Temecula Valley Rose Society

President's Message

Thank you to those of our members who devote their time to pruning, weeding and cleanup in the garden.

A special thank you to Nardo Felipe. Nardo is a long time member who also owns a landscape business. A number of years ago the Board approved hiring Nardo to do weekly maintenance at the garden. In addition, Nardo also donates some of his time to maintaining the garden.The garden has benefited from the detailed attention that Nardo has bestowed on Rose Haven.

A large group of non-Rose Society volunteers spend one Saturday morning a year performing large scale projects, such as spreading mulch or removing sand from the natural drainage areas (ABC Garden is one such area).

Every two to three years we have the trees on the property trimmed. Please take time to visit our Cork Oak tree. The bark is amazing!

It takes many hands and many donations to create and to maintain Rose Haven. Gifts of both time and money are greatly appreciated.

Garden Group Visits

Sharing our garden bloom with other garden lovers is an important part of our Society outreach. This year we have hosted three different groups who have traveled from afar - Canyon Lake Garden Club, Vista Garden Club and UCR Botanic Garden Group.

Thanks to those of our members who served as docents for these out-of-town guests.

Linda Freeman gave the tour to the Canyon Lake Group and Ann Shryer gave a short talk on photography in the garden to the same group.

Alicia Cline and her daughter Victoria served as docents for UCR. Alicia gave the tour of the garden and Victoria assisted by answering questions, particularly in the Tree of Life Garden. Alicia made a visit to UCR Botanic Garden to pick up two miniature roses UCR donated to our ABC Children's Garden. The group also gave a very nice monetary donation to Rose Haven as well.

Docent for Vista Garden Club was Rebecca Weersing. The Vista group had a very nice outing. They first went to Louie's Nursery then to Rose Haven and ended their day with lunch in Old Town Temecula.

Below are two photos: one of the UCR group at the pond and a photo of the roses at UCR Botanic Garden in Riverside.

UCR visitors

UCR Botenic Garden

Keeping Karen Ortega's Dream Alive

Our First Bloom celebration would have delighted her! Thanks to all the members who are working, donating and contributing to keep our rose society, and especially our own garden, in good shape. We are thriving and I know that Karen would be pleased, and probably surprised too, that after 28 years we are still continuing with her dream of a special garden like Rose Haven Heritage Garden.

Genetic Secrets Of The Rose Revealed

There are about 200 types of rose. Take time to smell the roses, the saying goes, and, according to scientists, the fragrant flowers could smell even sweeter in the future. For the first time researchers have deciphered the full genetic "book" of this most prized of plants. The secret history of the rose reveals surprises - it is more closely related to the strawberry than we thought. And in the long term the work could lead to roses with new scents and colors, says an international team.

The new genome map, which took eight years to complete, reveals genes involved in scent production, color and the longevity of flowers, said Mohammed Bendahmane of ENS de Lyon, in Lyon, France, who led the research. "You have here a book of the history of the rose," he told BBC News. "A book that helps us understand the rose, its history and its journey through evolution and domestication."

The Chinese rose, Rosa chinensis 'Old Blush', was mapped in the study. The study, by a team of more than 40 scientists from France, Germany, China and the UK, gives a better understanding of why roses have such a wide range of colors and scents. The genetic information will help breeders develop new varieties that last longer in the vase or are more resistant to plant pests. It also sheds light on the Rosaceae family, which contains fruits such as apples, pears and strawberries, as well as ornamentals such as the rose. "The rose and the strawberry are very close species," said Dr Bendahmane.

War of the Roses: The cultivation of roses in gardens began thousands of years ago, probably in China. During the Roman period, roses were grown widely in the Middle East, where they were used as confetti or for perfume. In the fifteenth century, the rose was a symbol of the fight for the English throne during the "War of the Roses". The white rose represented the House of York, and the red rose symbolised the House of Lancaster. The research is published in the journal, Nature Genetics.

Publicity

Something all members can do is help to publicize our rose society. Membership can be built up this way. We need to let everyone know we are here!

The First Bloom celebration and plant sale were shown in Neighbors, Patch.com, Nextdoor, the Valley News, The Colony email, and Four Seasons email. If your neighborhood or club has its own newsletter or email, please let me know so that we can submit articles. Everyone can help by spreading the word about our activities.

Grocery Cards Benefit TVRS

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

June/July Birthdays & New Members

Birthdays   June: Tony Merritt June 3, Sochie Rumbold June 19, Sandy Starckey June 30 July: Bonnie Bell July 28, Jeanne Brubaker July 5, Barb Purdy July 13

New Members   There are no new members this month.

Little Rose Show

Until the September meeting, the June 21st meeting will be your last chance to participate in the Little Rose Show exhibits. This is always a fun event, taking a look at members' gorgeous blooms. It's a little effort to bring the roses to the library, but hopefully we will have a full table of color and fragrance. You may enter 6 blooms in any of the 6 categories. Help is available if you are uncertain about anything.

Results of the Little Rose Show

We had a lovely table full of blossoms. Thanks to all the members who made the effort to bring them. Don Nordike took "Rose of the Day" with Veterans' Honor, a strong, dark red beauty.

Rose Haven Garden

We want to thank a group of "Helping Hands" volunteers in clearing out the sand that had washed down over the years covering our walking path on the west side of the pond. We really appreciate their hard work in helping our garden having more convenient pathways for all our visitors.

On Saturday, June 23rd the City of Temecula will host "Night of the Luminaries" at our garden. This annual event has been so enjoyable and we are excited to show off the garden and meet new guests. Time is 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Members and guests are invited as well as the public.

Our "First Bloom Celebration" in May was certainly enjoyed by all. Plants for sale and entertainment by the Windsong Consort rounded out a perfect day.

Our next garden committee meeting is Wednesday, June 27 at 9:30. We will discuss projects to improve areas in the garden. Members interested are always welcome to attend the meeting.

Pond water lilies

Bank of roses & gazebo

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

May Families in the Garden

The Families in the Garden May event went splendidly. The children made Tussie Mussie bouquets for Mother's Day, painted rocks for Father's Day and did a final harvest in The Tree of Life for this season. The weather was great and ended with snacks along with smiling faces.

Our next event will be the 3rd Saturday of Sept. We take the summer months of June, July and August off. We look forward to returning and expanding with new program topics next season. :)

Making Tussie Mussies

Painting rock

Rose Care FUNdamentals

There are a few things we can do now to provide some relief for our cherished roses once the weather gets really hot. First, as hot weather approaches, cut back on fertilizing established roses; this will encourage them to slow down for the hot summer. Second, water roses deeply as temperatures rise. Next, hose off roses in the early morning to increase humidity and control spider mites, which are found mostly on the underside of the leaf. A strong forceful spray from below will be needed to dislodge these mites. Then give a downward shower rinse to wash them away. Spider mites usually appear when the seasonal temperatures have been hot. Also, keeping vegetation trimmed to approximately 8 inches from the soil level will help as well.

Typical mature, full-size hybrid teas in Southern California soil require about 6-9 gallons of water a week when temperatures are high. As temperatures rise into the 80s, those roses require about 9 gallons of water per week. In the 90s, the rose requires about 12 gallons or more per week. These figures are rough and based on the amount of water needed to maintain the highest level of show quality blooms: A rose can stay alive on considerably less. But during summer heat, I don't even try to have show quality blooms.

The past few years of drought experience has made gardeners aware that we must be watchful and learn how to efficiently manage the amount of water we apply in our yards. The strategies I will discuss here are:
 ● Delivering water efficiently;
 ● Keeping water in the soil using mulch;
 ● Allowing your roses a summer dormancy period.

Delivering Water Efficiently: Drip systems provide the most efficient way to deliver water to your roses because such systems don't produce a spray that can be carried away by the slightest breeze, and because they deliver water slowly, allowing it to soak deep into the root zone rather than running off. If you have a drip system, be sure it's in good shape before you go on to the next step and cover it with mulch! Open each irrigation valve one at a time and inspect how it is performing. Repair any leaks, including emitters that are spraying from their attachment point on the tubing-you may have to remove the emitter, insert a "goof plug," and install a new emitter an inch or two away from the original one. My gardening friends are recommending the more efficient drip system called Netafim. This product has pre-placed pressure regulating emitters at different distances apart for your use. Find the information at netafimusa.com

One more thing: You'll want to estimate the volume of water the system is delivering so you can better manage your use. For example, if every rose has two emitters, which it should have in the typical drip line system that, deliver 8 liters (about 2 gallons) per hour, then to deliver 4 gallons to the plant you'll need to run the system for an hour. This should work well in a typical loam soil. You want the water to soak down at least 12" for optimal rose health. A loam soil doesn't allow water to just run through it, so irrigating for an hour at a time can be fairly efficient. On the other hand, if your soil is particularly sandy-which allows water to permeate more quickly-an hour of irrigation may waste some of that water, and you might be better off running the system twice a week for half as long. Experiment! After all, gardening is a scientific pursuit.

Mulch: If you have read my past columns you know that I have been advocating the application of a deep layer of mulch for years. Mulch provides many benefits. It moderates the soil temperatures, retains moisture and allows it to spread more uniformly throughout the root zone, discourages weeds, and maintains a soft soil surface while enriching the soil nutrients and bio mass. A four inch layer of mulch is recommended. I highly suggest composted mulch. There are many materials you can use, and you might want to experiment with a variety of them, but you will probably get the best results if you don't mix them in any one garden bed.

One material that some gardeners have in abundance is pine needles. They provide an airy cooling barrier and break down very slowly to impart a more acidic soil environment which makes mineral nutrients more available to plants. Another material is any size of wood chip specifically intended as mulch; I recommend the finer cut forms. Possible drawbacks: if not specifically manufactured for garden use is the potential for matting due to fungal growth, which can make the wood chip layer impermeable to water: the need to apply added nitrogen to break down the wood fibers. I'm not an advocate for the dyed wood products.

I prefer composted mulch that is light and fluffy (so it doesn't pack down) and contains a higher proportion of hummus (so it slowly integrates with and enriches the soil). One drawback of composted mulch is that after several years you may find that your garden soil level has risen. If this ends up burying the bud unions, it can be helpful to "lift" the rose-essentially, digging to release a large root ball, levering it up, filling in several inches of good garden soil beneath it, and then resetting the root ball in the hole or maintain a clear well around the base of the bush.

Whatever mulching material you choose, be careful to NOT apply it up to or over the bud union. Leave an area around the base of the plant of about 12" diameter. (If you can maintain that distance, then as your composted mulch disintegrates it will not raise the soil level around the bud unions.)

Summer Dormancy: Allowing your roses to go dormant during the hot summer months will reduce water use as well as the stress on your plants. You won't be missing out much because if you allowed your roses to power through the summer, most blooms would be of poor quality and have burned petals and leaves. So as your roses complete the current bloom cycle, remove only the petals as the flowers fade—do not deadhead them—that is, allow hips to form. This will discourage new growth and flower formation, thus reducing demand for water. Remove any fallen leaves and discard them along with the petals into your green yard waste bin-do not compost them! (It is always a good practice to keep the garden clean in order to reduce fungal diseases and insect pests, particularly in hot dry weather.) Do not remove burned leaves because they provide shade for the cane which can be damaged or killed by sunburn! Discontinue your feeding program-we do not want to encourage growth at this time because it will only stress the bush more.

Potted plants will require more diligent watching, resources and attention to what they are experiencing during this period. Learn to listen to your plants and observe their reaction to the elements.

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!