Happy Valentine s Day. Calendar of Events. February 16th Meeting. February 2017 Volume 27 B.J. Abshire-Editor INSIDE THIS ISSUE

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1 Thorny Issues A Publication of the Acadiana Rose Society in South Louisiana An affiliate of the American Rose Society February 16th Meeting Chastant Bros. has been an important part of Acadiana Rose Society for many years. John Chastant will be speaking to us this month on soil, fertilizers and some new products he s carrying. Hope you can come. All Seasons Nursery - Wine & Roses Event All Seasons Nursery will be hosting their Wine & Roses Event again on February 16 starting at 5pm. This is our meeting night and you are invited to come to All Seasons before the meeting for wine, cheese & rose talk! Refreshments Mary Bergeron & Virginia Bowen have volunteered to bring some good eats to our February meeting. Thanks ladies Dues are Due Membership dues are now due. We hope you will renew your membership and we appreciate your promptness. Send dues to B.J. Abshire...address on the back of the newsletter. Don t let this be your last issue. Thanks Mid Winter Workshop February It s not too late to register for the Gulf District s Mid Winter Workshop. Hear great speakers, learn about new roses, meet old friends and enjoy great food. Get all the info from BJ. At or American Rose Center Pruning Party Saturday, February 18 rosarians from all over Louisiana and neighboring states will come together to prune the gardens of the ARS in Shreveport. We will also be planting David Austin English roses in the Gulf District Garden. 158 Austin roses have been donated and we could use your help planting them. Please let BJ know if you are willing to come. February 2017 Volume 27 B.J. Abshire-Editor INSIDE THIS ISSUE President s Corner Happy Birthday! Dues Reminder Festival de Fleur What To Do in The Garden This Month This n That 7 Reasons to Prune How to Choose a Rose Ten Principles of Rose Pruning Getting Roses Into Shape Happy Valentine s Day February 10-11, 2017 February 16, 2017 February 18, 2017 March 16, 2017 March 25-26, 2017 April 1, 2017 April 22, 2017 Calendar of Events Gulf District Mid Winter Workshop - Gonzales, LA Acadiana Rose Society regular meeting Pruning Party - American Rose Center, Shreveport Acadiana Rose Society regular meeting Arrangement School and Workshop - Dallas Festival des Fleur - Blackham Coliseum-Lafayette Gulf District Rose Show - Alexandria, LA Thorny Issues Feb Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

2 President s Corner Greetings Rose Friends, Well friends, I hope you have been enjoying some of the warmer than normal weather we have had for this time of year. Of course we have also had three days of some pretty cold weather. It was cold enough that it killed most of the new growth that was already on the rose bushes. Someone mentioned to me that at least the rose bushes would actually go into dormancy. My belief is that dormancy does not occur in our modern roses. I believe that dormancy has also through time been lost after many years of hybridizing. I may be wrong, but it did not take long after the cold weather for the rose bushes to start leafing out, making it easier to prune. Before I go into our last meeting I want to take the time to wish Mary Bergeron a belated happy birthday last month. I also want to thank Linda Aguzin for bringing the article from Bob Martin. It was well written and one point that I tried to address when I was talking and demonstrating my pruning technique was starting from the bottom. When you start this way, you will notice which are new canes and the canes not doing well and make you think of what is the future of that rose bush. Thanks again Linda for bringing that in, the picture also says a lot about proper pruning. This is the type of information all our Consulting rosarians can do to help our group. Now on our last meeting, I know many of you, had a little trouble understanding the soil test process. Please do not let that worry you, I have talked to Dan and he mentioned that he will write all the information down on paper with the formulas and some examples, for us to continue to discuss at our meetings, he also mentioned he would come back if needed. This month s speaker is John Chastant, and in my conversations with him at his office was for him to tell us a little about some of the fertilizers, he carries as well as some of the new pesticides on the market. And since I have recommended his soil to several members, I asked him to mention and talk about some of the additives he has in the soil. This