Temecula Valley Rose Society

President's Message

And you know what? Each of us has the opportunity to be that supportive, encouraging person for others. With so many exciting or stressful things to get DONE this time of year, it's easy to forget to do the more mundane things that can bring enjoyment to ourselves and others in the coming year. One of those things is renewing your TVRS membership for 2014—do it now and get it off your plate! It's simple—just click the link below, print, and send the membership application: Member Application

And while you're at it, please consider adding a little extra and specifying it as a donation for a special cause, event, or project. Think how good it'll make you feel knowing that you made a tangible contribution to something that will bring enjoyment to many!

On that note and looking ahead to the long term, TVRS is working on creating an endowment account that, with your early support, will help put our finances on a more stable footing. The endowment will provide a mechanism for folks to give back to the society in support of its programs—including Rose Haven-through one—time and on-going donations, and through provisions in their will or trust. Consider this as an opportunity for you to spread the love and enjoyment of roses to others, to help build a place to gather and share good times, and to generally raise the quality of life in our valley.

In this holiday season, I wish all good things and look forward to the coming year together, enjoying roses and one another.

Grocery Cards Benefit TVRS

Youth Gardening in November

The pumpkins were harvested before Halloween (there were 22; Orange Cutie and Jack Be Little varieties). The Youth Gardening Committee got together and decorated them and they were sold at our November general meeting as a fund raiser for Youth Gardening. We were still harvesting summer squash, Japanese winter squash and watermelon in November and we will soon harvest our Jerusalem artichokes. Most of the winter vegetables were planted in October and are starting to sprout. Peas and cabbage were planted in November.

The students are working on putting protective covering over our vegetables but we have plans to soon have a more permanent fence around the garden. The greenhouse is now up and we will be using it to start our tomato seeds in January. We will be working in the garden in December if we have students who come. Please come by the garden and see the progress we have made and lend a hand if you have time. (Bring water and gloves.)

Pumpkin harvest

Yellow Jade

Member Meeting Program

January 17th Program is "Attracting Hummingbirds & Butterflies to Your Garden", Marcia Van Loy, San Diego County Master Gardener.

December Birthdays & New Members

Garden Chat

November's Third Saturday "Families in the Garden" was rained out. We will have to plant our peas and cabbages later.

On Wednesday we had a terrific tour of the waterwise parts of Rose Haven with Nardo Felipe to point out and recommend the care of various native, succulent, and cactus plants in our extensive collection. Some of the heavy and neglected maintenance jobs are already completed. Hope to see you all Thursday.

Families in the Garden

The November program was cancelled due to rain. We had great plans to plant cabbages and winter peas. The ground was prepared and we were eager to have the children use our new kid-size shovels to practice the art of digging. We don't have a way to notify our community of cancellations so Kathy Katz and JoAnn Summers went to the garden to see if any parents showed up. Three moms came with kids ready for the garden experience. They couldn't plant but enjoyed exploring the garden and pulling up a few carrots to eat. Our next program will be January 19th for more planting in the Tree of Life vegetable garden. Hoping for a sunny day!

Rose Haven Update

Winter in the garden can be exceptional. There are still stunning blooms on the roses and the succulent garden is full of brilliant color. A little rain is good and so far the weather has been mild. Come out and enjoy the garden now before real winter begins (Southern CA style).

Our volunteer days are Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Come January pruning will begin and we plan to have demonstrations every Saturday. We encourage members to "adopt a garden area" that they will lovingly care for in the coming season. Please contact Phyllis to choose your special area. If you're not into pruning, raking and cleanup are always a great help or just visiting is inspirational.

Our next garden committee meeting is in January. We welcome new members to attend. Garden address is 30592 Jedediah Smith Rd., Temecula. Please see our website for additional information at temeculavalleyrosesociety.org.

Make a Difference! Join a Committee

The year is winding down and most committees will not be meeting this month. Just as we need to allow our roses a holiday respite, our committees also need take time to enjoy a bit of quiet time after a productive year of Society activities.

Rose Haven Planning Committee will meet at Rose Haven on Wednesday, December 4 at 9:15. This committee normally meets the 4th Wednesday of the month, except July, November and December. The committee combines the November and December meetings into one meeting—the first Wednesday of December. Although the committee members are extremely dedicated, it would be above and beyond the call of duty to meet the day before Thanksgiving and during the December holidays. Topics for discussion at this meeting concern (1) scheduling pruning activities for January and February plus (2) arranging for any major maintenance tasks. Committee contact: Phyllis Bettelheim (phyllisb32@verizon.net).

Families in the Garden Committee (a sub-committee of Youth Gardening) meets on the first Wednesday of February through June and September through December. The December meeting will be held at the home of JoAnn Summers on Wednesday, December 4 beginning at 10 a.m. Committee contact: JoAnn Summers (jcsummers60@yahoo.com).

Rose Show Committee will also meet on Wednesday, December 4 at 1 p.m. at the Assistanace League on Via Montezuma. Committee contact: Linda Black (ljblack3@verizon.net).

Finance Committee normally meets monthly (except July) on the Tuesday before the Board meeting. This month however, the committee will meet on Monday, December 9 at 1 p.m. at the home of Rebecca Weersing. Committee contact: Rebecca Weersing (temroses@gmail.com).

The Board of Directors meets on the second Thursday of each month (except July) at 10 a.m. at the Assistance League. Board contact: Frank Brines (roseguy2000@aol.com).

Members are always welcome to attend committee and board meetings. Please visit our Society calendar on the home page of the website—you are a click away from knowing what is happening when.

Rose Care FUNdamentals

Daytime temps are very agreeable for growing roses. It is important that one monitors the irrigation program for your roses. It may be necessary to modify the program if you haven't changed since the hot dry summer. With lower temperatures less water will be needed but will still need water to produce blooms. Because roses like moist but not wet soil, reduce the amount of water you apply if we receive above one inch of rain. I cannot stress enough the importance of "deep watering." The length of time needed for this depends on several factors: the amount of pressure in the system, amount of delivery by emitter, run time, and type of soil.

Do not fertilize during December or January. 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.

December is still a good time in our area to prepare for new plants that you plan to purchase or that will be delivered in January. Refer to last month's article at temeculavalleyrosesociety.org on the process for doing this. The weather is still relatively nice for gardening and not much else is happening in the garden so you will have more time now than later for this preparation. This will actually save you time and get your new roses planted sooner. If done now you will have the hard part of planting accomplished and not be worried, hurried about January.

As winter progresses the rose will slow down its metabolism, taking a rest. Let the hips set on the bush, remove only the petals to help keep your garden clean and free from any viruses that may come along with the cooler, wetter winter weather. Do not prune this month. Let the plant enter into a short dormant period. It is the natural cycle of active growing healthy plants reaching it's ultimate purpose of producing offspring: seeds in hips. They need a rest from all the work they did for you all year long. Warning: Pruning is a way of forcing a plant to produce new foliage and become active; there's a lot of winter to come in our region, with frost possible as late as March. New tender foliage stimulated by too-early pruning can be frozen, lessening the plants' ability to recover for great performance next year.

Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy anticipating all the pleasure your roses will give you next spring! OR enjoy the holidays without added pressure of tending your roses. But if you just can't sit still, go get some inspiration by visiting TVRS' Rose Haven garden at 30592 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula, always a few weeds to eradicate or beds to freshen or debris to pick up or to just enjoy the views on a warm day. Keep in mind that the TVRS is a 501c3 organization that subsists entirely on donations. When you visit Rose Haven, look for the donation box near the main entrance-and give! If you are not already a member, visit our website and consider joining! The website is at TemeculaValleyRoseSociety.org. Look around the site to learn more about Rose Haven Heritage Garden and things needed or projects available.

Don't forget to check out the Pacific South West District website at pswdroses.org. There you will find planned activities for other societies in the SWUSA.

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!