Temecula Valley Rose Society

President's Message

Speaking of volunteerism, while we were enjoying the many talents of our members and paying tribute to our focus - the rose -- another organization, The Helping Hands, 75 volunteers strong, were busy addressing the areas in Rose Haven that have been needing attention but that our group haven't had the resources to tackle. Rose Haven had a face lift, resulting in a cleaner more pleasing presentation. A big Thank You to The Helping Hands.

Rose Haven is a dichotomy in resources. It is one of our Society's main resources in giving to us and the community at large. It provides the canvas for the enjoyment of a garden, a sanctuary, a place to meditate, relax, meet friends and strangers, to gather for celebrations in picnic, memorial or just to fill ones senses. On the other hand it needs resources to provide all to be all. Sometimes the need can not be provided. Emergencies happen for which resources aren't available but must be resolved. Such a predicament currently exists, without which the project has potential of failure. I'm talking about the failure of the time clock which regulates the irrigation and must be replaced. You can help with a donation!

Another resource is evolution. Oaks were planted to provide interest and diversity and a shady sanctuary, but as they have matured the roses beneath them have stopped flourishing. Now the oaks promise to provide a new place to gather and sit or picnic etc. Three sets of tables and benches are needed to be complete. These tables can be had by special discount for $1000. Any donations given for this project will make this area ready for summer.

Old Garden Roses At Rose Haven

This second article describing Old Garden Roses (OGR) will concentrate on our AUTUMN DAMASK and the Damask varieties of roses. Our AUTUMN DAMASK is located just to your right as you enter the pathway to the bench in the OGR section.

This rose is medium pink with double ruffled, silky petals on arching canes. She is a repeat bloomer growing to 3' to 4' high and 4' wide. Of special importance AUTUMN DAMASK is reported to be one of the most fragrant of all roses. Having a very slight susceptibility to mildew, she grows well in less than perfect soil and does well as a container plant but does not like shade. First transported from the Middle East to she was later brought to Western Europe probably in the 17th century. This rose is the only repeat flowering Damask, all others blooming only once in the summer, hence the name AUTUMN DAMASK indicating a second blooming in the fall.

AARS gives AUTUMN DAMASK a rating of 8.2. The parentage is unknown as is the breeder, but possibly R. gallica x R. moschata or R. abyssinica, prior to 1633. She is one of the parents of the OGR classification of Hybrid Perpetual roses. There are no special maintenance needs other than occasional shaping.

Damask (pronounced DAM-ask) roses are named for Damascus Syria. The first of these roses were brought to Europe between 1254 and 1276 and were originally once-blooming showing color only in the summer. The Damask roses, as a class, tend to be rangy and sprawling plants which require some control, but to balance this trait Damask's are the most fragrant of all.

Next month we will feature the rose BARONNE PREVOST, a Hybrid perpetual and talk about that classification.

Families in the Garden

Earth Day was celebrated on April 19th with a 'Families in the Garden' program featuring bird nest materials, butterflies, and composting worms.. The Sierra Club joined us offering a discovery hike of the garden, and a birthday cake for John Muir, founder of the Sierra Club. We had a good turnout of about thirty people. Children stuffed netting with bird nest building materials, made butterflies for their fingers, and inspected the marvelous composting worms. The worms were voted the best activity. Thanks to Kathy Katz for supplying us with worms for this favorite activity. Our celebration of Earth Day could not have been in a more beautiful place.

Fay Devore demos butterfiles	Worm inspection

Bird nesting materials	Holding worms

Grocery Cards Benefit TVRS

Member Meeting Program

May Birthdays & New Members

We had a great turn-out for our Little Rose Show at the April 17th meeting. There were 10 participants with 34 specimens. All together 14 were rated as firsts. Jim Moss had 4 firsts, Frank Brines had 5 rated first and Ellen Noell had five firsts, and once again she took the top rated spot with her "Paradise Found" for Rose Of the Day.

Rose Haven Update

Rose Haven will be the first stop on our member garden tour on May 15th so you can see for yourselves how beautiful the garden is right now. A narration will be presented in several of the areas so one and all can become more familiar with the history and plantings of each particular area. Then on to visit our members gardens.

In late April, the "Helping Hands" outreach group completed a massive cleanup of pathways, removing silt and sand from unwanted areas, spreading a huge amount of mulch — and much more. What a job! There were 70 volunteers and we are so grateful that they chose to help our Society and Rose Haven. We appreciate so much their time and fortitude in accomplishing such an enormous undertaking. Thank you, thank you.

Mark your calendar for the Temecula City Summer Solstice event at Rose Haven Garden June 21st from 7 to 10 in the evening. We invite all of our members will visit the garden that evening and check out the activities. The garden will be decorated with luminaires, music, and light refreshments for all.

Our Next garden committee meeting is Wednesday, May 28th at 9:30 in the garden. Members interested are welcome to attend. Address is 30592 Jedediah Smith Road.

The Pond	Eagle Scout Bench

Rose Show Recap

Wow! What a show you put on! Pat yourselves on the back! We had roses, roses and more roses. There were far more artistic entries than last year. We had full tables in the arrangement classes, teacups, picture frames and trays. The specimens carried the rainbow color from white through purple. The "Blooming Art" was spectacular. I've never seen so much creativity.

