A Publication of the Acadiana Rose Society in South Louisiana An affiliate of the American Rose Society December 2016 Volume 26. Merry Christmas!!

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1 Thorny Issues A Publication of the Acadiana Rose Society in South Louisiana An affiliate of the American Rose Society December 2016 Volume 26 December 8th Meeting - 2nd Thursday Christmas Party/Banquet...don t miss it...we always have a wonderful time and enjoy lots of good food and fellowship. Bring your favorite meat dish, casserole or dessert etc to share. Ira Nelson Horticulture Center - Lafayette, 6:30pm. Bring some roses from your garden if they are blooming! Membership Dues are Due Soon Take a minute to mail your dues so we can get a good start on this important task. Thanks for being prompt. Address is on the back of the newsletter. Individuals $20 and couples $25. New Meeting Time At our November meeting we started at 6pm. It was a little early so we will try 6:30 at the December meeting and see how it goes from there. B.J. Abshire-Editor INSIDE THIS ISSUE President s Message What to Do in the Garden This - n - That Importance of Soil Testing How Do I Take a Soil Sample Merry Christmas!! 10 Cool Facts about Lady Bugs Calendar of Events Nov 25-Dec 18, 2016 December 8, 2016 January 19, 2017 February 10-11, 2017 February 16, 2017 Christmas in Roseland - Am. Rose Center-Shreveport Acadiana RS Christmas Banquet (2nd Thurs.) Acadiana RS Regular Meeting - Ira Nelson Hort. Center Mid Winter Workshop - Clarion Inn, Gonzales, LA Acadiana RS Regular Meeting - Ira Nelson Hort. Center Thorny Issues Nov/Dec Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

2 President s Corner Greeting Rose Friends, Well here we are with another year coming to an end. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving day. I want to say Thank You for giving me the privilege to serve as your president. I look forward to being a better president this next year. I would like to get your input as to how we can increase our membership numbers plus some topics that you would like to learn more about. We have started talking about our soils and the proper way to collect a soil sample. If you need some help, please feel free and let me know. I will be glad to help. I look forward to seeing you at our next meeting. I am sure Lou has something planned, so please join us and remember all guests are welcome. Take care and God Bless! Your Friend, Juan What To Do in the Garden This Month You should be enjoying some nice blooms with the cool weather we ve been having. No more fertilizing unless it s organic until spring but continue to water occasionally if there s no rain. Now is a good time to do a soil analysis. See page 4 for more info. Many rosarians spray year round. I usually take off the winter months and resume in late February immediately after spring pruning. Now is a good time to plant roses that you have in pots - but don t fertilize yet. Let the root system develop first. Try putting about 1/2 cup of worm castings or some other organic product such as fish meal in the hole before planting. These bushes will have an advantage over roses planted in the spring with a good start on their root system without the stress of producing blooms. Nov through Feb are excellent months to transplant...just water well for a while. Mulch your beds well with 3 or 4 inches. Pine trees are dropping their needles now. Look for bags of oak leaves and pine straw on your neighbor s curb. Pine needles are ready to apply as is. You can chop up the oak leaves first by putting some in a large trash can or barrel and weed eat them for a minute. They will break down much faster and turn into wonderful compost. Pine bark mulch is also very good and can be purchased at any mega mart for around $3-$4 a bag. If you must be out in your yard/garden you can do those jobs now that were neglected because of the summer heat such as pulling weeds, or giving your tools a tune up. Winter is a good time to clean and sharpen your pruners, shovels, loppers etc. We could have nice weather through December and you might have blooms for Christmas. If you have blooms at the end of November you could dry wrap a few to use for the holidays. Tag those roses that are questionable. Now is the time to go around the yard and make an honest assessment about which roses you wish to remove or replace. You will need to make decisions based on what YOU desire in a rose and NOT what someone else tells you is good. Do you like form? Do you like fragrance? Do you desire a high level of disease resistance? There are a lot of good disease resistant roses on the market now. Nurseries will have roses in February. Thorny Issues Nov/Dec Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

3 This - N - That New Meeting Time We tried 6pm at our Nov meeting but it was a little early so we will start our December meeting at 6:30. If you haven t been to meeting in a while we hope you will join us at the Ira Nelson Hort. Center on Thursday, Dec 8th, 6:30pm. It s the second Thursday. We would love to see you at our December Eatin Meetin. Bring your favorite meat dish, vegetable, dessert etc. to share. Visit The American Rose Center in Shreveport for Christmas in Roseland evenings Nov Dec. 18, 2016, weekends only Fri, Sat. & Sun. See lights, scheduled entertainment, Santa and a train, too. Now accepting dues for Thanks for being a member of Acadiana Rose Society. Mid Winter Workshop Plan now to attend the Gulf District Mid Winter Workshop to be held in Gonzales, LA. February Hear knowledgeable speakers, learn more about roses, meet old rose friends, buy great stuff at the silent auction, win great door prizes and eat good food. Come both days or just Saturday if you prefer. Saturday only is $40 includes a buffet lunch. Come support our rose society and the Gulf District. Contact BJ for more info or learn more in the January issue of Thorny Issues. Congratulations The Gulf District Rose Show was held in Lake Charles on Oct. 29 Members Steve and Diane Rountree swept the show with the following wins: J. Horace McFarland District Trophy - 5 HT or Gr Deidre Hall, Marilyn Wellan, Let Freedom Ring, Cajun Sunrise, Louise Estes, Howard Berry District Trophy - 6 HT Veterans Honor Queen of the Show - Signature Court - Deidre Hall, Marilyn Wellan, Cajun Moon 6 HT or Grandiflora in a vase - Gemini Cycle of Bloom - Gemini Matched Pair - Gemini English Box - Marilyn Wellan & Signature Rose in a Bowl - Marilyn Wellan Multiple Bloom HT or GR - Boardwalk Order the 2017 ARS Calendar for $15 plus shipping. See your editor s photos in March, April and September. Call the American Rose Center at Linda Aguzin won Duke of the Show - Crescendo BJ Abshire won Multiple Bloom Polyantha - Perle d Or Thorny Issues Nov/Dec Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

4 Importance of Soil Testing By Frank Hover, Consulting Rosarian and Judge - Northeast LA Rose Soc. We have all heard the phrase DON T GUESS, DO THE TEST before amending the soil in a rose bed. A simple soil test performed by LSU will tell us exactly what we need to add and sometimes more importantly what not to add while trying to improve growth of our prize roses. Lately I gave our roses a liberal dose of liquid fertilizer and after about three weeks failed to see much improvement in their appearance. After sending three samples to LSU Soil Testing Lab, the reports came back indicating extreme high sodium content in all of our beds. The ph was in range; however most of the macro nutrients were on the VERY HIGH side. The point I am trying to emphasize is that if I had done a soil sample before adding fertilizer, I would have saved myself needless complications caused by adding chemical fertilizer to our beds that could prove detrimental in the long run. Boxes to send samples to LSU can be obtained from the LSU Ag Extension Office, Chastant Bros. in Lafayette, and good nursery centers. One sample costs $15.00, two $25.00, and three $35.00 which includes postage. Dr. Allen Owings will gladly give you his expert advice on what needs to be done once your sample has been analyzed. His address is: aowings@agctr.lsu.edu How Do I Take a Soil Sample? Taken from LSU AgCenter website Now is the best time to determine the condition of your soil before planting spring gardens or flowers. The condition and type of soil in which you garden has a profound effect on the health and growth of your plants. One of the most common mistakes novice gardeners make is putting too little effort into learning about their soil. The LSU AgCenter will perform routine soil testing for home gardeners as well as commercial landowners to determine nutrient deficiencies in your soil. A convenient box with instructions and a postage paid label is now available at the LaSalle Parish Extension Office to make sending soil for testing very simpler. There is a $15 fee for one soil test, which includes the postage. Soil is the primary source of water and nutrients for plants and must also provide sufficient air oxygen to their root systems. Ideally, a soil should be about 25 percent water, 25 percent air and 50 percent solids, which include minerals sand, silt and clay and organic matter. Proper soil fertility keeps lawns lush, flowers blooming and vegetables producing. And the key to proper fertilizing, whether you use commercial or organic fertilizers, is a soil test. Adding nutrients that are already available in adequate amounts is wasteful and may contribute to environmental problems such as polluting surface water. Around Louisiana, soil types vary greatly from light sands to loams to heavy clays. A thorough knowledge of the characteristics of your soil is necessary to make proper decisions about vegetable gardening, ornamental beds and landscaping. This information is vital to appropriate soil improvement, as well fertilizing. A soil sample should be submitted for testing from each unique area of your landscape, especially if the soils may be different because of past treatment, location or type of plants being grown. For instance, one sample could be submitted from your front lawn area, one from a shrub bed and another from an annual flowerbed in the front yard. A separate soil sample would also be submitted from a vegetable gardening area. When taking a sample, take soil from at least 10 different places in each bed or area to be tested. Dig down about 3-6 inches to take a sample, and remove any rocks, mulch, grass, roots or other material, leaving only soil. Put all the soil collected from several spots in one area in a plastic bucket and blend it together. Use this soil to fill the plastic bag in the pre-addressed mailing box. Each mailing box has three plastic bags, so you can send up to three separate soil samples in one box. Soil sampling pattern for row crops. Thorny Issues Nov/Dec Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

