Temecula Valley Rose Society Newsletter for March, 2021

Co-President's Message, by Rebecca Weersing

Hope springs eternal that in May we will be able to return to Rose Haven with daily activities during "Go Public Gardens Days!" from Friday, May 7 to Sunday, May 16. (The "Go Public Gardens Days!" initiative replaces the previous "National Public Gardens Week/Day" initiative of the American Public Gardens Associations. Our Society is a member of the American Public Gardens Association.

We hope to have a plant sale every day of the "Go Days!". Don Nordike was very kind when he did some renovation of his lovely garden in Sun City to provide us with both iris and alstroemeria plants from his garden. These have all been potted up and are being cared for in anticipation of our May plant sale. If you have plants you would like to contribute to our sale, contact Roger Fitness at RFitness2@gmail.com for details.

Alstroemeria transplants

We are brainstorming other activities for "Go Days!" and welcome your ideas and help in planning for the reopening of the garden when appropriate. Email us at rosehavencommittee@gmail.com.

Our Members Meeting will continue as GoToMeeting until the Library reopens. Thank you, Linda Freeman, for presenting great speakers and other Rose Education opportunities. Hope we are all taking advantage to learn more from home!

Passionate for Gardening? by Nancy Kaplan Fitness

Let us help! We need your help at Rose Haven Garden. Come join other member volunteers every Wednesday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. We offer fresh air, social distancing, and plenty of roses and companion plants that need your pruning skills. Just show up ... or call/text Nancy@602-615-1246 or Kathy@602-391-5161.

Boos Labyrinth Update

by Kathy Trudeau & Nancy Fitness

"Help Us Grow Our Garden" Donor Brick Campaign

After more than a year in the planning stages, our Labyrinth at Rose Haven is now a reality! It makes a magnificent statement as you enter through the arches. The Boos Courtyard has taken on a whole new look with not only the Labyrinth, but the new landscaping consisting of Sweet Laurel, drift roses and lavender surrounding this new garden area. Serving as a retaining structure to the level of the Labyrinth a short wall with seating cap has been added.

In addition to the Labyrinth improvements, we have included stamped concrete flooring to our Education Pavilion and added a three-sided enclosure of Sweet Laurel, which gives a soft garden appearance that ties in so well with the new plantings around the Labyrinth. Pea gravel has been laid in front of the Pavilion for a finished appearance.

Future improvements to this project will include custom iron arches from the Labyrinth into our garden, a circular bench around our Cork Tree, and curbing around the Original Rose Garden to highlight this special area and how Rose Haven began thirty years ago.

The successful donor brick campaign wrapped up in mid-January, raising over $16,000 for the Boos Labyrinth Courtyard project.

196 engraved bricks form two circles around the labyrinth, and 3 engraved poems are featured at each entry and exit point in the courtyard. The engraved sentiments blend beautifully with the meditative walking path.

"Thank you" to our members and the community for participating and becoming a permanent part of this Treasure of Temecula.

How Does Your Garden Grow, by Rebecca Weersing

We often talk about the big projects going on at Rose Haven. What we don't often talk about are the smaller projects that are just as important to overall health and appearance of the garden.

Here are several maintenance projects that we have worked on recently or are on our list to be done: The painting of the driveway fence, refurbishing the wooden handrails and benches, replacing the screening around our electrical panel, repair of the gates on our trash enclosure, to name a few. These projects are generally completed in a short period of time for relatively little cost.

Would you like to join the Rose Haven Committee? Email us at Rose Haven Committee. We have been meeting online through GoToMeeting on the 4th Wednesday of each month (except July, November, December) at 10 a.m. We also have work parties in the garden with appropriate masking and distancing.