Congratulations to our show winners too! Class Favorites go to Don Nordike - standard arrangement, Frank Brines - miniature arrangement, Lenore Vogel - photography, Don Nordike - "Blooming Art", Jan Brider - Rose in a Picture Frame, Marlinda Curd - "Breakfast in Bed", and Jan Brider - Rose in a Teacup. Don Nordike won Show Favorite with his interpretation of "Iris" by Elizabeth Addington.

A big thank you goes to Rose Society members. It could not have been done without you! I would like to thank society members for distributing post cards. It worked! We got good results - many more people than the previous year. Also, those of you who helped set up and take down. We needed that extra muscle to move all those chairs and tables! Another thank you to those who brought refreshments, they were wonderful.

Thank you Rose Show Team! Thanks to Kathleen Turgeon for all the publicity, Jim Moss for making all kinds of direction signs, Lorraine Kline for painting the rainbow backdrop, Jan Brider for making the picture frames and doing the show schedule, Simonne Arnould for organizing the "Blooming Art", Ann Coakes for putting together gift baskets and getting sandwiches for workers. Thanks also to Lenore Vogel, May Olson and Frank Brines for their help and support.

A special thank you goes to Joycelyn Black for putting up with me and helping me through the frustrating times. Thanks Mom! The society will have a new show chairman next year. Hopefully, the momentum started will continue to spill over to new shows and more people will be passionate for roses. Thank you for allowing me to be your chairman for 2014!

To see photos of the rose show entries go here: 2014 Rose Show photos.

Youth Gardening Tree of Life in May

The students were very busy in April digging holes and planting tomatoes. The tomatoes are off to a good start so I wouldn't be surprised if we have a few early tomatoes by the end of the month. We have 12 varieties ranging from Cupid (a small grape tomato) to Big Zac (which can produce tomatoes that can weigh 4 to 6 pounds).

We also have a variety of vegetables that are ready to harvest. The garlic we planted in October is now ready. We planted two varieties (one hard neck and one soft neck). This gives us a chance to try mild and strong garlic (the garlic that you typically buy in the store is the mild). We also have Swiss chard that is ready for harvest (it is good raw and great in soups). We planted onions a month early this year because the winter was mild and we already have bulb onions that are big enough to harvest. We will harvest a few and leave a few in the ground to see how big they can get. We 3 varieties of onions: Yellow Granix (aka Maui), Texas Super Sweet and Bermuda white.

We are in the garden every Saturday morning if you would like to come by and see the students at work and try some of our delicious vegetables. They always taste better when they are fresh from the garden.

Tomato Planting

Rose Care FUNdamentals

When blooms fade it is best to remove them ("dead head") and send them to green waste. If there are multiple blooms just remove the oldest one. Continue shaping the bush for best production by pruning to a place where the cane is at least the diameter size of a lead pencil with an outward facing bud. Each leaf axil has a bud. Knowing this makes it easy to discern an outward facing bud.

Continue fertilizing-hopefully ready for the fourth application-organic I trust. As I always say, organics are much better for your soil and ultimately for your garden and the environment. The soil microbiology is complex and multi-tiered. A healthy garden soil system is teeming with beneficial microbes which create a sustainable soil "immune system." In fact, plants grown with organic fertilizers are themselves more resistant to pests and diseases.

Many gardeners become discouraged when they first experiment with organic treatments while still using chemical fertilizers. It is difficult-in fact, almost impossible-to have it both ways. Chemical fertilizers negatively impact the soil food web by killing off entire portions of it. Chemical fertilizers are salts!

Salts absorb water and dehydrate the soil microbes which are the foundation of the soil nutrient system. Once you've used chemical fertilizers regularly you must keep adding more because the soil microbiology is weakened and unable to do its job of releasing naturally available nutrients to your plants.

Chemical fertilizers are artificial growth stimulants and they quickly leach through the soil (becoming unavailable to your plants) and enter the ground water. On the other hand, organic amendments (such as manure, compost, or mulch) stay where you put them, break down slowly, and don't contribute to ground water pollution (as long as you prevent run off into drains). In addition, they improve the soil food web, so in the long run you end up using less product. How about swearing off chemical fertilizers for the rest of the year and start using organics? Give it a year. See if your roses don't reward you!

For this month's application of fertilizer I recommend using one with higher percentage of phosphate. If the product has the NPK numbers on the packaging the middle number reflects phosphate. Phosphate helps to strengthen root systems and aids the plant to withstand stress from warmer temperatures and also assists in bloom production. CAUTION: Never fertilize a plant while it is water stressed. Always water the day before applying any fertilizer and then water it in.

I've noticed that powdery mildew is present this year in most gardens. While not too obvious, keep an eye for worsening condition. Treating is dependent on your level of acceptance. There are some organic formulas using neem oil, insecticidal soaps, baking soda, etc. Do not use a formula that treats everything. Use only a product specifically for the problem. Read the labels and use accordingly and use safety equipment to avoid exposure to contaminates if you choose chemical.

How about swearing off chemical fertilizers for the rest of the year and start using organics? Give it a year. See if your roses don't reward you!

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!