Temecula Valley Rose Society

Co-President's Message

In order to exhibit the table settings and tray settings we need tables upon which to place those exhibits. We need four six-foot table for the eight table settings and we need three tables for the tray settings. Room A - where we normally have our meeting - is constricted as to wall space. In addition to being slightly smaller than Room B, Room A has both the piano and the small hallway opening into a storage closet. If we use Room A we might fit the tables in but we would all need to stand as there would not be any room for the chairs. Not a comfortable idea!

I talked to Rosie Vanderhaak, the head librarian. She suggested a solution to our dilemma. She will reverse our rooms. We will enter through the Room A door (inside the foyer, near the restrooms). The membership table, raffle tables and other miscellaneous activities will happen in Room A. Room B will have tables against the walls for our exhibits and we will have chairs in the center.

Thank you for your understanding. This will be a year of trying new and different ideas for our meetings. And let us know what you think of our changes.

Rose Pruning Workshop

Can you lend a hand? Rose Haven needs its annual pruning and clean-up. If you feel that you need a review, I can give you a demonstration. Experienced pruners can work alone or help others. If every member can do a LITTLE, it will add up to a LOT.

Saturday, February 11th, 10 a.m., Rose Haven Heritage Garden, 30592 Jedediah Smith Road, corner of Cabrillo. Bring gloves and tools.

Roses Past And Present -- XI

First, a correction concerning last months article: It should have been number X and not V. Sorry!

But continuing, Empress Josephine, through her estate at Malmaison, France created a new generation of rose lovers all over Europe and elsewhere. Of course she was assisted in this by legions of rose breeders who caught on to the wealth and fame of breeding new and never-before-seen varieties of roses.

Early on in their pursuits, breeders were crossing different types of "wild" roses thereby creating new products. But eventually there were enough of these created varieties that breeding among them without using wild rose pollen became possible, so the old, original wild roses were relegated to history. Thus, slowly the generation of "Old Garden Roses" was born.

As mentioned previously, any study of the ancestry of roses will show the genetic history of each variety, if it has been recorded. This research does not have to be restricted to OGR's. The roses that most of us have in our gardens today have in their genetic ancestery not only OGR's but by default, wild roses. As in human genealogy, your family tree did not begin with your great grandparents, but goes back tens of thousands of years in the past. So the genetic history of a specific rose will probably go back well into the wild rose era.

The years between the late 18th century and late 19th century saw the explosion of popularity of roses as something to be enjoyed for nothing other than pleasure. Nearly gone were the religous, ceremonial and medicinal uses of these plants. In addition, the general public became enamored with them and as prices fell due to competition, roses were soon in everyday gardens across Europe and North America.

All this chenged in the year 1867. What happened then will be our topic next month.

Grocery Cards Benefit TVRS

Member Meeting Program

What better way to share our love of roses during February than to create a table or tray setting? As part of our "deconstructed" Rose Show, we will have Society Members displaying their Artistic Tables and Trays. Between 10:30 and 10:45 am we will vote for our favorite settings. During our program each person entering an Artistic Exhibit will have an opportunity to talk about the inspiration for their entry. Click "Artistic Exhibit Tables & Trays Entry Rules" to view details.

A light buffet luncheon will be served at 11:30. Guests are welcome.

Membership

It's dues time! Please get your dues to us by the end of February so we can publish the new roster for the March meeting.

Volunteer of the Year

It's a new year and time to start recording those volunteer hours. I have forms, or you can make up your own. Just note the date, the volunteer activity, and the hours. A few reminders of rules. Regular general meetings don't count, but committee and board meetings do (for non-Board members). Travel to and from your volunteer work is added. Bringing guests counts for 2 hours. If that guest joins as a member, there is a 10 hour bonus. And please keep your records as an individual, to keep everyone on a level playing field. We did not think to make that a rule last year, and it had no impact on the competition last year, but going forward, this is a competition for the individual with the most volunteer hours.

Support our wonderful organization with your time and effort and your name may be the next one on the perpetual plaque as Volunteer of the Year!

February Birthdays & New Members

Birthdays Art or Nena Meza, James Marietta, Denise and Stan Vaccaro, Tom Torres, and Brenda Jahanbani

New Members There are no new members this month.

Rose Haven Heritage Garden

With all the rain last month and warmer weather now, the roses at the garden are somewhat confused. We can see most of them leafing out although the winter pruning is not close to being finished. Our work days are Wednesday and Saturday and we could use some help.

Our January pruning class was such a success that Virginia and Roy Boos plan another class Saturday, February 11th at 9:00. An attentive group watched Virginia's demonstration and then they all went to work pruning, and pruning some more. You can see by the photos the before and after results. So come on out in February and join other rose lovers in this enjoyable event.

