Bob O Brien, editor September Can you name these roses? All photos were taken in the MEVRS Rose Garden.

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1 Our National Floral Emblem Rose Lore Newsletter written by Members, for Members of the Mesa-East Valley Rose Society Affiliated with the American Rose Society Bob O Brien, editor September 2010 Can you name these roses? All photos were taken in the MEVRS Rose Garden. Better yet can you find these roses in the MEVRS Rose Garden? Monthly Meeting: Mesa Community College (FREE PARKING!) Elsner Library Community Room 1833 West Southern Ave. Mesa, AZ :00 Program: Thursday, September 9: FALL ROSE CARE September 2010 Rose Lore Page 1

2 MEMBERSHIP DISCOUNTS The following nurseries will give MEVRS members a 10% discount (unless otherwise indicated) on any rose-related purchase when you show your membership card. In some stores you must pay by cash or check only to receive the discount. Be sure to get your annual Membership Card from the Membership Chairman. A & P Nurseries (15%) Four Valley Locations Gilbert, Mesa (2), Queen Creek Berridge Nursery 4647 E. Camelback Rd Phx Potted roses always in stock! Gardener s World 3401 E. Baseline Rd., Phx Harper s Nursery Three locations: Mesa, Scottsdale and Phx (Mesa) Potted roses still in stock Treeland Nursery 2900 S. Country Club Dr., Mesa When you patronize these businesses, please thank the manager for supporting the MEVRS! Musing from the Rose Garden by Mickey Kundrat, Volunteer Coordinator September's almost here & the Arizona summer has had her way with the Rose Garden. To date we have lost quite a few rose bushes, from what appears to be insufficient watering. LeRoy, Jean Pegler & I spent time watering by hand on Saturday & Sunday, hoping that will help. Also weeds were pulled & some spraying was done, as well as deadheading. Thanks to those who come during the week to work in their beds. The Veteran's Garden is looking great -- as are the rest of the beds, thanks to all faithful deadheaders who have braved the heat of our summer. Some beds are still in the process of weed removal. Starting the end of August & beginning of September we can start our fall light pruning. This light pruning should include cutting out any dead or spindly growth & about 1/4 off the branches. This light pruning will stimulate new fall growth. COMPOST TEA As wise gardeners know, improving your soil with the use of quality, organic compost has unlimited benefits. It does take some effort and time before results start to appear. If you're looking for a quicker "solution" you might want to try some Compost Tea. Compost Tea is merely compost in a liquid form. It provides the nutrition of compost without the bulk. Use it as a drench, pouring it into the soil around your plants. Micronutrients and beneficial microorganisms are delivered immediately to the root zone. Also use it as a foliar spray and apply it directly to leaf surfaces. There are many recipes for making your own compost tea online* and in gardening books. Most important is to start with good quality, cured compost. If it is only partially decomposed or smelly compost, it won't be effective. Don't use animal manures. For best results use a recipe that aerates the tea. This helps loosen the beneficial microorganisms from the compost so they enter into the tea solution in much higher quantities. The aeration also ensures high levels of oxygen to keep microorganisms healthy and alive longer. It's almost impossible to apply too much tea. It will just continue to restore natural health and balance to your soil. Article courtesy of Charley's Greenhouse & Garden - service@charleysgreenhouse.com *Search for Compost Tea recipes on the Internet or use these links: Photo credits in this issue of the Rose Lore newsletter: Bill & Phyllis Henslin, Bob O Brien, Mickey Kundrat, MaryLou Coffman September 2010 Rose Lore Page 2