March 2021 Program

Date: Thursday, March 18, 2021
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Place: GoToMeeting online. Members will receive an email invitation the first week of March with a link to the meeting. The meeting will open at 9:45 AM to allow member socializing. Members can join also by telephone to hear the program. The phone number will be in the invitation.
Topic: Growing Roses in Containers
Presenter: Jolene Adams. Jolene Adams was the 54th President of the American Rose Society and now serves as a Past President. She served as District Director of the Northern California-Nevada-Hawaii District from 2003 through 2009. She has also served as Webmaster for the World Federation of Rose Societies and for the ARS, along with starting web pages for several districts and local societies.

Jolene served the World Federation of Rose Societies as a Vice President for North America, representing the three countries in North America who are Members of the WFRS — Canada, USA and Bermuda and still serves as Chair of the World Federation of Rose Societies Publications Committee. She is an ARS Master Rosarian, ARS Consulting Rosarian, ARS Horticulture Judge and an International Horticulture Judge. She is also a California Master Gardener. Jolene retired from her position as Computer Resources Manager from UC Berkeley College of Chemistry in 2000.

In her small garden in California Jolene grows approximately 150 roses of all types: Climbers, OGRs (Old Garden Roses) , Minis and Minifloras, Hybrid Teas, Grandifloras, Floribundas, Polyanthas, Modern and Classic Shrubs.

TVRS will have a member meeting following Jolene's presentation with Rose Haven updates, a raffle, and Rose Society business. Don't forget Show your Vase. Last month we had Linda Freeman display her Celestial Night  before final pruning. Take a tour around your garden and show us what is growing and display it in a vase! We will be doing this monthly to share what is growing in our gardens. In between meetings, please send a picture of your vases to Linda Freeman with rose names.

GoToMeeing is an online meeting program similar to ZOOM. If you have used ZOOM recently you will be very comfortable using GoToMeeting. The program is also available by phone. Also, visit us on Facebook for roses from around the world as well as Rose Haven pictures and videos. If you would like to practice using GoToMeeting, please contact Linda Freeman at 951-204-6141.

March Rose Haven Flora, by Bonnie Bell

'Let Freedom Ring™'
Photo courtesy of
Van Winden's Garden Center

Our special rose this month is the beautiful Let Freedom Ring™. Blooms are strawberry red with long stems that are perfect for arrangements. This striking Hybrid Tea rose has 25 petals of excellent form with a slight tea fragrance. Spring is upon us so just one more month and it will be in full bloom for all to see.

Let Freedom Ring™ can be found in the mixed rose bed along the driveway at Rose Haven. The rose was created by amateur hybridizer Earman in 2005 for Weeks Roses with parentage of Touch of Class and Prima Donna. It has an ARS rating of 8.0 and grows especially well in our area.

Show Your Vase

by Linda Freeman

Since we have not been able to meet in person, we have started a monthly "Show Your Vase" at our online meetings. This gives us an opportunity to use our vases and display what is growing in our gardens. The inspiration came from Kathy Trudeau who had some great vintage vases (we all LOVE vases) and some late rose blooms. Please share your vases and blooms at our meetings and in-between meetings. Please send your pictures to Linda Freeman lee.linda@verizon.net for sharing in our newsletter. Please list the name of your roses. Hopefully, we will be able to restart our Little Rose Shows.

Kathy had late St. Patrick roses and scarlet carpet roses to display in her grandmother's vintage vases.

Linda had a very late Celestial Night rose (with Sungold Butterfly Bush, Euryops, Geranium, a Limequat and Sword Fern) in a trip souvenir vase.

Rose Care FUNda­men­tals, by Frank Brines

by Frank Brines, Master Consulting Rosarian

Location, Location, Location! Depending on your location—or more specifically, that of your garden—you may have experienced frost damage to your roses and tender young plants recently. Even gardens in the same general vicinity may have different effects due to their prevailing micro-climates. Lately the temperatures have risen in the Temecula Valley which encourages roses to jump into life. They enjoy this weather. A regular schedule for irrigating should already have begun. Roses do love food and water for the best blooms.

If your roses experienced fungal diseases last year and you haven't yet done so, you might think of applying a lime sulfur dormant spray soon. You can mix Horticultural Oil with the dormant spray for better adherence. Some gardeners have recently experienced rust on roses yet to be pruned or on the tender new growth as well. As a note of future caution, be prepared for Chilli Thrips as temperatures warm up.

Steps to take when ready to spray: First, make sure the garden is free of left-over debris and to dispose it in the green garden waste bin: Do NOT compost rose debris in your yard. Second, remove all old leaves that may be left on the bush. This cleanliness will help keep down disease. Third, read the dormant spray label completely to ensure the proper strength of the mixture for "growing season instructions" as the new growth has begun. Fourth, saturate all canes and the soil surface of the entire bed. Fifth, maintain a minimum of 2" to 4" of organic composted mulch over the entire garden surface to insulate the upper 8" to 12" of the soil zone where most rose roots feed, and to reduce evaporation and conserve water, while still providing sufficient moisture. This will also supply nutrients to build the soil for your roses over the season.

If you have space available and haven't yet purchased new roses, you can still do so and might find some great offers. Over the past several years, there has been a drop in the number of new varieties introduced into the market and commercial rose production has dropped, so there is less of a selection at fewer outlets. Some nurseries are still shipping to this area. Plants already in pots are the best to buy as they will be far easier to transplant and will establish themselves quicker. Look for those with 3 to 5 major canes.

Take time now to inspect and make any necessary repairs to your irrigation system. Drip systems are the most efficient and they avoid problems created by above-ground sprayers and sprinklers, which waste water and can foster molds (e.g., mildew and rust). If possible, avoid any over-spray or misting applied elsewhere in your garden that may hit your roses; but if you do use overhead watering systems, avoid doing so when there is any wind to avoid moisture evaporating or collecting on leaves which could result is sun burn or add to conditions favorable for fugal diseases. For best results and efficiency, be sure to time the irrigation so it is complete before the day gets hot (preferably by mid-morning, that is, 8am to 9am). Avoiding afternoon or evening watering prevents excess ground moisture into nighttime. Too wet soil can lead to unhappy roots and/or fungal diseases.

Now would be the time to sprinkle 1/2 cup to 1 cup of Epson salts widely around each rose bush (use half as much for minis and mini-floras). There is some indication that this helps stimulate new cane growths known as "basal breaks" at the "bud union" (the big part next to the ground where grafting was done).

You can begin fertilizing when new growth is 2" to 3" long. I suggest an initial feeding each year be higher in nitrogen (N) to encourage new stem and leaf growth. In about two weeks, apply fertilizer that is higher in phosphate (P) and potassium (K) to give roots a boost at start of season. New information suggests that continued use of fertilizer higher in P and K will foster greater root development and lead to better growth, resistance and healthier plants. Look for fertilizers rated as 8‑10‑8 that include micro elements for greater results.

I highly recommend organic type fertilizers vs. inorganic or "chemical" ones. Organics foster better soil development, a richer, livelier, more viable community of soil organisms that break the elements into easily absorbed form and release them slowly. They will "build" soil structure into a healthy component and when used regularly will develop a soil rich in reserve energy, allowing you to use less product with the same results.

There are NO rose events planned for this year. The San Diego Fair has not yet released any plans for opening this year. Inquire www.sdfair.com for information.

If you have completed your pruning it is likely all your pruners need sharpened. Sharp pruners make for clean cuts and the prevention of diseases or otherwise damaged weak canes. The best files to use are thin flat types with diamond grit material. This type allows easier sharpening for the tight spaces between the cutting blade and bar. Attempt to follow the current/original bevel/angle of the sharp blade. Felco states that the angle for their pruners is 23 degrees. Keeping pruners clean can be done using WD40 soak, if heavy plant "juice" is a problem a small brass bristle brush will help remove it. Lubricate the mechanism with a light oil like 3-In-One.