to be in good health, consider potting it up and donating it to the Temecula Valley Rose Society for our spring sale at Rose Haven, and, if possible, label it with its varietal name. If you have a rose to donate, contact me at roseguy2000@aol.com.)

Next, fill the hole with good rose potting soil, or add mulch at a rate of 1/3 mulch to 2/3 garden soil, then mix thoroughly. If you will be planting in a spot that has never had a rose in it, just dig a hole about 18" deep and 18" to 24" wide, remove about a third of the native soil, then mix what's left with rose potting soil or composted mulch. Gently tamp down the soil-there's no need to pack it down. The soil will settle and become colonized by beneficial soil critters between now and January of February when your new plants arrive.

With all that done, sit back, relax, and enjoy anticipating all the pleasure your roses will give you next spring! But if you just can't sit still, go get some inspiration by visiting TVRS' Rose Haven garden at 30500 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula, and/or our web site at TemeculaValleyRosesociety.org/index.shtml.

If you feel like attending or participating in a rose show this month, here are three in November:

 November 12: Desert Rose Society (Palm Desert, CA). For more information, go to: http://www.desertrosesociety.com/%E2%80%9Crosas-internationale%E2%80%9D-november-12th-2011-desert-rose-society-annual-show.html.
 November 19: Mesa-East Valley Rose Society (Mesa, AZ). To download the schedule and other information, go to: http://www.roses4az-mevrs.org/calendar.htm.
 On November 26: Arizona West Valley Rose Society (at Arizona State University, ASU, Phoenix, AZ). To download the schedule and other information, go to: http://www.westvalleyrose.org/Rose_Shows.html.

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