3 September 2010 President s Message Steve Sheard, President MEVRS What is the best gardening tool during the summer? (Answer at the end of my president s message!) Summer continues and it gets more difficult to muster the energy to work on your roses. That is how I feel! But the cooler weather is in sight (I hope) and mid September is the time to begin a light fall prune. Begin on the East side of your bushes so that the branches you expose are only subject to morning sun. Pruning in mid September will give you new blooms the end of October. Wait until the end of the month before you prune the West side of the bush. Pruning early October will give you blooms for Thanksgiving. Warning When pruning watch to make sure you are not exposing the stems to too much sun. I nearly killed 10 bushes when I pruned too much too early and my canes got Sun Burn. We need you to begin thinking & planning for the promoting of rose growing in the valley. It is an inside activity yes you can do this without having to visit with your roses out in the heat. Our society membership is not growing. It has gone down a little over the past few years. We need to expose more people to MEVRS. So how can you help? Start by taking a few of your roses pictures (we all took pictures in April when our gardens looked so great) and print them. Put them in frames at the office or where ever you work or are in contact with others. It will give other people a reason to ask about your pictures and a perfect opening for you to talk about how great MEVRS is and what wonderful people there are to help you. Do you work for a company or know an organization where a few people may be interested in getting together to learn about growing roses YES. Good, we have a few Rosarians in the society that will bring a mini-program to them. A good time to do it is at lunch in November. Titled How to grow roses in the desert. It gets people organized with preparing their rose beds ready for the roses coming into the stores in January. Last month I mentioned that we have another opportunity to learn about roses. Yes, we have a CR (Consulting Rosarian) school being held at the college on October 9 th. Anyone can attend the classes, even novice rose growers. Veteran rose growers from the valley will talk specifically about caring for roses here in our conditions. Another big plus, you get to spend a day with others who have the same interest as you. The most useful gardening tool for the summer - An Alarm Clock, it gets you up and out in your garden before the real heat of the day begins. Ask a Consulting Rosarian Question: Why do my Rose Leaves look all brown along the edges as if they were burned? Answer: The Brown Edge to leaves is often caused by too much salt build up in the soil. Particularly in the early summer when we get little or no rain to help wash the salts down below the root zone. To help this, give the bush a thorough soaking and all the ground around it to wash the salts below the root zone. Question: The Blooms on my bushes are so small in the summer how can I get them to be bigger like we have in the spring and the fall? Answer: The small blooms are caused by our very high temperatures and very dry air. The plant can not draw enough water up into the stems to sustain larger growth. The heat causes the stem and bud to develop quickly and thus the small bud opens before it has had a chance to develop into a large bloom. To get bigger flowers in summer you can try placing shade cloth over your bushes, or move to CA, or just wait until fall! September 2010 Rose Lore Page 3

4 Additional CONSULTING Rose ROSARIAN Sources and SCHOOL Hardware, & SEMINAR for Your Garden by by Marylou Joanne Coffman M. Reiter, Consulting & Siri Amrit Rosarian Kaur Khalsa Consulting Rosarian School and Seminar Saturday October 9, :30 AM to 4:00 PM Mesa Community College, 1833 W. Southern Avenue, Mesa, AZ Time Program 8:00 to 8:30 am Registration sign in with continental Breakfast 8:30 to 9:15 am Ruth Tiffany Consulting Rosarian Manual Overview/Mentoring 9:15 to 10:00am LeRoy Brady Irrigation 10:00 to 10:15 am Break 10:15 to 11:00 am Jack McClure Integrated Pest Management & Chemical Safety 11:00 to 12:00 pm Mike Jepsen Soils and Feeding 12:00 to 12:45 pm Lunch 12:45 to 1:15 pm Panel Discussion, Questions and Answers, Review of key points 1:15 to 2:15 pm Ruth Tiffany Consulting Rosarian Candidates Open Book Test Registration Deadline is Monday, October 4, 2010 $25.00 per person includes Seminar, Continental Breakfast and Lunch. Candidates who will be taking the test will make out an additional check for $10.00 to the ARS and present it to Ruth Tiffany at the seminar to be sent to ARS upon completion of test. Qualifications and requirements for a CR are on the PSWD website: Purchase the Consulting Rosarian Manual for $15.00 from ARS to study before the open book test at: or call the ARS at (318) , have credit card in hand and order the book directly. Mail the bottom portion of this form and a check payable to Mesa-East Valley Rose Society to Marylou Coffman, 213 North Riata Street, Gilbert, AZ For any questions call Marylou at (480) or Ruth Tiffany at (619) or send an coffmanml@aol.com or ruthsgarden@msn.com Name Phone ( ) Address City State Zip Your Local Rose Society Will you be taking the CR test to become a Consulting Rosarian? Yes NO Current CR Updating: Yes Not a CR but Auditing class Yes _ September 2010 Rose Lore Page 4

