Garden Faces November 2015
Birmingham Rose Society An American Rose Society Affiliate
President’s Message
Our October in-house Rose Show had the biggest blooms, best foliage and sturdiest stems ever. The highest honor, Queen of Show, was won by Dr. Harold Settle with the hybrid tea Louise Estes. Chris & Tina Van Cleave won King with Hot Princess. Dr. Settle won Princess with Helen Naude. Chris won Court with Moonstone. The Minflora Award was won by Dr. Settle with First Choice. He had an awesome collection of Minflora entries which he said are now his favorites. Gloria Purnell won Old Garden Rose with Gertrude Jekyll. Congratulations to our winners! You really have the admiration of your peers. Our BRS has knowledgeable rose growers and consulting rosarians with a wealth of understanding of anything rose. We are willing to share our experiences of the good, the bad, and the ugly. Save the date for our wonderful Christmas Banquet on Monday, December 7th. Our BRS will provide the meat. Please think of your favorite vegetable/salad/desert and bring it to share. We will not be doing Dirty Santa so keep those gifts for your other friends. Chris is planning a delightful evening. You will not want to miss it. Sharon Bamberg, President
Consulting Rosarian Report
Whatever happened to the Peace rose? In 1945 in California, there was a naming ceremony for a rose. Its name was “Peace” and, on the day that it received that name, Berlin surrendered. A Peace rose awaited the delegates to the newly formed United Nations meeting in San Francisco and, on the day of their arrival, a truce was declared in Europe. The war with Japan ended on the day it won the All-American Rose Selection and the peace treaty with Japan was signed on the same day it won the American Rose Society’s Gold Medal. The Peace rose made hybrid teas the most popular classification of garden roses of the 20th century and one of the most popular rose cultivars ever. It has been estimated that 30 – 40 million Peace rose bushes have been planted and grown during that time. In addition it has been the “mother” to at least 150 other cultivars and “father” to another 180 or so. Whatever happened to the Peace rose? Hybrid teas are no longer the most popular classification of garden roses. The Knock Outs have taken their place. We’ve all experienced friends telling us that hybrid teas were too much trouble. When one friend said that to me, I responded that there were products now that allowed you to spray only every 2 weeks. Although her words didn’t say this, her look said “you’ve got to be kidding! Why would I want to spray every 2 weeks? There are a lot of other things that I would rather do in my garden!” We’re all aware of the decline in the popularity of hybrid teas. To me this is sad. The answer to some is the Old Garden Roses and to others, the David Austin roses are the answer. And they all have their charm. But I grew up with hybrid teas and, to me, they are still the loveliest and most desirable of all the roses. I want them to stay around and have people wanting to grow them again. The major problems, of course, are pests and diseases – particularly blackspot. Fortunately, the industry recognizes this as well. Kordes, for one, has been aggressive in developing disease resistant roses. Their Eleganza collection with 8 or so hybrid teas is a step in the right direction. However, I think that we all understand that disease resistance is not the same as disease free. The real answer is in research. How can the DNA of a rose be changed to make it disease free? Fortunately, work is underway to try and answer that question. (Did you know that roses have two main defense mechanisms? One is a general defense against the bad guys. And the other is a defense against the offence of the bad guys. That’s not exactly how the scientists would explain it but it gives you an idea of the depth of research that is currently underway.) But it will probably take awhile before we see the results in the market place. Well, what can we do until then? Or perhaps, right or wrong, I’ll tell you what I say – and sometimes do. First of all with insects, I try to ignore them. I think that most of us have probably given up routinely including insecticides in our spray program – Isotox was a part of my plan for many years. Now, I tolerate a certain level of insect damage. My roses will sometimes have brown edges when thrips come calling. If I feel particularly ambitious, there is an organic spray that I use on the affected plants. Aphids are not popular with me and I do spray, again, just the plants infected with an insecticidal soap. When spider mites show up, I try to wash them off with water. Japanese beetles receive the thumb and forefinger approach when I see them. Fortunately, I don’t usually have but a few to deal with. Otherwise my roses generally have to fend for themselves when it comes to insects. I’m not perfect so why should I expect my roses to be? Blackspot is a different question. I do routinely spray for it – every 2 weeks. I recognize that this is a major problem for a lot of people. I tell them that I only partially practice what I preach. I do try to add only disease resistant roses to the garden and I like the Kordes roses that I mentioned earlier. I also lean to own-root roses if they are available in the rose I want. The problem that the casual rose grower has is that these (disease resistant and/or own root) roses are not usually available locally. They have to be ordered and that takes a lot of the spontaneity out of it. Another recommendation that I make is to give plenty of space between bushes as a way to help control disease and this one I totally ignore in my own garden. I have such a small space and such a big desire for “one more rose. Surely I can squeeze it in somewhere.” Make sure the roses are not stressed; that they have adequate sun, water and food. Contd…
I also recommend that they try a multi-purpose product like Bayer (and others) that not only will fertilize but may also offer some protection against both insects and disease. Lastly, the world will not stop spinning if there is a little blackspot damage. Learn to tolerate it. Until we can get the DNA of our beloved hybrid teas changed, this is the best that I’ve been able to come up with for the casual rose grower. If you can add to my list, I would be delighted to hear from you. Paul Saeger, Consulting Rosarian
Upcoming Rose Events 2015 Nov 30 Dec 7 Jan 15-16 Jan 25 Feb 29
BRS Monthly Meeting – Chris Woods, Atlanta GA – Propagating Roses from cuttings Annual Christmas Dinner – Ireland Room, Birmingham Botanical Gardens Deep South District Mid-Winter Meeting, Gainesville, FL (Details coming soon) BRS Monthly Meeting – Speaker TBD – Hodges Room, Birmingham Botanical Gardens BRS Monthly Meeting – Pruning 101 –Hodges Room, Birmingham Botanical Gardens
Send photos of our events to: Editor@BirminghamRose.org
Meeting Minutes Rose Society Meeting Minutes
George Ann Hamilton – Recording Secretary Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Birmingham Rose Society October 26, 2015 - 6:30 PM Sharon Bamberg, President, called the meeting to order. We had twenty-five members in attendance. We had three visitors: Runack Collier, Christine Paul and Jean Warner. The hostesses for the evening were Brenda Bodine, Mayre Parr and Hyacinth Prince. They were thanked for providing a great supper. Chris Van Cleave asked that we call before Thursday, October 29 th with our rose orders for Myer’s Nursery. The list of roses still available is on line. The Weeks roses cost $15.00 and the David Austin roses cost $18.00. The Deep South District Meeting will be held in Gainesville, Florida in January 2016. Details to be announced. Mayre Parr brought several items to give away to anyone who needed vases for miniature exhibition, books on arrangements and gloves. James Horton announced that the renovations to the Exhibition hall and the Hodges Room were to have started today the 26th. Construction should take 120 days. The Director of the Veteran’s Cemetery in Montevallo (next door to American Village) wants a rose garden to honor veterans. Volunteers will be needed to take care of the garden once it has been planted. The groundskeepers will not be able to take care of the roses. The Director has the location selected for the garden. The minutes for the September 21st meeting the treasurer’s report stand approved as printed in the October Garden Faces. Chris Van Cleave, Program Chairman, introduced the judges for our in house rose show. Glenn and Dean Hodge and Mayre Parr judged the many rose entries from members. The winners were: Queen of Show – Louise Estes exhibited by Harold Settle; King of Show – Hot Princess exhibited by Chris & Tina Van Cleave; Princess of Show – Helen Naude exhibited by Harold Settle. Winner of the Mini-Flora was First Choice exhibited by Harold Settle. Winner of Old Garden Rose – Gertrude Jekyll exhibited by Gloria Purnell. Gloria Purnell explained how to become a judge. The judge’s school is a three-day event and a test is given at the end of the session. It requires that you study. Our next meeting will be held on Monday November30th. The program for the evening will be Chris Woods from Atlanta, Georgia (he is the son of long time former member Betty Woods). His topic will be all about propagation – rooting and cuttings.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 P.M. Respectfully submitted, George Ann Hamilton, Recording Secretary y
Treasurer’s Report for October 2015 Submit Your Photos! Send pictures of our events to: Webmaster@BirminghamRose.org
Come Before Winter Chris VanCleave This has been one of the busiest years of our lives. In addition to a full time work schedule, we have traveled over 5,000 miles this year talking to anyone who would listen about growing roses, about how to jump start local rose societies and increase membership in the American Rose Society. We’ve had a lot of fun and met so many dedicated rose growers. All this, was in addition to caring for our own little garden of 150 so roses. With all this activity, I am glad for a couple of months to rest, reflect and plan for next year. I am reminded at this time of year of a passage of scripture from the Bible, 2 Timothy 4:21 “Make every effort to come before winter.” This passage is a reminder to me to set things right in my garden and in my life before winter comes. Paul is writing to Timothy to ask him to come. He had left Timothy in charge of the church at Ephesus. An aged Paul who was a prisoner in Rome, loved his friend and had a desire to see him one last time. The final conversation I had with my grandmother was in the late summer of 1987. We stood in the Nashville airport and she cried as she held me tight and told me she would never see me again. I brushed it off and said, “I’ll see you at Christmas.” She just smiled and held my face and stared into my eyes as if looking deep inside my soul. Little did I know it would indeed be the last time I stared into her beautiful caring eyes and touched the hands of a woman I truly loved. She passed away two days before Thanksgiving and a few hours before my arrival at her bedside. Time is fleeting. I was reminded that day, and a thousand times since, to make the most of the time you have on this earth. As grandma used to say, “this ain’t no dress rehearsal.” Are there relationships in your life that need to be mended? Loose ends left untied? Are there words unspoken that now need to be said? Just as our gardens get messy, so do our lives. I urge you to take a few moments this fall and reflect upon not only your garden, but your life and set these things in order that have gone awry with the people around you. You’ll be a better person and will recapture for yourself and them a renewed sense of energy. And hopefully, by the grace of God, you’ll be at peace come winter…
Garden Faces Deadlines: Submission Deadline: 10th of each month Publication Date : 15th of each month Editor: Chris VanCleave Phone: 205-585-9687 E-mail: Editor@BirminghamRose.org
Birmingham Rose Society 219 Chadwick Lane Helena, AL 35080
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Birmingham Rose Society American Rose Society Affiliate While the advice and information in this newsletter is believed to be true and accurate at the time of publication, neither the authors nor the editor accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The Birmingham Rose Society makes no warranty, expressed or implied with respect to the material contained herein.