should help as we start our new year. In Ms. Judy s garden I have finished my pruning. I will be at Lee Dautreuil s on Monday for sure and then back to continue soil drenching and getting ready to lay down the fertilizers. I plan on being at Gonzales for our winter workshop, leaving on Friday if anyone needs a ride. I hope you get to go, if not please try to make our next meeting, John has always been helpful to us all. With Blessing for all! As always call me if you need more information. Your friend, Juan Nieto Mary Bergeron - Jan. 29 Diane Rountree - Feb. 1 Lois Manuel - Feb. 2 Shirley Dautreuil - Feb. 6 Carol Benoit - Feb. 7 Steve Rountree - Feb. 12 Rosemary Brasseaux - Feb. 17 Please let BJ know when your birthday is so it may be included each month Festival de Fleur April 1, 2017 Blackham Coliseum We will have an information booth at the festival again this year. Please volunteer to help man our booth. More info on Festival coming soon DUES REMINDER Treasurer BJ Abshire will be accepting new and renewed memberships at the January and February meetings or by mail. The following members have renewed their memberships. If your name is not listed here we would love to have you continue your membership with us. Thank You BJ Abshire Pia Albuquerque John & Carol Benoit Mary Bergeron Virginia Bowen Rosemary Brasseaux Letha Briggs Carolyn Brupbacher John Chastant Peggy Daniel Lee & Shirley Dautreuil Jim & Rosemary Florstedt Mike Hamner Penny Jones Maurice & Lois Manuel John & Pat Miers Karen Molbert Juan Nieto Steve & Diane Rountree Lou Savoy Jeri Seal Thorny Issues Feb Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

3 What To Do in the Garden This Month It s time to prune!! Traditionally here in South Louisiana think Valentine s Day and later to start your major pruning. Some experienced rosarians start their pruning before then if they have a lot of roses or we ve had a mild winter. We are in the midst of a mild winter...only a couple of light freezes. The Cajun groundhog didn t see his shadow...so we will probably have an early spring. Gather all the equipment you will need like good leather gloves, sharp bypass pruners and loppers, a small saw will come in handy for tight spots and wear a long sleeve shirt to protect your arms. No matter what kind of rose bush you have, the first thing you do is remove all dead, damaged or diseased branches. Cut these off flush with the bud union. Also, cut off any suckers sprouting from below the bud union. If you did that in January you can move on to the fun stuff. When you re making your cut, look for an outward facing bud eye the small, swollen, reddish bump. This will make the canes grow out away from the center of the plant (mostly hybrid teas/grandifloras) and leave room for sun and air flow. I ve read that you can also just cut the bush exactly in half and have excellent results as well and forget the bud eyes. Roses are very forgiving and will bloom no matter how you cut them. Now is a good time to transplant a bush to a different spot. Pruning the bush before you dig it up will make it a lot easier to handle and less chance to get stuck with a thorn. Dig the new hole first before digging up the bush. You could add some compost or fresh soil to the new location to make the new bush feel welcome and give it a good start. You could also put a handful of super phosphate in the bottom of the hole to promote good roots. Put a little soil over the super phosphate so the roots don t touch it. After filling in the hole work in some organics such as alfalfa pellets (rabbit food), Mills Magic, MicroLife etc. around the base. If you have hybrid teas or grandifloras, remove all branches that are smaller than a pencil. Prune out crossing or rubbing branches in the center. Leaving 4 to 6 good sized canes coming from the bud union would be ideal but you can have more, and you want the center to be open with that vase shape for air flow and light. Now, cut the canes to the length you want leaving all white pith. Cutting short (12-18 in. canes) will give you large flowers and cutting high (24 in. canes) will give you smaller but more blooms. The nice thing about floribundas is that they produce an abundance of flowers. Remove small spindly growth from the inside of the plant as with hybrid teas, for air circulation and light. Cut canes to about 24 inches. Leave most of the canes so they will produce lots of sprays. Some floribundas need to be thinned out a little in the middle of the plant. Good airflow is important to prevent diseases. Miniatures Many people grow them in pots. Minis can handle severe pruning. Cut