Temecula Valley Rose Society

President's Message

Many guests registered and two new members signed up and will be receiving four months free ARS membership. Current society members may also subscribe for the four month ARS trial membership for just $5. This includes two issues of American Rose Magazine ($16 value), free online access to five quarterly bulletins, free or reduced admission to national public gardens, and discounts of up to 30% at merchant partners. Please join now! You may complete the online form at www.ars.org or call 1-800-637-6534.

Please plan to join your fellow Rose Society members and guests for a catered made-to-order taco feast at Rose Haven on Sunday October 6 from 4:30pm to dusk. It will be lots of fun—come see what's new and happening at the garden!

Tacos And Roses

Don't forget! Please join your fellow Rose Society members at Rose Haven Heritage Garden on Sunday, October 6 for a taco dinner provided by Olivera's Catering. Menu includes chicken, beef and pork tacos as well as Mexican rice and beans, cheese quesadillas, salsa, guacamole and chips. Water will be provided and you are welcome to bring a beverage of your choice.

Plan to arrive around 4:30 PM and explore the new additions to the garden. The all you-care-to-eat-dinner will be served starting about 5 PM. The charge is $10 per person and you may pay at the garden. Hope to see you there!

Any questions? Please call me at 951 694-1198.

Rose Show Committee Meetings

The next planning session will be October 2nd at 1:00 pm at the Assistance League, and October 17th after the member meeting in the library.

Grocery Cards Benefit TVRS

Make a Difference - Join a Committee!

October begins with two committee meetings in the first week: the Rose Show Committee and the Youth Gardening "Families in the Garden" Committee. Both committees meet on Wednesday, October 2nd. The Youth Gardening Committee meets at 10 am at the home of Chair JoAnn Summers. The Rose Show Committee will meet at the Assistance League at 1 pm. Contact Linda Black for additional information.

The Finance Committee meets on Tuesday, October 8 at 1 pm at the home of Chair Rebecca Weersing. The Board of Directors meeting will be held at the Assistance League at 10 am on Thursday, October 10 with a Nominating Committee meeting at noon.

To be announced will be meetings held after refreshments on Thursday, October 17. The Rose Haven Planning Committee meets Wednesday, October 23rd at 9 am at Rose Haven. For questions, contact Phyllis Bettelheim. Make a Difference - Join a Committee!

Youth Gardening in September 2013

Tomatoes, cucumbers and basil continue to produce despite the hot weather. The critter problem is still an issue with the tomatoes, but we continue to try and find a way to keep them out and have had some success. The squash, pumpkins and watermelon are planted and are very healthy. We have a watermelon volunteer that seeded itself in our grow bag and has produced two watermelon (not quite ready to eat yet). We harvested our first squash last Saturday (one patty pan, three yellow and one cube of butter) which we shared with our members who came to help with dividing the Irises. These squash grow very quickly so need to be harvested often. The pumpkin plants are just starting and there should be pumpkins for Halloween.

Our Green Thumbs Club student volunteers have a very energetic leader this year, Alexis, who has consistently been bringing a lot of students to the garden. She also has a lot of creative ideas, and we are working on ways to help her make them happen. We supported her club rush last week by bringing flowers to the school to decorate their table.

Lyse McGonigle has donated a small green house which will be place up by the Tree of Life. This will allow us the ability to start our plants from seed at the garden. This will be educational for our high school volunteers as well as our Third Saturday kids. Thank You, Lyse!

Quilt Gardens on Saturday, October 5

Join the Community Outreach Committee on Saturday, October 5 in front of the Temecula City Hall in Old Town from 10 am to 4 pm. Our Society was invited to participate in the annual Old Town Quilt Show. With the generous collaboration of McCabe's Nursery & Landscaping we will display three unique Quilt Gardens. Don't know what a quilt garden is? Join us in Old Town to find out!

Consulting Rosarian Class Scheduled

The Mountainview Rose Society is holding a Consulting Rosarain School on October 12. It will be held at the Carlsbad Senior Center located at 799 Pine Ave. Carlsbad. Please bring this event to the attention of your members at your next meeting. For complete information please see the district website PSWDROSES.ORG, under the events listing for Oct 12. Information by phone is available from Diane Kilmer at 1-951-963-5568. This is a complete school with C.R. test available for those wishing to become C.R. I cannot stress enough how important C.R.s are to the operation of the ARS and our local and district societies.

Member Meeting Program

Christine will speak on "How to grow and use various herbs at home".

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

October Birthdays & New Members

Rose Haven Update

Autumn is here and we are ready to celebrate with our "Last Rose of Summer" party. Please join us for friendship, roses, food, and fun. Everyone is invited and there will be a catered Mexican dinner. See the details in a separate article by Phyllis. The garden is ready for you, so enjoy a walk around and see all the enhancements we've accomplished during the last six months.

Our September garden committee meeting was moved to Wednesday, October 2nd at 9:00 AM. Yes, we have more ideas for next year to discuss, along with the budget. Later in the month, our regular meeting is Wednesday, October 23rd. All interested are invited to attend. Our volunteer work days are Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Join us—we welcome new members. The address is 30592 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula. Please see our website for additional information and photos at temeculavalleyrosesociety.org/rosehaven.shtml .

Dividing irises	Replanting irises

A happy gardener	Alpaca

Families in the Garden

It was a perfect Saturday, September 21st. morning as our committee welcomed over forty people to Rose Haven Heritage Garden. Everyone enjoyed meeting the Alpacas at our neighbor's, Marian and Douglas Guy. The Guys led us into their gated yard and gave us a close-up meeting with "Stella", their nine year old Alpaca. When our questions for the Guys were finished the group came back to the tables under the pepper trees and the children did an art project of an Alpaca with glued on wool Marian Guy had donated. The pictures were amazing.

For many this was their first time at the garden and they were thrilled to find such a lovely outdoor area for picnics, hiking and learning about roses. We had several parents very interested in joining our association.

Thanks to our great committee: Kathy Katz, Fay Devore, Mi-ae Kim, Barb Purdy, Rebecca Weersing, and our newest member Diane Jore for getting up early and helping with all the preparations.

Rose Care FUNdamentals

If you have been participating in my prescribed practice of allowing your roses to have a summer rest, it is now time to do a minor pruning. This should be done now to expect two more bloom cycles (as long as cold temps hold off until after Christmas). Remember that this is a light pruning: Remove the many small branching cane ends back to the main cane, pruning down to an outward facing bud (found at the base of a leaf where it joins the cane).

After you've done this pruning, you'll find it easier to apply the needed fertilizer-but remember to run an irrigation cycle before applying fertilizer. I suggest applying a fertilizer high in Nitrogen and Phosphate (that is, the first two numbers on the fertilizer label). A good balance would be 8-8-4 or something similar. (This is not brain surgery, so don't worry!) I recommend an organic type although it is usually slower acting this time of year the soil is warm so its nutrients will be more readily available to the plant. Organics don't usually use the NPK number so you may have to read about the label to determine the balance of nutrients, or rely on the company employee if you go to a specialty store.

If you use a fertilizer that is first dissolved in water, apply it right over the bush from top to bottom. A hybrid tea would need about two gallons of solution and should be watered in after a couple of days. If you use a dry granular product, apply as the label recommends. Be sure to scratch this into the soil surface around the base of the plant and water it in. Repeat your applications every two weeks.

Check your irrigation system to make sure all plants are receiving sufficient water.

When you have a moment to spare, or feel the need to get away, or when the day cools down, take your favorite beverage, a picnic basket, and visit Rose Haven Heritage Garden, 30592 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula (cross street is Cabrillo Avenue).

For more ideas, visit TVRS' Rose Haven garden at 30592 Jedediah Smith Rd.,
Temecula, as well as our web site at TemeculaValleyRoseSociety.org/index.shtml. You might also want to visit our section at Meetup.com to find events of interest to you. Spread the joy of roses!