Temecula Valley Rose Society

Co-President's Message

Waterwise Botanicals Tour

Even with our rains of last year we, as gardeners know, that we must always be mindful of our water usage. This nursery has a large selection of plants, including roses. We will meet at Rose Haven on Thursday, October 5 at 9:30 a.m. to begin our trip to Waterwise Botanicals. Wear your walking shoes for this guided tour of a wonderful nursery. Lunch is on your own.

Sunshine for Members

Kathy Turgeon has volunteered to take over sending Birthday, get well, and other greeting cards to our members. Please let her know if a member needs some cheer.

Families in the Garden

Families in the Garden is in need of volunteers. While we manage it has become increasingly difficult to provide the children with the best learning experience with only three or four volunteers each month. We give community service hours to students and the opportunity to help instill the love of gardening in future generations. If interested contact Ms. Alicia at 951 234-2218.

Grocery Cards Benefit TVRS

Member Meeting Program

October Birthdays & New Members

Birthdays   Frances Merritt, 10-13, Jocelyn Black, 10-25, and JoAnn Summers, 10-25

New Members Marian Stouvenel has rejoined. Welcome back!

Little Rose Show

We won't be having a show in October, as we are doing a field trip to the Hotel Temecula in place of our regular meeting at the library. Bring your best roses to the November meeting for our friendly competition. Betty Dixon is taking a break, so I'll be the Chair for the balance of the year. Please call me if you have questions, 695-1689.

Rose Haven Garden

Since autumn has arrived the garden has received many new and returning visitors and they have told us how much they enjoy the garden, and the new pavilion for picnics. We always appreciate their kind words as we strive to maintain a lovely atmosphere for the community.

Our next garden committee meeting is Wednesday, October 25th at 9:30. The meeting location is at the garden, 30592 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula. We review projects and improvements needed to maintain the garden. Members interested are always welcome to attend the meeting.

Preparing the planting bed

Iris in bloom

Rose Haven garden is at 30592 Jedediah Smith Rd. in Temecula.

Rose Care FUNdamentals

Last month I gave illustrations and descriptions for mid-season pruning with a suggested time line for pruning and restarting your feeding program. What may not have been clear is that this is a light pruning, and must be carefully calibrated with the weather conditions. Specifically, when temps remain in the 90+ range, you must take care to not remove too much foliage because this can over expose canes to the fierce sun and sunburn them. This can damage or kill otherwise healthy canes or even the entire plant. If you're planning to have roses for a special occasion later this year, it will take hybrid teas 6 to 8 weeks from this pruning and feeding. Floribundas and miniatures will take a little less time. This cycle of bloom is the second best of the season and necessary to achieve maximum potential. Exhibitors are pruning and planning to time for the fall shows in the area and Arizona. The Orange County Rose Society fall show is October 28, 2017.

After pruning restart your feeding program. Make sure the plants are watered the day before. I recommend organic types and alternating with fish emulsions. Use a fertilizer that contains greater percentage of (P) phosphate in relation to (N) nitrogen and (K) potassium. This will assist the resistance to any stress and encourage stronger root systems. If temperatures are in 90s or above and you do not use organic hold off fertilizing until the weather cools. 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, be sure to scratch it into the soil surface around the base of the plant to drip line, and then water it in. Apply in the concentration recommended on label; if growing in pots, use half the recommended amount, but apply it more frequently. Repeat your applications every two weeks. The last date for fertilizing is 30 days before the frost date, in this area around mid-November.

When temperatures continue to be in the 90's, it is necessary to ensure plants receive adequate water to stay hydrated. It takes only a few days in these temperatures without sufficient water for a bush to become seriously stressed and even damaged. I suggest that with 3 gallons of water per plant twice per week a Hybrid Tea rose bush can survive. A layer of 4 inches of mulch will greatly reduce evaporation of soil moisture. This year the soil dries out more quickly than in previous years due to less water being applied as in previous years and, in general, the drier soil environment. With potted roses this is even more critical.

Assess conditions every morning. Look for wilted or dry, crispy foliage. If you discover it soon enough dousing with plenty of water may save the plant. If you wait to inspect until the afternoon or evening it may be too late or you might not get a good assessment of the plant's condition: After a hot day, most plants can appear wilted while still receiving sufficient hydration.

Also, inspect your irrigation system to make sure it is delivering enough water, isn't clogged, and isn't over watering—all problems that come with age in drip irrigation systems. If an emitter is delivering much more or much less water than others on the line, it can change the system pressure and affect the other emitters. The simple solution: Replace it! If a clay pot is used more water is needed as the clay will absorb moisture from the potting soil and evaporate through the porous clay material. Plastic pots are better as they will not absorb moisture from the soil. Another possible problem with potted plants is the soil can pull away from the sides of the pot and water will just run through and out the drain holes in the bottom. This problem can be corrected by pressing the soil back against the inside sides of the pot when the soil is wet. Most people use black plastic pots as containers, these tend to heat the soil in them from the sunshine, an added reason to check these plant frequently for soil pulled away from the sides and roots damaged from the heat. Ideally, these pots should be placed in another larger one for some insulation.

It's not too early to start thinking about which roses you will remove and what you'll replace them with. Very few suppliers have printed catalogs any longer but most should have online catalogs. If you haven't mulched recently, estimate the amount of composted mulch you'll need in order to cover your garden beds 4" deep and plan to buy it for this coming winter or spring. An area 10 feet by 5 feet will require 4 to 5 cubic yards of mulch.

A common problem when hot, dry, dusty conditions prevail is spider mites. This topic was covered in a previous care column which you can find on TemeculaValleyRoseSociety.org newsletter; look for Care for September 2013.

A valuable bi-monthly magazine which covers rose topics is the American Rose published by the American Rose Society (ARS). Go to www.rose.org for more information on obtaining it.

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 our local one-of-a-kind Rose Haven Heritage Garden.

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!