CHARLESTON ROSE SOCIETY A member of the Colonial District of the American Rose Society An Affiliate of the RAMBLIN ROSE PRESIDENT S MESSAGE--Steven Grass I think so far August and September have been the hottest and wettest on record. I didn t have to water the roses much but even with the rain, I had to water the potted roses almost every day. My blooms would get about half open and then would look like they were torched. On Monday, September 3 rd at my house the high temperature was 100 degrees, and on the 10 th it was 71 degrees, a 29-degree difference. Too bad the lower temperatures only lasted a few days as I could get used to the cooler temps. Everybody seemed to enjoy the program in August about grafting and slipping roses. I always enjoy the feeling I get from a successful take on a slip and putting the new rose in a larger pot or in a rose bed. For exhibitors, sometimes that is the only way to get a new hot rose that everybody is talking about. Speaking of exhibitors, I just came back from the combined Penn-Jersey and Colonial District meeting and show. Our Society and District was well represented by attendees and we got a few wins at the show. There is an article later in the newsletter about the show and meeting. The ARS is doing its Roses in Review and the last day of reporting on the roses is September 26 th. You do not have to be an ARS member to report on the roses you grow that may be on the list to review. This list is in the July/August issue of the American Rose magazine. If you want, you can go online at www.rose.org/rir to do the survey. Consulting Rosarians are required to do this each year. Also, Consulting Rosarians need to do their yearly report by October 15 and submit it to the Colonial District chair, Ray Shipley. Our last meeting this year is in October and then the Christmas dinner in December. We will be cutting back the public gardens sometime in November after we have three hard frosts. E-mails will be sent out when it s time for pruning and again for the Christmas event. Our September meeting is going to be another interactive meeting presented by Gary and Monica Rankin on Fall Care for Roses. Check out the Program Spotlight below to find out what you need to bring. Peter Harris and Rose Long will be our hosts, so bring an appetite and we will see you there! Program Spotlight Our meeting this month features Gary Rankin and Monica Valentovic of the Huntington (and Charleston!) Rose Society. Gary and Monica have won numerous awards at all levels of competition in rose exhibiting, and have given talks to rose societies nationwide. They always bring an interesting viewpoint with their presentations, and provide useful information to put into practice in our gardens. Tuesday s meeting will be a discussion of Fall Care for Roses, and will be interactive. Please bring soil samples from your rose bed(s), wet or dry, taken from two or three spots in your bed (if more than one bed, more than one cup). Gary and Monica will measure soil ph, and we ll be able to determine what nutrients your beds need to improve the roses. Please mark your calendar and make sure you join us! Volume 35, No. 7 September 2018 UPCOMING EVENTS TUESDAY, September 25 Gary & Monica Rankin will give an interactive program: Fall Care for Roses. They ask you to bring soil samples from your rose beds to test the ph. Peter Harris and Rose Long will be our hosts for the evening. TUESDAY, October 23 My Favorite Things, with the membership bringing items that are favorites to use in the rose garden. Danny Craft and Linda Boggess will be our hosts. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 4 Karen Miller will host our annual Christmas dinner at her home. More information to come! Inside this issue: President s Message 1 Upcoming Events 1 Program Spotlight 1 This and That 2 Officer Election 3 Dues 3 Ugliest Rose Winner! 3 October/Christmas Info 3 Public Garden Full Pruning 3 District Show/Meeting 4 Public Garden Photos 6 Rose of the Month 7 Consulting Rosarians 7
THIS AND THAT Lynda Grass Well, I m not quite sure what to say about the last few weeks of weather. As of September 19, we ve had 10.6 inches of rain. In August, we had a total of 7.4 inches. It just seemed like water was everywhere, and Hurricanes Gordon and Florence were part of the drenching. Thank goodness that it s time to deadhead all of our roses are full of water and the canes are bending over from the weight. If you have good blooms to cut and bring into the house (or share with others), go ahead and cut them. Otherwise, pull your petals to signal the bush that it s time to quit producing blooms and make seed hips instead. Before long, we ll be pruning our bushes for winter, and covering them with mulch to protect them from freezing. A problem we noticed this year was that our leaves were turning yellow and dropping off. No sign of disease or spider mites on the underside. We theorized that the extreme heat put the roses into a state of stress that they could not overcome despite being watered frequently. The new growth that came on our bushes after Steven had pruned for the September District show was beautiful dark green and healthy, no sign of disease. An interesting note: Steve was cutting roses for the District show right after Labor Day, and he put some in vases that he didn t think were good enough to take to Pennsylvania. At first, the foliage was very pretty and healthy looking, but after a few days, the leaves started to resemble the ones in the yard: yellow was the prominent color. That s unusual, and just shows what type of stress the bushes have been under this summer. Let s talk about where you should be with your roses. You should not feed your roses with anything containing nitrogen, since it encourages new growth, which you don t want. Your focus should be on something to promote root growth if you do want to continue feeding (look for 0-10-10 on the container or bag). Most of us have been overrun with blackspot this year because of the heat, humidity, and damp conditions. It is very important to get your beds as clean as possible before putting down your winter mulch. All of those dead or dying leaves carry the blackspot spore, and if you leave them in the beds, you just promote blackspot into next year. We have a smaller rake with a long handle that can get around the base of the roses to pull out debris. If you aren t already doing so, start now so that your winter preparations won t be overwhelming. There s no point in diseased leaves being on your bushes strip them off as well. Keep up your spray program until we have our first killing frost. I don t think you ll need anything for insects, but fungal diseases need to be kept in check. Follow the directions on the bottle, and take proper precautions to protect your skin, lungs, and eyes. Powdery mildew comes to mind: leaves appear purple in color on the back side, or you might have new leaves curl up or pucker. Of course, the most obvious sign is the white powder that appears on the leaves, stems, and rose buds. Prevention is the best course, so spray with different fungicides on a rotating basis. If you catch it early, try mixing a tablespoon of baking SODA, a tablespoon of original Dawn dishwashing liquid, and a tablespoon of vegetable oil into a gallon of water, mix well, and spray on infected areas. A little goes a long way, so to avoid spray burn don t be tempted to increase amounts. Can you plant rose bushes in the fall? There are those who say no, they won t have time to properly establish and will fall prey to the winter winds and freezing temperatures. However, there are those who think it s the best time to plant since the bushes can concentrate on root systems instead of above-ground growth. Locally, I don t think you ll find rose bushes for sale, but you might find some distributors that will ship right now. If you have roses in pots that are ready for planting in beds, you can do so. Make sure that you take extra care of them when you do your winter protection. Many of the home garden centers have been having sales on mulch. I hope you ve taken advantage and stocked up for your winter protection plans. It s also a good time to look in the garden areas of all the local stores to see if fertilizers, spray materials, etc. are on clearance. You could luck into some great deals! You may remember earlier in the year I told you that we d lost one of our roses bushes to rose rosette disease. This past weekend, Steve asked me to look at our miniflora Eternity. He had noticed the week before that some new growth in the center looked suspicious, and as soon as I saw the bush, I knew it also had rosette. He had moved the pot away from the other bushes, and proceeded to cut it up and dispose of the plant. This was one of the roses he d used the week before in his winning Ben Williams entry in Gettysburg, so it was sad to see it go. FYI this bush was on the other side of our yard, far away from the Shawn Sease that had also contracted the disease. This month s meeting will be of some benefit to all of us with rose beds. Gary and Monica Rankin are going to talk about fall chores in the garden, and will be testing soil samples from our membership to help determine what you might be missing in your soil. See the President s Message on page 1 for details on how to collect your sample. Rose Long and Peter Harris will be our hosts COME OUT AND JOIN US! P A G E 2
Our slate of officers for 2019 was presented at the August meeting. The following members have offered to serve in the noted positions. President... Lynda Grass Vice President... Donna Smoot Secretary... Linda Boggess Treasurer... Joyce Rasmussen Director (two-year term)... Ray Boggs If you would like to serve in one of these positions, please contact Linda Boggess to add your name to the list. The election will take place at our October meeting. Just a reminder that your 2018 membership expires at the end of December. Dues for 2019 remain at $8 for a single membership and $12 for family. Checks may be made payable to the Charleston Rose Society and mailed to Joyce Rasmussen, 2519 Winter Street, St. Albans, WV 25312. You may also pay at the September or October meeting or at the Christmas dinner. Those not paying by the end of the year will still receive the March newsletter as a final reminder. We hope you will remain a member of the Society! UGLIEST ROSE CONTEST We had a great response last month to our Ugliest Rose Contest, and we re happy to report that a gorgeous specimen of Blue Girl won the coveted Cracked Plate for Tom and Melinda Kuhn. This is their first time entering the contest, so congratulations to them! Here s a photo of President Steve Grass presenting the award to a thrilled Melinda Kuhn (thanks to Donna Smoot for the photo). Congratulations! OCTOBER MEETING/ CHRISTMAS DINNER The October meeting is the last one of the year. Our final function of the year is our Christmas dinner, and at this time, the date is December 5 with Karen Miller opening her home to us again for that event. It was a beautiful setting last year, and all of us had a wonderful time. We ll be communicating by email regarding the date/time. For those who don t have email, we ll call or drop a note in the mail as a reminder. We need an accurate count of attendees so Karen can prepare. FALL PRUNING AT PUBLIC GARDENS The public gardens on Lee Street West and Washington Street West will need volunteers to help with pruning and winter protection. This won t happen until after we ve had 3 hard frosts, so it might not be until late November. Please contact Steve Grass to let him know if you d like to be put on the list to help. He ll get in contact with you later in the year to establish a date/time for this project. We ll have a sign-up list at the September and October meetings. We hope that many of you will offer to assist it will go more quickly the more people who help. It s also a great time to get some hands-on experience about winter protection. P A G E 3
COLONIAL DISTRICT ROSE SHOW/MEETING The Colonial District joined with the Penn-Jersey District again this year for a combined fall rose show and meeting. Weather conditions in eastern Pennsylvania were not the best (heavy rains and storms), and word was passed for exhibitors to bring all the roses they could so that the show would be successful. Gary and Monica Rankin of Huntington, John & Diana Fleek of Cross Lanes, and Steven Grass of Charleston exhibited in the horticulture section of the show, and Donna Smoot judged the horticulture section, as well as entering photos in that portion of the show. Lynda Grass couldn t attend the show, but sent photos with Steve to be exhibited. A number of exhibitors from Virginia also brought roses for the show. Steve, the Fleeks, and the Rankins entered roses in three of the four Colonial District classes; sadly, no one had enough roses to enter the McFarland class, which is considered the top District class and requires 6 hybrid teas of different varieties. This is the second year that no entries were available for that class. However, the Ralph S. Moore, the top prize for 7 different miniature roses; the J. Ben Williams, top prize for 5 miniflora roses, no more than 2 of each variety; and the Griffith Buck, top prize for shrubs, 3 of any combination of varieties, all had entries. Steve was the winner of the Moore and Williams classes, and John & Diana won the Buck. There were several challenge classes offered by the Penn-Jersey District that anyone could enter, as well as the traditional horticulture entries for large and small roses. The West Virginia contingent did quite well, with all three exhibitors winning. Some of the other classes were won by other Colonial District members, so all in all, the District membership acquitted themselves quite well. As for the photos, both Donna and Lynda received good results. There were a total of 10 classes. Donna won best in class for a rose show activity for a photo of her garden party this summer. Lynda s macro photo of Fourth of July rose hips won that class, and it was also awarded Princess of Photography for the show (third place). Over 70 photos were entered. There were also arrangement classes, but none were entered by West Virginia exhibitors. In all, the show had over 400 entries, a good amount for a District show these days. At the District Meeting it was announced that the pre-spring meeting will be held at Staunton, Virginia, the weekend of March 8-9, 2019. The Richmond Rose Society will be hosting the fall meeting and show the weekend of October 11-13, 2019. The Silver Honor Medal for service to the Colonial District presented to Carol Fox of Richmond, and was well deserved. Next year will begin with Ray Shipley as our new District Director. District Committee chairs will be published in the November edition of the Colonial Courier. Charles Shaner reminded us to tell our society members about getting on the District website to keep up with District news. The website is www.colonialdistrictroses.org. Members were also reminded about the Roses in Review that is due September 26. Anyone can do this even if you are not an ARS member. The list of roses is in the July/August American Rose magazine. Everyone reported that the weather for the show weekend wasn t good: rain on the Friday drive, all day Saturday, and pouring rain for the drive home on Sunday, but it was a good weekend for those who competed in the rose show. A winners list is attached to this newsletter. These lists give you a good idea of what roses are considered good for exhibition, but also should indicate what roses you might want to purchase for your own garden. Enjoy the photos on the next page! Diana Fleek presents the Silver Honor Medal to Carol Fox of the Richmond Rose Society. P A G E 4
COLONIAL DISTRICT show photos My Lady Barbara, Queen of Show Let Freedom Ring, King of Show Summer Memories, 3rd Modern Shrub Ken Borrmann Lynda & Steven Grass Gary & Monica Rankin Miniature Court of Honor Miniflora Court of Honor Colonial District Ralph Moore winning entry Colonial District Ben Williams entries (3) Two winners! On the far left, High-Lo Miniflora & Mini won by John & Diana Fleek, and on the far right, Hybrid Tea & Miniflora High-Lo won by Lynda & Steve Grass PAGE 5
ROSES IN THE LEE STREET GARDEN The roses in our public gardens continue to grow and produce beautiful blooms. Many of the roses are over 6 feet tall; some even taller. Please remember to visit the gardens, and encourage your friends to do the same! PA AG GE E 6
Rose of the month Donna Smoot Internet photo For our last two roses I want to recommend a couple of minifloras. This month it will be a beautiful apricot blend called Show Stopper. This beauty has been in my garden for about ten years and I have moved it from a pot to the back yard bed, to the front yard bed, and back to the back yard. It s life goal is to thrive and bloom and it succeeds where I put it. Show Stopper was bred by Frank Benardella and introduced by Nor-East Roses in 2007. Its parents are Lorena x Baby Boomer. The ARS rates it at 7.7 and has awarded it the American Rose Society Award of Excellence. Show Stopper has a very slight fragrance and will grow to about 3 feet tall and wide. The upper petal surface is a peach/apricot blend with the underside a lighter shade. She has about 45 to 50 petals; a really tight, high-center form; and is about one and a half inches across. It grows mostly solitary blooms and has true exhibition form. I love and recommend this absolutely beautiful rose and it can be purchased from K & M roses for $25.00, or from For the Love of Roses for $16.50. You re also welcome to get a slip of mine. The Ramblin Rose is published monthly from March to June and August to October. Lynda Grass, Editor/Publisher Contributing Writers: John Fleek Steven Grass Donna Smoot The Charleston Rose Society, a member of the American Rose Society and part of the Colonial District, was founded in 1923. Its membership is dedicated to the growth of roses, the education of the public in rose culture, and fellowship with rose growers locally and across the country. Meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month from March to June and August to October at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Charleston and begin at 7:00 p.m. If you are interested in learning more about roses and their culture, we would like to invite you to join us at any of our meetings. If you are interested in joining the Charleston Rose Society, please contact: Joyce Rasmussen, Treasurer 2519 Winter Street St. Albans, WV 25177 Membership dues for the Rose Society are $8 for an individual and $12 for a family. This includes the newsletter, which is transmitted electronically. E-mail addresses are not shared. The information contained in this newsletter is, to the best of the ability of the editor and authors, accurate and true. Neither the Society, editor, nor the authors imply or guarantee the accuracy of the information, nor do they make any recommendations or endorsements of products or actions that may be mentioned herein. CHARLESTON ROSE SOCIETY CONSULTING ROSARIANS The Charleston Rose Society has a number of individuals who have taken an ARS-sponsored course and passed a test to become Consulting Rosarians. This means that they are well qualified to answer your questions about roses and the accompanying difficulties you may be experiencing in your garden. Please feel free to contact them with your rose questions! John & Diana Fleek Cross Lanes 304.776.4048 Steven Grass West Side 304.345.3634 Gary & Monica Rankin Huntington 304.697.0321 Donna Smoot South Charleston 304.744.8150 P A G E 7
DISTRICT CONVENTION SHOW RESULTS SEPTEMBER 8, 2018 PENN-JERSEY DISTRICT CHALLENGES Class Rose(s) Winner(s) Ralph S. Moore Penn Jersey District Ty, Pierrine, Soroptimist International, Daddy Mike and Sally Wrightstone Trophy Frank, Renegade, Joy, Bees Knees Griffith Buck Shrub Trophy Mystic Fairy, Carefree Spirit, Lady Elsie Mae Bruce Monroe J. Benjamin Williams Miniflora Abby s Angel, Gift of Love, Whirlaway, Cooper, Ken Borrmann Trophy Tiffany Lynn, Bold Ruler Philadelphia Rose Society Challenge Moonstone, St. Patrick, Claire Elyse, Let Bill Toth Trophy (English Box) Freedom Ring, Veterans Honor, Randy Scott Harrisburg Rose Society Challenge Magic Show, Best of 04, Renegade Lynda and Steven Grass Trophy (Mini Box) Jack D. Lissemore Friendship Trophy Let Freedom Ring Lynda and Steven Grass (pair HT or Gr) Pittsburgh Rose Society Challenge Louise Estes, Randy Scott Mike and Sally Wrightstone Trophy (3 exhibition HT or Gr) West Jersey Rose Society Challenge Best of 04, Soroptimist International, Dr. Tommy Lynda and Steven Grass Trophy (3 minis) Cairns South Penn Area Rose Society Cherry Parfait Bruce Monroe Challenge Trophy (cycle of bloom) York Rose Society Challenge Trophy Irresistible Lynda and Steven Grass (mini cycle of bloom) Reading-Berks Rose Society Moonstone, Leading Lady Lynda and Steven Grass Challenge Trophy (Hi-Lo) Frank Benardella Challenge Trophy Joy, Conundrum Mr. and Mrs. John Fleek (mini miniflora hi-lo) Philadelphia Rose Society Seedling no entry Trophy Martin R. Jacobus Perpetual HT Queen, My Lady Barbara Ken Borrmann Challenge Trophy (HT American origin) Garden State Club Champion of HT Queen, My Lady Barbara Ken Borrmann District Trophy (best Penn-Jersey entry, HT, Gr or F) Harrisburg Rose Society Perpetual Salute Carol Fox Trophy (open bloom) Jersey Shore Rose Society Perpetual Trophy (mini queen) Renegade Mike and Sally Wrightstone COLONIAL DISTRICT CHALLENGE CLASSES Class Rose(s) Winner(s) Ralph S. Moore Perpetual Trophy Dancing Flame, Alysheba, Sweet Mallie, Lynda and Steven Grass Chelsea Belle, Best of 04, Dr. Tommy Cairns, Eternal Flame Griffith Buck District Trophy Dagmar Hastrup Mr. and Mrs. John Fleek J. Benjamin Williams Miniflora Rose Whirlaway, Bold Ruler, Eternity, Tammy Lynda and Steven Grass Challenge Clemons, Peter Cottontail HORTICULTURE ENTRIES Class Rose(s) Winner(s) HT Queen My Lady Barbara Ken Borrmann HT King Let Freedom Ring Lynda and Steven Grass HT Princess Veterans Honor Ken Borrmann HT 4 th Moonstone Mike and Sally Wrightstone HT 5 th Dublin Bill Toth HT Spray no entry Grandiflora Spray Cherry Parfait Bruce Monroe Open Bloom HT, Gr or F Julia Child Mr. and Mrs. John Fleek Floribunda Exhibition Bloom Golden Holstein Bill Toth Best Floribunda Spray Hannah Gordon Bill Toth
2 nd Floribunda Spray Lavaglut Bill Toth 3 rd Floribunda Spray no award Best Climber Clair Martin Bill and Kathy Kozemchak Dowager Queen Marchesa Boccella Bruce Monroe Victorian Award Pink Pet Bill and Kathy Kozemchak Best Classic Shrub Bouquet Parfait Bill and Kathy Kozemchak Best Modern Shrub Carefree Spirit Bruce Monroe 2 nd Modern Shrub Lady Elsie Mae Bruce Monroe 3 rd Modern Shrub Summer Memories Gary and Monica Rankin 4 th Modern Shrub Flutterbye Carol Fox 5 th Modern Shrub Swan Bill and Kathy Kozemchak Best Polyantha Wing Ding Bruce Monroe Mini Queen Renegade Mike and Sally Wrightstone Mini King Wanderlust Mike and Sally Wrightstone Mini Princess Joy Mike and Sally Wrightstone 4 th Mini Ty Mike and Sally Wrightstone 5 th Mini Best of 04 Lynda and Steven Grass Miniflora Queen Whirlaway Ken Borrmann Miniflora King Miss Mabel Mike and Sally Wrightstone Miniflora Princess Gift of Love Ken Borrmann 4 th Miniflora Shawn Sease Bill Toth 5 th Miniflora Sandy s Pick Lynda and Steven Grass Best Mini Spray Roxy Bill and Kathy Kozemchak 2 nd Mini Spray no award 3 rd Mini Spray no award Best Miniflora Spray no award 2 nd Miniflora Spray no award 3 rd Miniflora Spray no award Best Mini/Miniflora Open Bloom Salute Carol Fox Novice Class no entry Fragrance Big Purple Bill Toth Judges Class Joy David Walsh Large rose bowl Silver Cream Ken Borrmann Mini/Miniflora rose bowl Baldo Villegas Mike and Sally Wrightstone Shrub Collection No entry ARRANGEMENTS DIVISION Class Winner Roses Used Mrs. John Signaigo Challenge Trophy (Best Arranger Grown) Pat Lawrence Touch of Class Florance McNeil Penn Jersey Perpetual Trophy (Best of Show) Elaine Adler Joyfulness The Rose Schwartzkopf Perpetual Trophy (Best Mini) Glenn Smith Whirlaway J. Benjamin Williams Miniflora Arrangement Trophy Elaine Adler Tiffany Lynn ARS Gold Certificate Pat Lawrence Touch of Class ARS Silver Certificate no award ARS Bronze Certificate no award ARS Miniature Gold Certificate Glenn Smith Whirlaway ARS Miniature Silver Certificate Donna Smith First and Foremost ARS Miniature Bronze Certificate Pat Lawrence Fairhope and Irresistible ARS Royalty Award no entry ARS Artist Award Pat Lawrence Touch of Class ARS Oriental Award Elaine Adler Joyfulness ARS Duke Award Elaine Adler Tiffany Lynn ARS Mini Royalty Award Pat Lawrence Fairhope and Irresistible ARS Mini Artist Award Glenn Smith Whirlaway ARS Mini Oriental Award Donna Smith First and Foremost ARS Rosecraft Certificate Judy Yingling Dr. John Dickman PHOTOGRAPHY SECTION Class/Topic Rose Winner Additional Award Class 1 Moonstone Bonnie Bishop Class 2 Florentina Bill Kozemchak King & Silver Certificate
Class 3 Mardi Gras Mary Sampson Class 4 Laguna in Kozemchak Bill Kozemchak Garden Class 5 Food and Rose Talk Donna Smoot Class 6 Fourth of July Rose Hips Lynda Grass Princess & Bronze Certificate Class 7 Sparrieshoop Stamens Bill Kozemchak Queen & Gold Certificate Class 8 No Blue Ribbons Class 9 BenCrazy Bill Kozemchak Seedling/Benardella Class 10 No entries