Thorny Issues A Publication of the Acadiana Rose Society in South Louisiana An affiliate of the American Rose Society November 16th-Silent Auction/Bazaar See inside for details on our November meeting December 14th 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! New Officers Nominated The slate of new officers for 2018-19 was revealed at the October meeting. Nominations are still open. President: Karen Molbert 1st Vice President: Virginia Bowen 2nd Vice Presidents - Programs Linda Aguzin & BJ Abshire Secretary: Letha Briggs Treasurer: BJ Abshire Election will take place at the November meeting 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. Refreshments Jess Richmond and Carolyn Brupbacher have kindly volunteered to bring desserts for our red beans and rice dinner. Thanks Rose Center Volunteer Work Day Help is needed to plant pollinator plants on Saturday, November 18 in the Cleo Barnwell Garden of Pollinators and Rose Companions near the Gulf District Garden. Lunch provided. Call/email BJ for more info Nov-Dec 2017 Volume 27 B.J. Abshire-Editor INSIDE THIS ISSUE President s Message November Silent Auction This-n-That In the Garden this Month Christmas in Roseland The Needy Rose Straw Bale Planter Transplanting Fortuniana Roses Calendar of Events Nov 11, 2017 Nov 24-Dec 17, 2017 December 7, 2017 January 20, 2018 January 29-29, 2018 February 17, 2018 Southwest LA Rose Society Rose Show - Lake Chas. Christmas in Roseland - Am. Rose Center-Shreveport Acadiana RS Christmas Banquet (2nd Thurs.) Acadiana RS Regular Meeting - Ira Nelson Hort. Center Mid Winter Workshop - Holiday Inn, Laf, LA Acadiana RS Regular Meeting - Ira Nelson Hort. Center Thorny Issues Nov/Dec 2017 1 Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA
President s Corner Greeting Rose Friends, Only in Louisiana do temperatures change so much, which has you wondering what season it is. I have not been able to stop my spraying schedule due to the high temps we will have this week. The last rain we had was close to eight inches. Ms. Judy said the water was all inside the rose beds. God willing, I plan on mulching all the rose beds this week as well as getting the pond flowing. Rose Bushes are in good shape right now, I will continue to fertilize with liquid fertilizer at least one more time. I do plan to move some bushes this winter. In about two weeks I will cut around them with the shovel. They will stay in the ground until January, at which time I will dig them up and transplant them to a new location. Lou s birthday is this month. Our silent auction is this month. I want to thank all of you for giving me the opportunity to serve as your president for the last two years. Your Friend, Juan November 16th Meeting November 16 is a special meeting. I hope you will attend. Besides our Silent Auction/Bazaar our speaker is Professor Allen Owings who now works for Clegg s Nursery in Baton Rouge and Bracy s Nursery in Amite, LA. We will also have a red beans/sausage/rice dinner available for $5 so plan to come eat with us. It is also the time when we elect new officers for the next 2 years. Please come be a part of the election of our new officers. Please bring some items for the auction and plan on finding some good bargains too. Come early around 6pm if you can to set out your auction items. We will start the meeting at 6:30 and start eating before 7:00. Thorny Issues Nov/Dec 2017 2 Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA
This - N - That Many thanks to Master Gardener Juan Nieto for your time and knowledge serving as president for Acadiana Rose Society the last 2 years. Nov Lou 13th Allen Owings 27th Carolyn Brupbacher 28th December John Miers 2nd BJ 20th Maurice Manuel 24th Now accepting dues for 2018. 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 Lafayette January 28, 29. 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 Friday or 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. Community Foundation Honors On Thursday, November 16th the Community Foundation of Acadiana will honor individuals, couples and corporations who have made a positive impact in their communities through philanthropy. The Acadiana Rose Society would like to extend our congratulations to Mike Hamner (society past president) and Emily Hamner (daughter) for receiving one of the honors for the many hours they have contributed to our community. Congratulations Mike and Emily 2018 Wall Calendars Are Coming! Reserve Yours Today Beautiful rose photos taken by American Rose Society Members are highlighted in the NEW 2018 American Rose Society Calendar. Now you can enjoy roses all year long with the ARS ROSES wall calendar. You'll enjoy 5 photos every month! Call Peggy Spivey 800 637-6534 ext. 229 $15 + Shipping To order, call 318-938-5402 Thorny Issues Nov/Dec 2017 3 Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA
What To Do in the Garden This Month You should be enjoying some nice blooms since the weather is not so hot. No more fertilizing unless it s organic or water soluble Miracle Gro. Continue to water occasionally if there s no rain. Now is a good time to do a soil analysis. Many rosarians spray year round. I usually take off the winter months and resume in late February immediately after spring pruning. However, I ve continued to spray due to the warm weather staying with us. 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...see the article on the next page. 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 or there are numerous mail order companies plus you could make a trip to Chamblee s or Antique Rose Emporium Texas. Visit The American Rose Center in Shreveport for Christmas in Roseland evenings Nov. 24 - Dec. 17, 2017, weekends only Fri, Sat. & Sun. See lights, scheduled entertainment, Santa and a train, too. Abraham Darby Thorny Issues Nov/Dec 2017 4 Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA
The Needy Rose, by Ken Kelley - editor The Rose Gazette Northeast LA Rose Soc A couple of months ago I finally removed three own root roses from our garden that had not performed very well and required constant attention. We had coddled these roses for 2 summers with continuous fungus and pest problems. These roses were well known roses from a reputable nursery from here in NE Louisiana. When I dug them up they all had the same problem, almost no root system. On average the root system of each of the roses were about the size of a large grapefruit. The more I learn about root systems it seems likely that the plants had inadequate root systems and were under constant stress The occasional good bloom cycle was most likely due to nutrient feeding around the base of the shrub. The bright glimpse of hope of recovery for the plants would always soon dissipate into what do I try next? On one of our trips back to our hometown in Southeast Mississippi, I went to one of my favorite places K and M Roses. I purchased the replacement bushes and of course left, with more roses than I had intended to purchase. The replacement roses are on Fortuniana rootstock and are already starting to be very nice additions to our garden. But here is an interesting point that I have learned in this process, one of the bushes that I removed had constant fungal issues, as did the adjacent bush. Once the Needy Rose was removed the adjacent bush has not had any fungal issues. The weak rose was a repository for pest or fungal problems and spread these horizontally. The moral of this story is that it is best to remove a weak plant than continue to fight to make it stronger. Straw Bale Planter Did you know that a straw bale can itself become a garden? Want to make your own? It s easy! Follow these simple instructions. In November or December begin preparing a straw bale garden for the upcoming spring. Lay straw bales (not hay) with cut ends up and add organic fertilizer to the top of the bale then keep it watered. It will break down over the winter and become its own organic garden soil. Don t let it dry out and water as needed throughout the winter. By spring there will still be some decomposition and heat produced, which will let you get an early start on planting. You can escape a mild frost by covering your straw bale for the night to protect it as well as trap some of the heat still being generated. This will usually give you a week or two head start on the growing season. A straw bale garden can be used again, though it will be more of a mound the second year. Second year straw bales are great for sprawling vines such as pumpkins. Transplanting Fortuniana Rose Bushes Occasionally it is necessary to move rose bushes from one location to another. Fortuniana roses are not fond of being transplanted once they are well established. Roses on other rootstock may also be moved this way. Water the bush well the day before you start or the day after a good rain, then use a shovel to cut the roots out past the root ball (drip line) about 6-8 inches. Let the rose bush sit in the ground a couple of weeks or more. The leaves may wilt but they will perk up after a few days. And, you may need to water it once or twice. Before digging it up prune it back some depending on how large a bush it is. If it s a large hybrid tea prune it to about 18-20 inches in height. Remove half the leaves and any unwanted canes. Small bushes can be lightly pruned. Now dig around the drip line (previous cut) and try to remove the rose with the whole root ball intact. Have a pot ready or the hole of the new location already dug to avoid any unnecessary stress on the bush. Of course, cool/cold weather is best when transplanting but this method works in warm weather too. Thorny Issues Nov/Dec 2017 5 Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA
October Meeting Coffee Mug Arrangements Thorny Issues Nov/Dec 2017 6 Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA
Exhibitors Linda Aguzin and BJ Abshire with their rose arrangement entries Saturday, November 4, 2017, at the South Central District s District Rose Show held in Beaumont, Texas Traditional Line Mass Design using Babies Blush hybrid teas Oriental Manner Design using Deidre Hall hybrid tea Novice winner Modern Stabile Design using Veterans Honor hybrid teas Miniature Oriental Manner Design using Smart & Sassy miniflora Thorny Issues Nov/Dec 2017 7 Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA
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 6:30pm (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 70503 Consulting Rosarians: B.J. Abshire 981-4473 abshirebj@gmail.com Linda Aguzin* 560-1336 malbaguzin@yahoo.com John & Carol Benoit 234-6823 johnbost2277@yahoo.com Letha Briggs (Emeritus) 984-1868 lethab@lusfiber.net Mike Hamner (Emeritus) 235-6436 michaelhamner@cox.net Juan Nieto 290-1451 jfnieto1@netzero.net Diane Rountree 988-1741 ddrountree@aol.com Lou Savoy 235-9872 *Master Rosarian 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. 70503 Thorny Issues Nov/Dec 2017 8 Acadiana Rose Society, Lafayette, LA