stems about 5-8 inches long. If you have a lot of miniatures use hedge clippers and then go back and clean up the inside a little. They can get root bound so repot after 3 or 4 years. Miniatures can also be easily divided to make more plants. Pruning climbers is a little different. They bloom on old wood last year s growth and older. Very old canes should be taken out at the base in early spring this will encourage new canes. They should not be pruned until after the first flush of blooms or else you will be cutting away your flowers. If they need shaping, you can do this in the spring or later in the season. Old Garden roses don t need much pruning. Just take a few inches off the branches and shape lightly. Give them plenty of space and let em grow. Shrub is a generic classification given to a group of roses that don t fit neatly into any other category. They come in a lot of shapes and sizes. Some are compact, growing no more than 3 feet and others sprawl to as much as 12 or 15 feet. English roses, introduced by David Austin, are among the most popular. Generally, you would take off ½ to 2/3 of the bush depending on how big you want it to get and the space you have. Prune first year shrubs lightly so they can get established into their normal habit or form. Now is a good time to spray your bushes with a dormant or horticulture oil or lime sulfur to kill any eggs or overwinter bad guys and a fungicide to kill blackspot. You could also put out some organics such as alfalfa, Epsom salts, fish meal, cottonseed meal etc. or Mills Magic, MicroLife etc. Do not fertilize now with inorganics such as water soluble Miracle Gro and those type fertilizers until after the first flush of blooms. Thorny Issues Feb Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

4 This - n -That Chilli Thrips Chilli Thrips were a big problem last growing season...now is the time to get on the offense. As soon as you prune your bushes, spray the bush with Monterey's Horticulture Oil or another all season oil. This will suffocate any eggs or immature chilli thrips that are hiding in cracks and crevices. When spraying pay particular attention to the places where leaves attach to stems - as this is the place where they hide most often. This particular brand of horticulture oil can be safely used in a monthly spray program through June and has shown to be helpful in reducing spring blackspot (ed note: Chastants or good nurseries carry horticultural oil) Local nurseries now have potted roses Check out the Roses at Area Nurseries Chastant Bros Pinhook Rd., Lafayette All Seasons Johnston St.,Lafayette Lastrapes I-49 Opelousas, LA area Girourds Broussard, LA Native Sun South Lafayette Forest Hill Nursery Festival March 17-19, 2017 Forest Hill, LA - 1 hr. from Lafayette I-49 & Forest Hill Exit The National Garden Bureau chose 2017 as the Year of the Rose. The Gulf District of the American Rose Society Visit the new Gulf District webpage for information about local societies and upcoming events. View photos of Gulf District roses and events on the Gulf District facebook page: Judging School & Arrangement Workshop March 25, 2017 Saturday in Dallas, Texas Contact Dallas Rose Soc president Andy Black: wa.black@sbcglobal.net Past Gulf District Arrangement Judge Chairman Marilyn Wellan will be an instructor as will National Arrangement Judge Chairman Nancy Redington. Start the Year Off Right Join the American Rose Society One of the many benefits of American Rose Society membership is access to members only resources on the ARS website. Members use a password to access digital Quarterly Bulletins for Arrangers, Old Garden Roses and Shrubs, and Miniature Roses, Consulting Rosarian manual, Power- Point Programs and much more. In 2016 American Rose Society members were treated to six beautiful and informative issues of the American Rose magazine plus the handbook for Selecting Roses. The handbook for Selecting Roses lists over 3,000 roses by name. The list provides the official name and classification of each rose, plus the color, year of introduction and most importantly a 1-10 Roses in Review rating representing the average garden performance rating for the variety. ROAD TRIP! ARS Gulf District 2017 Spring Tour with ARS Gulf District Director Allen Owings. Texas Bound and Down April 27-30, Dr. Owings has organized a group trip to Chamblee s Nursery in Tyler, Texas, to purchase roses, tour roses gardens at Farmers Branch and Earth-Kind Rose Trial garden in McKinney, Texas, plus attend events at RoseDango at the Chambersville Tree Farm garden. Group rates have been arranged. More information and travel plans will be available soon. Mark your calendar. Thorny Issues Feb Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

5 7 Reasons to Prune By Connie Vierbicky, Master Rosarian - Bradenton-Sarasota Rose Society, Florida Pruning is not as complicated as people think! Many new rosarians become anxious of this procedure because they believe they can ruin a rosebush by pruning it too severely, but that has not been my experience unless you cut down below the bud union. The worst that could happen is an awkward shaped bush, but even then, the bush will usually still perform and live to be pruned again next year. I love pruning 175 bushes. Pruning is my most favorite thing to do in February. I look forward to pruning every year with great excitement. I can t wait to start pruning...let me at those bushes. No matter how your try to talk yourself into this arduous task (because of the number of bushes I have), it still takes elbow grease and patience. There really is an upside to pruning though: 1) Pruning definitely encourages a heavier bloom the next season. Roses bloom from new green canes, not from old woody ones. 2) Pruning helps your bushes stay healthy by allowing you to shape your bush so it s open and symmetrical. The center should be open to light and air. 3) Once the branches are cut back and the leaves are removed, you can easily lay down all those growth-stimulating amendments around the drip line of the bush. 4) Pruning also makes it easier to put down a layer of mulch over the rose bed to replenish the soil, keep down weeds, and conserve moisture. 5) Pruning helps you do a really thorough job of removing all weeds, diseased foliage on the ground, and suckers that like to hide up in the bush. 6) Pruning allows you to safely transplant the bush to another place in the garden while the bush is dormant. 7) Lastly, pruning reduces the total surface of the bush so you can economically afford to spray with the dormant sprays that eliminate carry over spores of fungus diseases like black spot and mildew. How to Choose a Rose From Your Local Nursery Information from Baxter & Patsy Williams, Master Rosarians from the Houston Rose Soc All nurseries now have their potted roses ready to sell. Go shopping as soon as possible for the best selection. By shopping early you will be able to see all the canes before leaves cover them and not be swayed by a pretty bloom or two. Look for 3 or more well spaced canes that are not crossing and have an open center for good air circulation. Don t buy roses that have dead canes. But, how do I pick the best one? Look for bushes in 3 gallon pots. They will have a larger root system; but most nurseries have 2 gallon pots. Pick one that has at least 3 canes that are ¾ -1 inch in diameter and at least inches long. Avoid ones with dead and damaged canes. Choose one with a large, smooth bud union. A new emerging basal (stem) or two would be a bonus. Look for healthy leaves. Buds and blooms are nice but not necessary. Don t compromise the features listed above just to get one with buds. Look at any rose in a pot in the nursery and you will see that all of the canes were sawed to the same length, which makes bushes easier to store in the refrigerator and then ship. But that also means that almost none of the cuts are 1/8-inch above an outward pointing eye, so it is incumbent upon the buyer to tune the cuts. In doing so, you eliminate a lot of dieback. Make sure that your shears are sharp. When you get it home clean it up by re-cutting the end of the canes with sharp pruners 1/4 from bud eyes and clean out the center of spindly growth. The most ideal combination of features would be a bush having a large, smooth bud union with three thumb-sized canes inches in length, and with one or more basal breaks showing. A basal is a new cane emerging from the lower part of the bush. Editor s note: If the bush has fully leafed out, you will not be able to see the canes...how many there are and what condition they are in. Try to shop now before the new leaves have covered the canes. It has been suggested by many that roses with dark green, thick, shiny leaves are highly resistant to disease. Still not sure how to choose, contact one of our Consulting Rosarians listed on the back of the newsletter. Thorny Issues Feb Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

6 Ten Principals of Rose Pruning by Bob Martin, Master Rosarian condensed to one page 1. Plan your pruning from the ground up - Most rose growers start pruning from the top. The purpose of pruning is to select the strong, healthy canes that will support the new year s growth. Get down on your knees or sit down in front of the bush and look at the bud union and the canes that come from it. Think about new growth. 2. Identify the newest canes - They are the ones that are the greenest. Then identify any older canes. If your bush is young years old, you may not have many old canes. The old canes are craggy and gray; the old ones usually have weak spindly growth and are in the way of brand new canes that are in the bud union s dormant eyes. Use lopper or a pruning saw to cut the old canes flush with the bud union. 3. If it s in the way, cut it away - New growth needs room and the ideal plant grows out from the center. Cut off any canes that cross over the center with loppers or pruning saw, flush with the bud union or flush with the cane. Also if any canes are seriously crowding each other, you can wedge them apart with a piece of stem cut from the plant. 4. The height is simple - Mentally divide the cane into three equal parts and remove the top by 1/3 5. This bud s for you - Bud eyes are found at the intersection of the cane and a leaflet of five. Sometimes they are obvious, other times less so. There should be several and the generally preferred one faces out. Where the canes come out at a 45 degree angle, a cut to the outside facing eye can result in a horizontally spreading bush with canes that fall of their own weight. This is particularly true of bushes that tend to naturally grow horizontally. A cut to an inner facing eye in such cases will usually produce a cane that goes straight up, the best way for roses to grow. If there are no properly placed bud eyes find one and work with what you have. 6. When in doubt, cut it out! - Many rose growers are squeamish about pruning for fear they will harm a plant. Do not fear - a rose bush is one tough cookie. 7. If it isn t big enough to seal, it doesn t belong there - A stem growing from another cane will never be larger than its source. Pencil thick stems produce matchstick thick stems that produce pin thick stems. Many rose growers seal cuts with a drop of Elmer s or any white glue. It is fast and easy and will protect the cane from Cane Borers. 8. Leave no leaves - Strip all the remaining leaves. They are last year s history. You want new leaves that can get a good start without catching fungus infections or facing attack from the bugs hanging around the old leaves. 9. Brush off the scaly, woody stuff on the bud union - Rose lore says this will stimulate and provide room for basal breaks 10. Clean up the area - Gather up all the canes, stems and leaves. Bag it up and throw it away. Get rid of the weeds from around the bush and dead leaves and dried up petals lying around. All of last year s fungus and insect problems are laying around in this stuff waiting for the new blooms. Don t compost this stuff. Rose canes don t decompose well and the spores, eggs and other things will survive composting efforts. Finally, lay down some new mulch to make things look real neat. Thorny Issues Feb Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

7 Getting Roses into Shape: a Primer on Rose Pruning By Dan Gill - LSU AgCenter I can think of no other shrub that blooms over such a long season or comes in as many colors as roses. When you factor in their wonderful fragrance, it s not surprising that roses are among the most popular flowering shrubs. Annual pruning is a part of proper rose care. Unfortunately, this job often is ignored or forgotten because gardeners don t realize its importance. We prune our repeat-flowering (or everblooming) roses from late January through late February. Annual pruning is especially important for the popular hybrid tea and grandiflora roses. Without it, these roses typically become leggy, unattractive, less vigorous and do not bloom as well. But all types of roses benefit from some pruning each year to control their shape and encourage vigorous growth and lots of flowers. What you need Use sharp by-pass hand pruners when pruning roses. They make clean cuts and minimize damage to the stems. Should you need to cut canes larger than one-half inch in diameter, you should use by-pass loppers. It s a good idea to wear a pair of sturdy leather gloves and long sleeves to protect your hands and arms from thorns. Long gauntlet-type gardening gloves provide even more protection. What to do The basic procedure for pruning back hybrid tea and grandiflora roses is simple. First, remove all diseased or dead canes by cutting them back to their point of origin. Weak, spindly canes the diameter of a pencil or less, should also be removed the same way. A