Our next garden committee meeting is Wednesday, February 22nd at 10:00. We discussed many projects, large and small from the new shade structure in the Education Area to replacing many dead roses with very hardy ones like Iceberg. All members are invite to attend. The address to the garden is 30592 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula.

Pruning demonstration

Pruned results

Rose Care FUNdamentals

There is no magical specific date to prune. According to all accounts and professional rosarians, the proper time is "late winter." This has many meanings-bottom line, you want to prune late enough that there's little risk of frost damage to the tender growth that will emerge from pruning. In the Temecula Valley, last average frost date is March 31, so that means you're probably safe pruning in mid- to late-February. Of course, it's always a gamble. With this winter's heavy rains the best advice is to watch the weather. Generally speaking a little later is best under these conditions since the rains are cold and the ground is wetter and colder than usual.

After this pruning, you can usually expect a flush of blooms 8 to 12 weeks later, depending on the temperatures during that period—the warmer it is, the shorter the time to blooms. But all things being equal, if you prune in the latter half of February you will likely have blooms for 2017 rose shows scheduled in mid- to late-April. If you would like blooms for a specific date, count backwards approximately 10 weeks from that date. Pruning should be complete on this date.

The main reason for the major late-winter pruning is to reset the plants' biological clock. A wake up call to begin a new life cycle-like restarting a factory.

The following procedures mostly apply to hybrid teas and floribundas, but are reasonably serviceable for minis. They are not really applicable to climbers, ground cover roses, trailers, or shrub roses—all those types have their own pruning methods.

In general, it is recommended that you have good pruning tools and gloves with arm protectors, sharp clean bypass hand pruners, and long handle loppers is recommended. One needs to have a range of pruner sizes handy. Each size has a limit to the diameter thickness for which it is most efficiently used; using too small a pruner on too large a cane can damage both. At minimum, have a pair of loppers and a standard-sized pair of hand pruners.

If you have some older plants with large canes that may need to be removed, a saw is a handy tool to have. All pruners should be kept clean, sharp, and in good repair. Rubbing alcohol is ideal for cleaning pruners, before and during the job. It also helps prevent transmitting diseases from plant to plant, and you can use it as first aid for punctures and scratches to your skin. A good pair of leather gloves are necessary with long sleeves or separate pair of sleeves to protect our arms.

Before starting the job, lubricate the moving parts with a little light oil (such as 3-in-1 oil), and make sure they operate without resistance. Sharpen each blade with a small diamond file (available at garden centers), trying as much as possible to match the original bevel of the blade. Every 100 cuts or so, swipe the file over the blade a few times to keep it sharp. If you notice that the pruners are crushing the stems and/or leaving a tail, it's past time to sharpen!

Now, decide what style of pruning you feel comfortable with (Figure 1). I find this works well with the way buds are distributed along the cane. Buds are found in the "axil" where a leaf meets the cane; leaves spiral around the cane at about 1.5" intervals. This places outward-facing buds about 4" apart. If you prune lightly to moderately, and if frost damages the tender young growth, then you can still re-prune to the next bud down.

In Southern California our rose bushes can grow quite large, so start with some gross pruning to bring the project down to size. I use loppers to cut every bush down to about 3 feet high. This lets you examine the structure of the bush, and to use your hand pruners to more easily remove canes that are twiggy, dead, crossing other canes, or passing through the center of the plant. Also remove old leaves as you go along so you can easily see the structure of the plant. After removing all that stuff from the interior of the bush you can do the final pruning. Attempt to leave a domed top to the degree possible so the plant will bush out in a pleasing, balanced manner.

There are two kinds of cuts you will make. Some cuts remove the entire branch; these cuts are made flush with the surface of the parent cane. Other cuts simply shorten a cane. It is important to position your pruners so you minimize damage to the plant. Take a look at your pruners and notice that they have a sharp cutting blade (which slices through the cane), and a dull curved non-cutting blade (which holds the cane in place during the cut). These are called bypass pruners, only type recommended. Position your pruners so the non-cutting blade is in contact with the portion of the cane that will be removed, and the cutting blade is on the side of the cut that will remain on the plant. (See Figure 2.) This will make more sense when you are actually holding the pruners and getting ready to cut! Also, always prune above an outward facing bud with an angled cut. (See Figure 3).

A word of caution when pruning: Look for the small nests of hummingbirds, as this is the nesting period for two varieties in our area. Also, if you discover praying mantis egg cases on any branches you remove, find a place to put them where they will be undisturbed and hatch out so you can benefit from the offspring!

Be sure to dispose of all cut off material into your green waste bin and put it on the street. Clean the ground thoroughly of all rose debris. Apply a dormant spray to the plants and the soil surface to ward off diseases. Then add 2"-4" of composted mulch to cover the entire garden area.

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. Spread the joy of roses!