5 Tool Tips by Cindy Jepsen Feed Me I m Hungry!!! by Mike Jepsen Mike and I recently made some adjustments to our watering system and I wanted to share with you what we are using now. We have roses in raised beds and in pots and use a variety of emitters. We have been using Bowsmith emitters for about 8 years. They are known for their non-stop design feature which continuously flushes through slime and small particles. This means fewer clogs and less maintenance. They come in 1/2, 1, or 2 gallon per hour. We use these in our raised beds and have never had one go bad. Our large roses are on two 2 gallon emitters/bush (that s 4 gallons/hour) and our mini s are on one 1 gallon/bush and one 2 gallon/bush (that s 3 gallons per hour). Bowsmith emitters are available at Horizon Irrigation in Mesa and are about.50 each. The Shrubbler is an adjustable sprayer covering up to 18 and is easily adjusted by turning the cap. They are available at Lowes and are about.80 each. We just started using these in our potted roses instead of the Bowsmith emitters because they cover the drip line and disperse the water more evenly. So far we are very happy with them but we check them monthly for clogs by taking off the cap and blowing it out. We use one per pot. We have used Soaker Tubing in our pots for the past 8 years and have recently transitioned to the shrubblers. We still have soaker tubing in some of the pots. We ve been lucky in that they have not rotted out but they are beginning to clog. We use two 1/4 X 12 pieces branching off of a T connector in each pot. Soaker tubing is nice because the water is applied with gentle seepage and you can position the tubing exactly where you want it. This is available at Lowes in 50 rolls for about $5.00. Organic Fertilizers Why and When. Why use them 1. Slow release of nutrients 2. Typically low burn potential 3. Contains micronutrients 4. Slowly adds to increased humus levels of the soil that aids the soils ability to store nutrients for the plant 5. Helps to improve soil structure and increases the soils available water holding capacity 6. Probably most important, using organic fertilizers creates a healthy and living soil (a healthy living soil goes hand in hand in creating healthy plants) When to use them 1. Can be used as a complete program Established, large roses At winter pruning: 2 cups/bush any organic/granular fertilizer March 1, April 1, May 1: 1 cup/bush any organic/granular fertilizer March 15, April 15: 1 Tbs/gallon water- Fish Emulsion June 1, July 15, Sept. 1: 1/2 cup/bush-any organic/granular fertilizer Oct. 1, Nov.1: 1 cup/bush-any organic/granular fertilizer Oct. 15, Nov. 15: 1 Tbs/gallon water-fish Emulsion (nmini s and potted roses are half rate) 2. Can be used at specific times of the year (this is how I use organics in our garden) At winter pruning: 2-3 cups/bush-any organic/granular fertilizer (when you fertilize at this time it starts to break down to available nutrients as the soil warms up and plants leaf out) June 1, July 15, Sept. 1: 1/2 cup/bush-any organic/granular fertilizer (fertilizing at this time will give plants some nutrition to help them survive the summer better but not enough to create much new growth that will only burn in our hot summer weather. September 2010 Rose Lore Page 5

6 Taking Great Rose Photos by Corinne Geertsen, Webmaster Part One: Your Camera and You Taking a photo of a rose is easy. (They hold still for the camera!) Taking a great rose photo is more difficult. Veterans Honor Cameras can have a hard time with the color red. This camera doesn t. ( Nikon D300 and 24-70mm f2.8 lens) Looking at Photos Here s the first step to those great rose photos: Take a lot of pictures. Look at them thoughtfully, while you still remember how you took them. I find I learn as much from the bad pictures as the good ones. Look at lots of rose photos online to see what you like and what s possible. Visual research is a great photo project when your roses aren t in bloom. Here are two sites to get you started: Christine s Photo Gallery of Roses PSWD s Winning Rose Photos Learn about photographing roses on these sites: Digital Photography School Paul Barden s great tips & photos Bob Bauer s detailed rose shooting tips If you want to show rose photos: PSWD s photography page. The motherload! PSWD s photography blog, relevant topics Bolero Get in close for drama ( point and shoot Canon G11 on macro setting) September 2010 Rose Lore Page 6