good rose bush should have four to eight strong healthy canes the diameter of your finger or larger after this first step. Cut back the remaining canes to about 18 to 24 inches from ground level. When you prune back a cane, make the cut about one-quarter of an inch above a dormant bud or newly sprouted side shoot. Try to cut back to buds that face outward, away from the center of the bush. The new shoot produced by the bud will grow outward, opening up the bush for light, air and orderly growth. This may seem picky, but this really does make a difference. Many new gardeners have a hard time getting up the nerve to cut their hybrid tea and grandiflora rose bushes back so far. Roses often have flowers or buds at this time of year, and gardeners are reluctant to prune them off. If you don t prune them, though, the result will be tall, rangy, overgrown bushes that will not be nearly as attractive. Also Prune Other types of repeat-flowering roses, such as China, tea, Noisette, Bourbon, polyantha, floribunda, landscape and miniature roses, also should be pruned now. In general, roses in these categories have more pleasing shapes without severe pruning. But they will still benefit from pruning to shape and stimulate vigorous new growth. Prune any dead or diseased canes at this time. To shape the bushes, use hand pruners to selectively cut individual branches. Tough landscape roses, such as the popular Knock Out, can be sheared with hedge shears to shape them and encourage full, bushy growth. Even if your bushes are currently the right size, you should consider pruning them now. Remember, they will grow vigorously and increase in size during spring and summer. In general, roses that are not overgrown can be cut back about onequarter to one-third their current height. If you don t cut them back now, you ll likely find they are too large by early to midsummer, and you ll need to prune them back then. Roses would much rather be pruned in early spring than midsummer, so it s best to do it now. If you have rose bushes that are considerably overgrown, they will tolerate hard pruning to get them back into shape. To correct an overgrown rose, prune the bush back as much as one-half its height, depending on the situation. Long, especially vigorous shoots that have grown well beyond the rest of the bush and make it look out of balance may be cut back harder than the rest of the bush. Young bushes planted within the last year or two will likely not need drastic pruning but can be cut back slightly to encourage a full, bushy plant. Smaller, lower-growing roses, such as Drift roses, generally need less pruning than taller, largergrowing roses, such as Knock Out roses. What not to prune Once-blooming roses produce their flowers on growth made the previous year. The blooms appear in one big gush during late spring and early summer and there are few or no flowers the rest of the year. Once-blooming roses that should not be pruned now include many climbing and rambler roses (such as Cherokee, Swamp, Lady Banks, Veilchenblau, Dorothy Perkins and Blaze roses) and some shrubby Old Garden Roses (such as Banshee, Madame Plantier, Rosa Mundi, Cardinal de Richelieu and Maiden s Blush). If you re not sure what type of rose you have, think about how they bloom. If once-blooming roses are pruned back hard now they will produce few, if any, flowers. When extensive pruning of once-blooming roses is necessary, it s best done in midsummer after they have finished flowering. In addition, climbing and rambler roses should not be pruned back hard each year. Pruning climbers and ramblers is largely determined by how large and on what structure they are being trained. Pruning, when done, is more selective and less extensive. Dan Gill is an Associate Professor in Consumer Horticulture with the LSU AgCenter Thorny Issues Feb Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA

8 The Acadiana Rose Society Officers: President: Juan Nieto 1st Vice Pres: Lou Savoy Treasurer: B.J. Abshire Secretary: Lois Manuel Meeting Place: Ira Nelson Horticulture Center 2206 Johnston St., Lafayette, LA 3rd Thursday of each month 7pm (except Dec. - 2nd Thursday) No meeting in July Membership: $20 for ind. & $25 for couples Make check payable to: Acadiana Rose Society c/o B.J. Abshire 156 Antigua Dr. Lafayette, LA Consulting Rosarians: B.J. Abshire abshirebj@gmail.com Linda Aguzin malbaguzin@yahoo.com John & Carol Benoit johnbost561@yahoo.com Letha Briggs lethab@lusfiber.net Mike Hamner 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 Thorny Issues Feb Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA