Temecula Valley Rose Society

President's Message

This month is a busy month for committee chairpersons. First, they are documenting their committee plans for the year and, secondly, attempting to staff their respective committees. It appears the second may be the more difficult. The word "committee" implies more than one, and we need participation by the membership. We may draft a superb plan, but without membership participation and support, the plans become wasted.

Like in all businesses, people (employees) are their most valuable asset, and the Rose Society is no different. Members are our most valuable asset. We want to utilize this asset to the maximum. Betty Dixon has drafted a questionnaire for the purpose of helping the Board of Directors effectively utilize our membership. Each of you has unique talents, and either during your current or previous occupations developed skills that helped you succeed in that occupation. The questionnaire will help you to identify your talents and skills, and assist us in identifying which on committee you can be the most effective. These questionnaires will be passed out at the February Program Meeting and you will be requested to complete them before leaving.

We are now in the middle of our pruning season, and although we have had several successful Saturday pruning sessions, we still have a lot of work to do. Again we need participation. There are instructors available on-site each Saturday to help demonstrate proper pruning techniques, as well as a portable toilet available to provide comfort. Invite potential recruits to come to the third Saturday workshop to learn pruning. Once we have a "captive" learning audience it is easier to employ recruitment techniques.

Our January 22, 2009 Saturday Workshop was a success with six people involved in the pruning demonstration and hands on participation. Frank Brines did an outstanding job of instructing and utilizing the student's enthusiasm to learn to the maximum.

Our membership recruitment drive is moving along with four new members. We need more if we are to meet our goal of a 20% increase in membership. Lets get to work, get out and talk to people, bring them to the February meeting, pass out material for them to read, give them a membership application, etc. Remember, if you recruit anyone be sure to provide Sochie with their name, and sign the recruitment form in order to accumulate points toward the award for most members recruited.

2009 Rose Show Theme, Dates Chosen

By all accounts the first meeting was a success. We decided that we have many reasons to combine the flower show and the rose show this year. The garden club sent a few people, the rose society sent a few people and there are a few people who belong to both groups. By the time we left our meeting in December we had thrashed out some of the problems we could encounter in bringing two groups together. We all decided we want to do this and are wanting to create a delightful event for the community (and ourselves) the first weekend in May.

Our combined show will be Saturday, May 2 and Sunday, May 3. We will begin set-up about noon on Friday and complete our tear-down on Monday. The show will be open to the public from noon to 4 p.m. each day.

The theme for the rose show is 'Everything's Coming Up Roses'. The theme for the flower show is still being considered.

The show committee welcomes your suggestions. If you are able to attend our next meeting, we will be meeting at the Community Recreation Center at 37500 Rancho Vista Road on Friday, February 6 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. If you can't make it to the meeting but want to share your ideas send your thoughts, comments and suggestions to me at temroses@verizon.net.

Youth Gardening

Sometimes the boxes grow great crops of weeds and sometimes radishes used for a math project and sometimes annual flowers are planted to be able to see a complete life-cycle in the length of a school year.

For three of the beds, Michelle would like for there to be roses, not just sometimes but always. That was the reason I was called to the garden. Michelle had heard about the Rose Society and wanted to know if we could help her achieve her dream of roses in the garden. Imagine how pleased she was to learn that we could help her!

Michelle is now busily planning two parties. The first party will be on Saturday, February 14 – a weeding party to prepare the three beds to receive roses. The second party will be on Saturday, February 28 – a rose planting party.

Michelle is going to recruit volunteers for weeding and planting. Our job will be to recommend and supervise planting the roses – and generally sharing our knowledge and love of roses. If you are interested in helping with this project send me a "La Vorgna Roses" email to temeculavalleyouthgardening@hotmail.com.

Michelle would like to have roses of many different colors so that the students will be able to create rose bouquets for special occasions. Also, roses of varying heights and varieties would be wonderful so that students can learn about the care of various roses. What roses would you suggest for a six by twelve box?

Visiting the garden on an absolutely gorgeous day – warm, sunshiny – it was the kind of day that makes you want to abandon your chores and really get outdoors, enjoying the chance to dig in the dirt, and to imagine those roses in bloom just a few months from now.

Member Meeting Program

Rob was raised in a suburb of Los Angeles and graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in Recreation Administration. He lives in Wildomar with his wife, daughter and son.

A light buffet luncheon will be served around noon. Guests are welcome.

Birthdays This Month

Welcome New Members

Membership Renewal

It's time again to renew your membership in the Rose Society. Renewal forms will be available at our February 19th Member Meeting. They are also available on our website under Membership. The cost is $20 per individual, or $30 per family. Mail the form with your check to TVRS, P.O. Box 890367, Temecula, CA 92589, or turn in you renewal at the meeting.

We sincerely hope every one enjoys our programs and our outstanding Rose Festival and Art Show. We strive to bring you entertaining and informative guest speakers and also provide a friendly meeting place to gather with other rose enthusiasts.

Rose Haven Update

Pruning Season. There has been a slew of activity at Rose Haven recently. Neither rain, nor sleet, nor snow (nor wind) has deterred our pruner volunteers. The 3rd Saturday Workshop showcased Frank Brines teaching proper pruning techniques. Of course with 1600 roses there are plenty more which need pruning. There have also been several high school students participating in pruning, raking and cutting down perennials thanks to Betty Dixon's encouragement at Linfield High School. Ann Coakes also brought students – and they all did a great job. Thank you so much, students and volunteers.

In January another of our garden "Wish List" items was accomplished. The planting of 50 Topsy Turvy red roses along Cabrillo Ave. will enhance our curb appeal once the roses grow in. The plants were donated by Tom Carruth at Weeks Roses, and the planting and irrigation was achieved using a portion of the proceeds from our "Last Rose of Summer" fund raiser.

With the greatly appreciated rain in the Southland. Besides being so beneficial to our plants, those ugly weeds have sprung up all over. We were aghast at the sight, and Phyllis quickly called in workers to take care of the weeds fast. Weed and erosion control is foremost on the maintenance agenda of the garden this season.

Our next 3rd Saturday education workshop is February 21st. We hope to see you all there to learn even more about the beloved rose. Regular pruning continues each Wednesday and Saturday morning. The monthly Garden Development Meeting is Wednesday, February 25th at 9 a.m. All members are invited to join the discussion. The garden address is 30592 Jedediah Smith Road, Temecula.

For your information, our Society is a member of the American Public Gardens Association. They have a terrific website at www.publicgardens.org on which our Society is listed, with Rose Haven as a Display Garden, along with other member public gardens across the United States. Please check it out at your convenience.

Other Rose Happenings

Consulting Rosarian School and Seminar, hosted by the San Diego Rose Society, February 21, 2009 from 8:30-3:30.

This is a seminar for anyone who wants to become a consulting rosarian. You must be an ARS member for three years. Complete qualifications and registration form are available at www.pswdistrict.org.

The location is at Room 101 of the Casa del Prado building, Balboa Park. Speakers are Roger English, Kreg Hill, Baldo Villegas, Sue Streeper and Bert and Kay Grant. Cost is $25. Registration deadline is February 14th. Send your check to the San Diego Rose Society, Attn: Roger English, 4630 Cajon Way, San Diego, CA 92115. E-mail Roger English at rozluvr@cox.net.

We Need Mulch!

We can use more composted mulch in Rose Haven. We need to add some to what we were able to cover last year, and some areas that didn't get any last year do need some now. Please, donate what you can to a fund for some composted mulch, and make note on your check what it is for.

Rose pruning in the Temecula Valley doesn't have a definitive time. So many micro climes exist here! It's generally safe to do the major pruning in January or February. The wildcard is frost: If you prune too early, tender new growth can be damaged by cold temperatures. (By the way, for truly local weather information, go to weathercurrents.com and select your community.) Of course, there is such a thing as pruning too late: After your major pruning, it will take 10 to 12 weeks to get blossoms. Also, if you don't do a proper pruning now, you run the risk of haphazard vegetative growth, as well as blossoms that are small and few in number.

So, let's get started! Ideally, you will use a pair of high-quality hand pruners, a small pruning saw, and a pair of loppers. Before you begin, be sure all your tools are sharp and clean; this helps prevent die-back and disease near the cut. You can take your tools to L&M Fertilizer, here in town, for sharpening. You can clean them with rubbing alcohol–70% has less water, but 50% will do fine, too. It's a good idea to clean your cutting tool blades when you finish with one bush and are about to go on to the next. Wipe them with clean paper towels rather than with the same dirty rag which will only carry over any disease organisms. Also, discard all plant material that you remove from the roses, and all leaves, blossoms, and other rose material on the ground around the plants: DO NOT COMPOST ANY OF IT!

First do the gross pruning. The canes will end up between 12" and 24" tall, so start by cutting the job down to size: Lop off and discard all growth that is 3' above the bud union (usually indicated by bulging woody stem close to the ground). Also remove and discard all remaining leaves so you see what you're doing and to get rid of over-wintering molds and pest eggs. Then cut away any twiggy growth in the center of the plant and any dead wood.

For higher-quality exhibition blooms, you want to end up with 3 to 5 canes; for a larger number of smaller blooms, you'll leave 5 to 7 canes. In all cases you want the remaining canes to be distributed as evenly as possible around the base of the plant. So, the next thing to prune away are any canes that cross or rub against other canes that are in better locations.

If a cane needs to be removed completely, cut as close to the base of the plant as possible. If you're worried about disease entering the cut surface, you can apply some Elmer's White Glue to seal any opening that's bigger than the diameter of a wooden pencil.

You want new grow to extend away from the center of the plant, giving it a fuller look and aiding air circulation through the plant to reduce the likelihood of disease. To ensure this, examine the remaining canes for outward facing buds that are 18" to 24" above the bud union. You will prune down to just above those buds. The thickness of the stem tells you how high above each bud to begin your cut; for example, if the stem at the bud is 1/2" thick, begin your cut 1/2" above the bud on the outward-facing side of the cane. Angle the cut slightly downward from front to back.

When your pruning is done, sprinkle 1/4-cup to 1/2-cup of Epsom Salts around the drip line of each plant, and scratch it gently into the soil. This stimulates the development of basal buds. This is the same stuff you can buy at the drug store to soak your feet– and you might want to do that after this marathon around the rose garden! You can get larger volumes of Epsom Salts at lower cost from other outlets. If you like, you can irrigate your roses to get the Epsom Salts dissolving into the soil.

If you were troubled with mildew or rust last season, apply "dormant spray" to plants and soil when you have finished all your pruning. Be sure to follow the direction on the label, and wear gloves and protective clothing. After spraying, shower immediately, and wash your clothing separately from other laundry.

A week or two or three after this pruning extravaganza, you should start thinking about applying a 4" layer of composted mulch. This can be a lot of work, but it will nourish your soil all season long and save you a lot of weeding, as well as insulating the root zone from our fierce summer heat and evaporation. Be sure to keep that mulch a few inches away from the base of the plant.

Finally, plan to purchase an organic fertilizer, preferably one that's slightly higher in phosphorous. Plan to sprinkle 1/2- to 1-cup around each plant after the first 2" to 3" of tender new growth appears.