7 Taking Great Rose Photos (con t) by Corinne Geertsen, Webmaster Your Camera Keep your camera by the back door, ready to grab. If you see a picture you want to take, don t wait. The rose, the light and the wind are constantly changing. Start with the camera you have right now. Read the manual and possibly get a companion book on how to use your particular camera. Get to the point where your camera is easy to use. Then, if you want to move up to another camera, you ll know exactly what you want and need. You don t need to spend a lot of money to take good rose photos. However, you do need to know your camera. If you are choosing a camera, digital is the way to go. After your initial investment you can take unlimited pictures, experiment and see the results immediately. Instant gratification! You also have the option of adjusting your photos on your computer later. The camera should take pictures of at least 6 megapixels if you are going to be printing out 8x10 inch prints. There are two basic camera types: point and shoot and SLR (Single-Lens Reflex). Both types can automatically focus and choose shutter speed and lens aperture. You can find point and shoot cameras that will let you get into the menu and make your own choices. Some have better lenses. Some of them even have macro settings that allow you to take close-ups. This is a big plus for rose photography. SLR cameras offer more control over camera settings. All the important controls have easy to use buttons and dials on the camera body. Nikon and Canon are the industry standards for SLRs. Both are excellent. SLR cameras allow you to change lenses for different purposes. A really good lens can make a big difference in picture quality. To shoot macro with an SLR, either get a macro lens (105mm works quite well) or get a Close-up Lens. They don t cost nearly as much as a macro lens and screw right onto the front of a lens like a filter. Leave your camera set on the highest quality file size and format. This will be either be the largest size/ highest-quality jpeg or RAW format, depending on your camera. Your pictures will take up more room on your memory card and computer but they will also print better. If you want to do digital adjustments later, there will be more possibilities available to you. Memory Cards Make sure your memory card is up for the job. A four gigabyte memory card lets me take 398 photos in RAW format. Don t erase your memory card s photos in your computer. Put the card back in your camera and format it. Formatting improves the performance of your card as well as deleting the photos. Do double check that the photos are on your computer first. Bring your imagination to your photos: A cane with a purple bucket as background (Canon G11, macro setting) Most Important More important than the camera is what you bring to the photo: your experience, knowledge and creativity. I ve enjoyed and greatly benefited from photography classes. You can learn a lot online and from books as well. Learning is definitely part of the fun. Next Month: Part Two: FOCUS and LIGHTING September 2010 Rose Lore Page 7

8 ROSE CARE CORNER for September by Phyllis Henslin, Consulting Rosarian With the arrival of September, I am sure both you and your roses are ready for some cooler days ahead. I hope you all were fortunate to receive some monsoon rains. Within a few days after a couple of nice rains in our area, I could see the roses respond with new growth and more blooms. There is nothing like moisture from Mother Nature to give plants a boost. Now it s time to think about fall pruning. Generally it s best to start pruning around the 3 rd or 4 th week in September. Even though the days are starting to cool, you don t want to get started too soon or your roses may still suffer from heat stress. You can start with some general cleanup by removing grass and weeds that have invaded your garden. If you have lots of Bermuda grass, pickup some Fusillade. This can be sprayed around the base of your rose bushes without worry of herbicide damage. During the summer, our roses form candelabras or multiple thin stems at the top of the bush. As you prune, remove ¼ to 1/3 of the top of the bush to get below these candelabras. This will open up the bush and make room for new growth that will give you beautiful blooms to enjoy the rest of the year. Also cut out any dead canes, spindly stems and blind shoots. Hybrid teas need pencil size or larger stems to support a good bloom. When pruning, cut about ¼ inch above a bud eye and choose a bud eye that will direct the next cane to the outside of the bush. If the bush is against a wall, choose a bud eye pointing away from the wall. Keep the leaves on the stems. We do not remove the leaves until the January pruning. When you are finished pruning, clean up cuttings and dead leaves. If it s needed, add a layer of new mulch. You should have continued to fertilize your roses through the summer months with an organic fertilizer. If it s been four to six weeks since you last fertilized, feed them with GroGanic at the recommended rate. Go ½ this rate for potted roses. Once temperatures have dropped for the season we can start a more aggressive fertilization program using fish emulsion, foliar fertilizers, alfalfa meal and Epson salts. Continue to hose off your roses early in the day so you avoid creating a humid environment that may promote powdery mildew. Continue with your summer watering schedule. You may gradually reduce the amount after temps stay consistently below 100 degrees. Julia Child Floribunda rose I took this picture on July 26,2010 This rose has continued to bloom though out the summer and certainly does well in our desert heat. A keeper rose in our garden. September 2010 Rose Lore Page 8

9 All Mini National Rose Show by Marylou Coffman, Consulting Rosarian LeRoy Brady and I attended this Rose Show in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in late August. The theme for the show was We re Wright with Roses. A tribute to Frank Lloyd Wright. It was hosted by the Greater Milwaukee Rose Society, Gateway Rose Society and the Madison Rose Society. We went to the Milwaukee early so that we could visit Taliesin, the Gardens, Home, School and early buildings of Mr. Wright. It was a beautiful show with over 695 entries, including over 100 Arrangements. We attended several programs, including Growing Miniatures in containers, Exhibiting miniatures and a miniature Arrangement workshop. We had a wonderful garden tour on Sunday. Visiting four beautiful garden, including Bill Radlers garden. Bill is the hybridizer of all of the Knock Out roses. The show also honored Ralph Moore and Frank Benardella. Ralph Moore created hundreds of miniature roses in his lifetime and is considered to be the father of modern miniature roses. Frank Benardella hybridized several miniatures before he became involved with mini-floras and have many, many winners to his credit. At the banquet on Saturday evening the Award of Excellence winners were announced. We have an AOE test bed here at Mesa Community College and like the AARS winners, these winners are the result of intense testing over a two year period. The best of these AOE test gardens are honored at the Mini-National Convention each year. Here are the three must have roses for MARY PICKERSGILL : This is a new Mini-flora rose from Michael Williams. The rose is a beautiful yellow blend with a nice high center. It will grow around three feet with dark green foliage.. The rose is named for the 200 th Anniversary of the Battle of Fort McHenry. Mary Pickersgill is the lady that was commissioned by General George Armistead to make a large garrison flag to fly over Fort McHenry. The flag she made was very large indeed, 30 feet by 42 feet. This is the flag that Frances Scott Key saw on the morning after the battle. Seeing this flag flying above the Fort inspired him to write the poem that eventually become our National anthem. Available from Rosemania late December. BENomen 2008: This rose is a min-flora from the late Frank Benardella. It is a medium red, growing two-three feet tall. It has medium green foliage. This rose is not named as yet, but will be available from local Nurseries in late December. BE MY BABY This is a miniature rose. Its growth is medium to tall, upright, with big bushy habit. It has big beautiful blooms with petals. The buds are red and open to a gorgeous deep luminous pink with a little yellow at the base. It has dark glossy green foliage. It has a mild apple fragrance. The parentage of the rose is Winsome X Goldmarie. It was hybridized by Christian Bedard of Weeks Roses. This rose will also be available at local Nurseries in late December. September 2010 Rose Lore Page 9

10 Mesa-East Valley.Rose Society Standing Monthly Activities 2 nd Thursdays 7 p.m. General Meetings 3 rd Saturdays 8 a.m. Rose Garden Summer deadheading by volunteers. Jan & Feb Saturdays Garden Winter Pruning Oct. 9 Nov. 1 Activities 2010 Consulting Rosarian MCC Green Valley Rose Show Nov. 20 MEVRS Rose MCC * Nov. 20 Nov. 27 Dec. 4 Dec. 9 MEVRS Garden Fundraiser Dinner West Valley Rose Show All-AZ Rose Societies 42 nd Banquet and Show MEVRS Christmas party WEB Pages of Interest Mesa-East Valley Rose Society OR home.html Find past newsletters or articles by clicking on the Newsletters or Articles tabs on the Home page. MCC Rose Garden Help Me Find Roses National Events Oct Fall Nat l Convention/Rose Show, Atlanta/North GA. berdks@mindspring.com Pete Pegler, MERVRS member and garden Deadheaders member, passed away this summer. Pete was a dedicated and hard working volunteer in the Rose Garden. He is missed. Annual Membership Dues are due for the year of June 1, 2010 thru May 31, 2011 (NO discounts for late payments!) Please give your annual $25 dues at the next meeting to the Treasurer. OR Mail a check payable to MEVRS To MEVRS, Attn: Treasurer P.O. Box Mesa, AZ NOTE: Annual dues include our Rose Lore Newsletter by . Annual fee to receive a monthly hard copy by mail is an additional $15. September 2010 Rose Lore Page 10

11 Mesa East Valley Rose Society Membership Annual family or individual membership in the MEVRS are $25. Annual dues are payable by June 1. No discounts for late payments. Payments in cash or check at a meeting; or by check to this address: MEVRS/Membership, P.O. Box 40394, Mesa, AZ Date New *Gift* Renewal Amount Paid Cash Check# Names: Address City State Zip Phone ( ) address NOTE: Annual dues include our Rose Lore Newsletter by . As of June 2010, annual fee to receive a monthly hard copy by mail is an additional $15. MEVRS members are encouraged to join the American Rose Society, the national organization with which MEVRS is affiliated. Membership in the ARS provides reciprocal entrance fees to gardens all over the USA, a bi-monthly national magazine American Rose, a copy of Handbook for Selecting Roses. Please enclose a check for an additional amount of $49 (seniors $46) for a one-year ARS membership. Standing Committees Auction Chairpersons...Ryan Regehr Cheryl Doan Audit... Judy Tolbert Communications...Open Historian.. Open Hospitality...Sally Crofford Librarian...Linda Ahlborn Membership... Angela Hilton Mickey Kundrat Newsletter, Editor...Bob O Brien Member s...Linda Ahlborn MCC Test Garden...LeRoy Brady Marylou Coffman Lynn Twitchell Pioneer Park Rose Garden Coordinators...Jean & Peter Pegler Publicity...Open Rose Garden Volunteers..Mickey Kundrat Rose Show Chairman...Lynn Twitchell Rose Show Co-Chairman.Open Ways & Means...Mike Jepsen Web site...corinne Geertsen Consulting Rosarians Arveda Larson* (Scottsdale) Dave* & Gerry* Mahoney (Glndl/Peoria) Donna Dibble (East Mesa) Helen Baird* (NoPhx, Sctsdle) Jeannie Cochell (NE Valley)jcochell@cox.net John F. Green (Tucson) Ken & Peggy Jones (West Phoenix) Larry Bell* (Ahwatukee Foothills) LeRoy Brady* (Mesa) Liz Strong (Tucson)Lizzie441@comcast.net Marylou Coffman** (Gilbert) Michael & Cindy Jepsen (Tempe) Millie Hisey* (Apache Jct-winter) Nelson Mitchell* (Peoria) Phyllis Henslin (Mesa, Apache Jct.) Ryan Regehr (Chandler, Gilbert) Steve Sheard (Tempe, Chandler) Terry Schick (Flagstaff) Terry Swartz* (Tucson) Terry* & Heidi* Leavitt (Phoenix) *ARS Judge **ARS PSWD Chairperson of Arrangement Judges September 2010 Rose Lore Page 11

12 Meetings are held at 7:00 pm on the 2nd Thursday of each month at Mesa Community College: Elsner Library Community Room, 1st floor 1833 W. Southern Ave., Mesa, AZ MEVRS Calendar of Events 7:00 Meeting Programs: September 9: FALL ROSE CARE October 9, 2010 Consulting Rosarian school at MCC November 20, 2010 MEVRS Rose MCC with NEW category for rose photos. November 20, 2010 MEVRS Garden Fundraiser dinner November 27, 2010 West Valley Rose ASU West Campus The Rose: Our National Floral Emblem All articles for the newsletter MUST be submitted to the editor by the 25th of each month. Mesa-East Valley Rose Society Executive Officers President Steve Sheard 1st Vice President Cindy Jepsen 2nd Vice-President Angela Hilton Recording Secretary Vincent Quarles Corresponding Secretary Phyllis Henslin Treasurer Jan Blanco Past-President LeRoy Brady Rose Lore Bob O Brien, Editor Mesa-East Valley Rose Society Inc. PO Box Mesa, AZ Board of Directors Steve Pawlowski Ryan Regehr Jimmy Tribby Lynn Twitchell Lynn Urry Check out our ARS Award Winning website: Developers of The Rose Garden at Mesa Community College, the largest public rose garden in the Desert Southwest! September 2010 Rose Lore Page 12