5 10 Cool Facts About Ladybugs By Debbie Hadley 1. Ladybugs aren't really bugs at all, they're beetles! Entomologically speaking, the term bugs applies to insects of the order Hemiptera. Ladybugs belong to the order Coleoptera, or beetles. Europeans have called these dome-backed beetles by the name ladybirds, or ladybird beetles, for over 500 years. In America, the name ladybird was replaced by ladybug. Scientists usually prefer the common name lady beetles. 2. The "lady" in ladybug refers to the Virgin Mary. Legend has it that crops in Europe during the Middle Ages were plagued by pests, so the farmers began praying to the Blessed Lady, the Virgin Mary. Soon, the farmers started seeing ladybugs in their fields, and the crops were miraculously saved from the pests. They associated their good fortune with the black and red beetles, and so began calling them lady beetles. In Germany, these insects go by the name Marienkafer, which means Mary beetles. The 7-spotted lady beetle is believed to be the first named for the Virgin Mary; the red color represents her cloak, and the black spots represent her sorrows. 3. Ladybugs bleed from their knees when threatened. A ladybug's hemolymph is both toxic and rank. Startle a ladybug, and the foul-smelling fluid will seep from its leg joints, leaving yellow stains on the surface below. Potential predators may be deterred by the vile mix of alkaloids, and equally repulsed by the sight of a seemingly sickly beetle. Ladybug larvae can ooze alkaloids from their abdomens. 4. A ladybug's bright colors warn predators to stay away. Like many other insects, ladybugs use aposematic coloration to signal their toxicity to would-be predators. Insect-eating birds and other animals learn to avoid meals that come in red and black, and are more likely to steer clear of a ladybug lunch. 5. Over its lifetime, a ladybug may consume as many as 5,000 aphids. Almost all ladybugs feed on soft-bodied insects, and serve as beneficial predators of plant pests. Gardeners welcome ladybugs with open arms, knowing they will munch on the most prolific plant pests. Ladybugs love to eat scale insects, white flies, mites, and aphids. As larvae, ladybugs eat pests by the hundreds. A hungry ladybug adult can devour 50 aphids per day. 6. Ladybug larvae resemble tiny alligators, with elongated bodies and bumpy skin. If you're unfamiliar with ladybug larvae, you would probably never guess that these odd creatures are young ladybugs. Like alligators in miniature, they have long, pointed abdomens, spiny bodies, and legs that protrude from their sides. The larvae feed and grow for about a month, and consume hundreds of aphids or other insects during this stage. 7. Scientists believe ladybugs may lay both fertile and infertile eggs. Why would a ladybug expend the energy required to produce eggs that will yield no offspring? The infertile eggs provide a ready source of food for the young larvae which hatch from the fertile eggs. When times are tough, a ladybug may lay an increased number of infertile eggs to give her babies a better chance of surviving. 8. Ladybug adults hibernate, usually gathering in large aggregations in protected places. As days get shorter and temperatures fall, ladybugs seek shelter behind bark, under leaves, or in other protected locations. Thousands of ladybugs may gather in the same location, taking advantage of the collective warmth of a colony. Asian multicolored ladybugs, an invasive species in North America, has earned a reputation as a home invader. These beetles tend to move indoors for winter, where they can become a nuisance in people's houses. Convergent ladybugs gather in the mountains in such numbers that collectors can scoop them up by the bucket. 9. Ladybugs practice cannibalism. If food is scarce, ladybugs will do what they must to survive, even if it means eating each other. A hungry ladybug will make a meal of any soft-bodied sibling it encounters. Newly emerged adults or recently molted larvae are soft enough for the average ladybug to chew. Eggs or pupae also provide protein to a ladybug that has run out of aphids. 10. You can't tell a ladybug's age by counting its spots. The spots on a ladybug's back have nothing whatsoever to do with its age, fun as it may be to count them. In some cases, though, you can determine the ladybug's species by taking note of the number and position of those markings. The seven-spotted lady beetle, for example, has seven black spots on its red back. Editor s note: Thanksgiving day I saw a lot of lady beetles flying around my yard. Watch for them in your yard. Thorny Issues Nov/Dec Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

6 The Acadiana Rose Society Officers: President: Juan Nieto 1st Vice Pres.: Lou Savoy Treasurer: BJ Abshire Secretary: Lois Manuel Meeting Place: Ira Nelson Horticulture Center 2206 Johnston St., Lafayette, LA 3rd Thursday of each month (except Dec - 2nd Thurs.) No meeting in July Membership: $20 - individual or $25 - couple Make check payable to Acadiana Rose Society c/o BJ Abshire 156 Antigua Dr. Lafayette, LA Consulting Rosarians: B.J. Abshire abshirebj@gmail.com Linda Aguzin malbaguzin@yahoo.com John & Carol Benoit johnbost2277@yahoo.com Letha Briggs (Emeritus) lethab@lusfiber.net Mike Hamner (Emeritus) michaelhamner@cox.net Juan Nieto jfnieto1@netzero.net Diane Rountree ddrountree@aol.com Lou Savoy A Publication of the Acadiana Rose Society An Affiliate of the American Rose Society Thorny Issues B.J. Abshire Editor 156 Antigua Dr. Lafayette, LA Merry Christmas!! Thorny Issues Nov/Dec Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA