Garden Faces October 2015

Garden Faces October 2015

Birmingham Rose Society An American Rose Society Affiliate

President’s Message

It's time for our in-house October Rose Show! The blooms, the fragrances, the look, the accolades, it is time to exhibit. Gather those roses you pampered and fed, watered and sprayed, and pruned and deadheaded. The winners receive the respect and admiration or their peers. I am always so amazed at the number and size of these flowers.

I have enjoyed having time to do some volunteering at The Gardens. It is particularly satisfying to deadhead those hybrid tea roses. I have noticed the Francis Meilland roses are well into setting hips. Our family usually visits the Gardens about three times a month. Now, I feel I should carry my pruners with me always.

The roses I bought from Jim Mills at the September meeting look wonderful. As he instructed, I made those planting holes very wide. That takes some doing as you have to shave the sides of that red clay with your shovel. About ten inches from the surface I unearthed a cicada nymph's chamber.

This is the insect that lives 17 years underground then emerges to shed his shell and become a noisy flying critter living in your tree. It was interesting to see how smooth and compact his house was. I repaired his wall with a sliver of clay. Just imagine all the living things in the soil and their role in the ecosystem.

Remember, bring those roses and vases. You may not think your picks are perfect, but they could be winners. Good luck everyone!

There will be a short Executive Board meeting at 5:30pm. We will finish early to give you time to arrange and label your entries.

Sharon Bamberg, President

Consulting Rosarian Report

By this time of the year, we are thinking of the roses that need shovel pruning and beginning to think of the new roses that we want to plant for next year. In the meantime we need to continue to water and spray our roses and just “Ah” at the beauty of the blooms, the large size and vibrant colors. Do not add any more fertilizer this year, except maybe a little potassium. I have found that this helps prepare the roses for the winter. After the beautiful burst of blooms for the fall, I leave the blooms or bloom heads on the roses, this will help harden them off for the winter.

Being that I like rose arrangements and that they add so much to the show, I would like to encourage all of you to try your hand at arranging. Arranging is an acquired skill, very much like learning to drive a car. Most of us acquire that skill and some of us are better drivers than others. The same is true of arranging, some have more natural talent, but we can all learn the basics of arranging and create great arrangements for our show. I will bet that some of you are surprised at how well you did in the show this year. So please don’t say “I don’t have artistic ability” or “I’m just not creative”. You can learn to Arrange. Go to the American Rose Society’s web page and click on the Arrangers Bulletin. You will find all kinds of good information there.

Hope you have beautiful roses this month and a nice rest during the winter so you will be ready to start back in the spring. In the meantime be reading and practicing your arranging.

Mayre Parr

Upcoming Rose Events 2015 Oct 23-25 Oct 26 Nov 30 Dec 7

Deep South District Show & Convention, Valdosta, GA Click http://deepsouthdistrict.org/upcoming-events/ BRS Monthly Meeting – In-House Rose Show BRS Monthly Meeting – Chris Woods, Atlanta GA – Propagating Roses from cuttings Annual Christmas Dinner – Birmingham Botanical Gardens

October Meeting / In-House Rose Show Bring your roses!

Categories for Judging:  Hybrid Tea  Grandiflora  Floribunda  Miniature  Mini-Flora  OGR’s, Shrubs & everything else!

Bring your own containers to display your blooms.

If you have roses that you don’t want to enter into the judging, bring them to display on the exhibition table.

Can’t wait to see your roses!

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 September 21, 2015 - 6:30 PM Sharon Bamberg, President, called the meeting to order. We had thirty-five members in attendance. We had eight visitors: Nancy Curtis, Bob and Kay Kidd, Ellen Murphree, Nelson and Mary Nash, and Courtenay and Dot Renneker. The hostesses for the evening were Jennifer Phillips and Hyacinth Prince. They were both thanked for providing everyone with a good supper and desserts.

Sharon announced that next month we need to bring our blooms for the “in-house rose show”. There will be six sections: Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora, Floribunda, Miniature, Mini-Flora and Old Garden Rose.

The American Rose Society’s Fall National was held in Syracuse, New York. Chris and Tina Van Cleave attended. Chris received a Presidential Citation from ARS President Jolene Adams for his work on “The Fragrant Rose” newsletter.

The minutes for the August 31st meeting and the treasurer’s report stand approved as printed in the September Garden Faces.

Chris Van Cleave, Program Chairman, introduced our speaker for the evening, Jim Mills of K & M Nursery, located in Mississippi. Mr. Mills brought lots of roses with him and shared his “ Love of Roses” with all of us. Many members had ordered roses in advance. There were lots of roses for sale at the meeting and many were purchased.

He explained Fortuniana Root Stock. He demonstrated how they root and graft the roses. These roses require more energy and they also require 3 inches of water per week. Since the roots grow horizontal instead of vertical, the roses must be staked. The K & M website shows how to prepare a bed for the Fortuniana roses. Mr. Mills told of traveling to the Mobile Rose Society for fifteen years as that was the closest rose society to his home.

Our next meeting will be held on Monday October 26th. The program for the evening will be our in-house rose show.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:10 P.M. Respectfully submitted, George Ann Hamilton, Recording Secretary

Treasurer’s Report for September 2015 Highlights from the September 2015 Meeting of the Birmingham Rose Society!

A full house of enthusiastic rose lovers turns out to hear Jim Mills of K & M Roses talk about roses grown on fortuniana rootstock.

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

Grow Roses. Show Roses. Share Roses.

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.