Temecula Valley Rose Society

President's Message

Cindy Myers from Project Wildlife was the major hit of the morning. She brought a live bat to show and tell and presented an interesting talk about the history and life of a bat. Adults and youngsters all enjoyed hearing and interacting with Cindy and answering quiz questions to get a bat ring. Our own directors of the Youth Program were instrumental in scheduling Cindy's presentation. A special thank you to Barb Purdy for her diligence and work in making this happen.

Thanks to those members who have adopted small sections of Rose Haven some gardens are being maintained on a regular basis and are looking great. These members have stepped up to the plate and are sharing the care of Rose Haven which lessens the need for all but major problems in those areas. Still there are areas in need of being adopted. This "share the care" program helps keep the complete garden looking better and frees other adoptors to better manage their adopted areas. Your help in caring for a small area would be greatly appreciated. Contact Phyllis Bettleheim to learn where help is needed.

In an effort to keep our society members informed as well as the general rose growing community of better growing culture practices and newer products our societies Consulting Rosarians, Rebecca Weersing and I attended a seminar directed by Tommy Cairns in Whittier, CA on October 20. The presentations given by all speakers were pertinent, interesting, and educational. All in attendance felt it was the best seminar to date. A lot of new ideas, plans and events was shared. Mr. Hal Reynolds, the new ARS Pacific Southwest West District Director, shared his plans and ideas for advancing our district in the future. The new web site address for the District is at PSWD is pswdroses.org. The new site is more user friendly and the new web master will be easy to work with. Take a look at the web site to see what is happening in our district.

It is again the time of year to think about nominating and electing officers. Watch your email for announcements. Plan to attend member meetings in November and December for sharing and hearing of new plans for future.

The November 8 Board Meeting location will be at the home of Frank Brines, 23738 Fieldcrest Lane, Murrieta; 951-315-9632.

Youth Gardening in October

 

Grocery Cards Benefit TVRS

Garden Chat

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, also President of the RainCross Rose Society. Board member for Kids and Roses through the American Rose Society.

Her love of gardening started at an early age, but not until she bought almost 2 acres in Riverside in 1988 did she really learn and apply her skills. She now has a grape Vineyard with 100 Zinfandel wine vines, Fruit orchard with 16 different fruit trees and Citrus grove with 8 different kinds of citrus, berry patch, ponds, Raised Vegetable garden, about 1000 bulbs, butterfly garden, Herb garden and Rose garden. Raises steers, pigs and chickens in a chicken tractor which moves from raised bed to raised bed in her garden to fertilize the beds.

Kathy LOVES her garden and practices organic Gardening, Composting, and water wise gardening with miles of drip irrigation, Vermiculture, companion planting, to attract visiting birds and butterflies, eatable landscaping, She is also a Rosarian, and an active gardener.

Has been featured twice on the Riverside Utilities Radio program, Green Power. Kathy's presentations include Rose Basics, Composting Basics, Protect and Nurture the soil, Edible Garden/Landscape, Herbs, Bulbs, Raised Bed Vegetable gardening.

Besides gardening, Kathy's other interests include her first grandchild, Horses, Chickens, worms, Quilting, beer brewing and wine making with her husband.

A native of California and a past Riverside City employee, as the Landscape Inspector of the beautiful Victoria Ave and the Historic Downtown area.

Volunteering has been a way of life for her from Room mom, team mom, Cub Scout and Girl Scout leader.

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

December: Christmas program and installation of officers.

November Birthdays & New Members

See Last Rose (Show) of Summer Pictures

Rose Haven Update

With the arrival of longer and cooler nights in late Fall all the plants in the garden have perked up remarkably. We have a new addition of several crepe myrtle trees recently planted along the hillside path which will add spectacular color and shade in the hot summers to come. Member donations specifically for the trees were greatly appreciated. Also, Frank and Wayne acquired many white roses that are being planted along the path leading to the gazebo. Flowering peach trees will also adorn the path in the near future.

The Last Rose of Summer event was great fun and seemed to be enjoyed by all. Sales and donations will be used for maintenance of the garden. Thank you all for your participation. Here is a photo of May Olson and her winning arrangement entry. To see additional photos on our web site go to Last Rose of Summer.

 May Olson

At the October garden committee meeting we discussed additional enhancements in the Hall of Fame area and a split-rail fence Eagle Scout project, both of which are to be completed in the near future. Our next committee meeting is Wednesday, November 21st at 9:15 a.m. Address of the garden is 30592 Jedediah Smith Rd., Temecula.

A Brief Overview of Basic Rose Arranging - Part 2, Line Mass

As the name implies, line-mass arrangements are a combination of line (borrowed from the Orient) and mass (borrowed from European Period Arrangements). This design should remain light and airy and retain the identity of an interesting line. You have probably noticed that all arrangements have a focal area. In a Line Arrangement, that is usually the largest rose. In the Line Mass, the focal area is fortified with plant material, but the silhouette is still fairly open. The focal area should not be so large that the arrangement can be considered a Mass arrangement. (More about that style next month.)

As these characteristics show, the Line Mass style allows the designer to incorporate other colors, textures and plant materials; for example, spiky plant materials can fit into this style very well. As with any arrangement, use plant material of the highest quality.

The illustrations that accompany this article show three variations on the Line Mass style. Notice that these retain a dominant line but build up the focal area as described above. Both styles can be horizontal, diagonal, curved, crescent, spiral, or "Hogarth" ("S" shaped variation). But consider the main difference: In a Line arrangement you have height and width, but very little depth; in a Line Mass you have height, width, and depth. Consequently, the placement of materials is critical: Exercise restraint or you will end up turning it into a Mass arrangement! I encourage you to re-read last month's article, and see if you can identify examples of these two styles when you are out and about. Feel free to experiment with this style and to bring a Line Mass arrangement to the November meeting for additional input. And remember, if you don't have fresh plant material, feel free to use silk flowers-you could end up with a very nice center piece for the Thanksgiving table!

Rose Care FUNdamentals

With the cooler temperatures roses will have a burst of energy and will be hungry and thirsty. This is especially so if the plants had a dormant period during the heat of July, August, and part of September. 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 phosphorus 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. Never fertilize a dry plant.

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

About mid-November is a great time to sit back and start getting garden catalogs and ordering new roses for delivery and planting early next year. Some nurseries will take preorders. 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 or 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 and/or our web site (See links below). If you feel like attending or participating in a rose show this month there are three in November. For a list and details of coming shows and events go to pswdroses.org, then click on Calendar and or Events in the newsletter heading.

For more ideas, visit TVRS' Rose Haven garden at 30592 Jedediah Smith Rd., Temecula, Temecula, as well as our web site: TemeculaValleyRosesociety.org/index.shtml.