CHARLESTON ROSE SOCIETY

Transcription

1 CHARLESTON ROSE SOCIETY An Affiliate of the A member of the Colonial District of the American Rose Society RAMBLIN ROSE PRESIDENT S MESSAGE--John Fleek Well, the exhibition season is about over since there will be no fall show in Huntington this year. Now the neighbors can look forward to seeing our roses without milk jug hats. A man and his children were walking up our road last week and I heard one child say, There s the milk jug house. It continues to be a conversation piece for newcomers to our neighborhood. As for the rose shows, I m sure Lynda will have a complete rundown of our recent show. It was the first time Diana had missed a show since 1984, but we decided to keep our string of consecutive shows intact and I spent a couple of hours entering roses. Diana was able to help the night before and gave me some instructions which I tried to follow. I didn t want to be gone too much so I didn t help with the set up on Saturday morning. Can t say I missed it, but it brought back memories of past show set ups. Years ago we stored the vases and tables in a second floor storage area above the gym at Blessed Sacrament Church in South Charleston. We carried the tables and boxes (and there were a lot of them in those days) down a fire escape ladder, loaded them in cars and trucks, and transported them to the United National Bank, unloaded them, and set up the show. The late Paul Sullivan (who was a mentor to most of us older rosarians) and I used a spigot in a shower stall in the Men s room of the bank to fill the vases. The set up area was a slanted delivery driveway in the bank and I believe we had to put blocks under the tables to keep them level. Oh, the good old days. One year, Paul and I and a couple of other members were sitting on the ground after we had returned the vases and tables to the church that evening and I recall Paul lamenting the lack of younger help in our endeavor. Seems like we have that same lament even today. I was proud of our contingency at the National in Columbus the following week. We were well represented with Dick and Donna as judges and Steve, Gary, and Monica as exhibitors. As you will see elsewhere in the newsletter, our exhibitors did very, very well. Congratulations to all. Our roses were beautiful the past two weeks. They are nowhere near the size they used to be due to the hard winters of the past few years, but they are coming back and we have had some spectacular blooms. We can sit back now and enjoy their beauty, as can our neighbors. I took four roses to church the other day and gave them to four of the older ladies who sit in our area. They were thrilled even though they were not necessarily of exhibition form. Someday I am going to put together a talk on a point system non-rosarians might use to decide which is their favorite rose. I can base this on conversations with visitors to our rose shows. Here is my tentative comparison. Volume 32, No. 4 June 2015 UPCOMING EVENT TUESDAY, June 23 Monthly meeting at 7:00 p.m. at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1600 Kanawha Boulevard, East. Danny Craft will have photos of the June rose show, and Joyce Rasmussen will discuss surviving summer. Linda Boggess & Danny Craft will provide refreshments. Inside this issue: President s Message 1 Upcoming Event 1 This and That Rose Show Results 3 Thanks! 4 CRS Rose Show Photos 5 National Rose Show 5 ARS Guidelines Non-Rosarian Guidelines Photos from Columbus 6 Form 25 5 The Sick List 7 Color Stem and Foliage Size Substance Balance and proportion Fragrance New Member(s)! Rose of the Month Consulting Rosarians Dick Hanlon picked up the new miniflora rose, Tammy Clemons, for me in Columbus. It s a medium-red rose by the hybridizer David Clemons and named after his wife. I think it is one you would enjoy having and it does have exhibition form. Diana is recovering slowly, but still isn t ready to challenge the stairs. Getting up them the day she came home from the hospital was a struggle. Hopefully, she can attend the August meeting. See you at the meeting.

2 This and that Lynda Grass It has been so hot the past couple of weeks. On Saturday morning, June 13, I went out to get the newspaper at 5:30 a.m. and the thermometer on the porch was at 78, and the air was full of humidity. We actually got some storms later in the day and received about 1 of rain, which was much needed. But the roses are showing the effects of this heat; small in size, crisp around the edges, and coming and going in one day. Summer doesn t actually start until June 21! One thing you need to do for your roses at this time is to keep them hydrated. They need at least 1 of water a week, whether it s from rain, your watering jug from the rain barrel, or the garden hose. And another thing to be diligent about is keeping the center of your bush open, removing the leaves that tend to cluster together as well as the spindly canes that grow there. If you don t, you will invite spider mites into your garden, and for the remainder of the summer you will have no leaves on your bushes. These little creatures live on the undersides of your rose leaves (and yes, the do spin webs if the infestation is bad enough), sucking the moisture out. If you notice that your leaves look pale or even brown, pluck one off and turn it over. Does it look sandy or gritty, like salt and pepper has been sprayed on? If so, you ve got spider mites. An infestation can be treated with insecticidal soap, or you can take your garden hose with the spray attachment, point it upward underneath the leaves, and blast the leaves with water. Do this three straight days. It breaks up the breeding cycle and helps eliminate the infestation. You must be diligent in keeping the leaves removed from the center of the bush, because they ll be back in no time if not. And just keep spraying water on the undersides of the leaves periodically--they need hydrated, too! You ll also start seeing cucumber beetles this time of year. I think Steve saw one this past week, so they ll be out in full force before too long. There are two kinds: striped and spotted, but they both love to eat the rose blooms. Rely on your spray program to keep them under control. Bayer has a great line of spray products for insects. USE YOUR CHEMICALS RESPONSIBLY. And if it keeps being this hot, the dreaded Japanese beetle can t be too far behind. Your first line of defense for these pests should have started last fall, treating your ground for the grubs that make the beetles. Milky spore is a great product, and while the initial cost and effort it takes to treat your property may seem great, the benefits you will reap for many years is well worth it. DON T USE JAPANESE BEETLE TRAPS! They only attract more beetles TO your garden, and other than them falling into that strange-looking bag, it doesn t help you rid your roses of beetles. Some folks just let the beetles have their way with the roses; others hand pick them and drop them into a jar of soapy water to drown; others spray. Again, be responsible in your treatment of any type of insect in the garden, knowing that a general spraying is going to kill not only the pest but your good insects. We must be aware of our honey, mason, and bumble bees and the important role they play in agriculture, as well as ladybugs and green lace wings. I saw my first lightning bug of the season on Friday, June 12. For me, this means summer is here. Your feeding program should be adjusted during this time of the year. You really don t want your roses trying to produce heavily while they re being stressed by the heat, so back off heavy feeding. Bayer has a good line of systemic products that can be used very well in a smaller rose garden (I say this because of cost). Mills Magic Mix may be the best answer for a large garden, applying a cup around a large bush or 1/2 cup around the minis/minifloras for the summer months. If we get heavy amounts of rain (which will deplete the food), feeding can always be supplemented by Miracle-Gro or other types of organics. Your spray program should also be adjusted. When the weather gets extremely hot, Daconil should be used carefully, if at all. It will burn your foliage if used in temperatures above 80. Rose leaves have a tendency to capture spray material at the center/tip, and it will be crispy if Daconil sits there. Spray early in the morning before the sun comes out; set your sprayer for a fine mist so large amounts of material won t pool on the foliage; and read your cautions and warnings and follow them for safety. MORE IS NOT BETTER! I won t address the rose show here--look elsewhere in the newsletter for news about the show and the winners list. But I will say this: we must take a strong look at our show, our membership, and what the future holds for us having another rose show. It is not a competition when one couple takes home half of the show trophies (and I can say this because that s what Steven and I did). I realize there were extenuating circumstances with Diana Fleek being unable to help John this year because of back surgery, and that the weather had bloomed some gardens out or held them back. We had 139 entries this year, and I was happy for every single one, but we need more to put on an adequate show for the public. P AGE 2

3 90TH ANNUAL CRS ROSE SHOW RESULTS Category Rose(s) Winner(s) Queen of Show Veterans' Honor Lynda & Steven Grass King of Show Moonstone Lynda & Steven Grass Princess of Show Randy Scott Lynda & Steven Grass Prince of Show Snuffy Lynda & Steven Grass Duchess of Show Let Freedom Ring Gary & Monica Rankin Single Rose Dainty Bess Lynda & Steven Grass Floribunda Bill Warriner Lynda & Steven Grass Fully-Open Hybrid Tea Snow Cream Gary & Monica Rankin Hybrid Tea Spray Randy Scott Lynda & Steven Grass Floribunda Spray Mardi Gras Donna Smoot Old Garden--Dowager Queen R. Rugosa Dick Hanlon Old Garden Rose--Victorian Rose de Rescht Gary & Monica Rankin Climbing Rose Altissimo John & Diana Fleek Classic Shrub Dagmar Hastrup Donna Smoot Modern Shrub Rose Golden Wings Gary & Monica Rankin Three Hybrid Tea Roses Dublin Lynda & Steven Grass Cycle of Bloom--NO ENTRY--1st Runnerup Let Freedom Ring Lynda & Steven Grass English-Style Box (3) Randy Scott & (3) Veterans' Honor Lynda & Steven Grass Large Rose Bowl Desperado Lynda & Steven Grass Rose in a Frame Artic Circle Lynda & Steven Grass Old Garden Rose Bowl Königin von Dänemark Joyce Rasmussen Artist's Palette Randy Scott; St. Patrick, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gemini, & Lynda & Steven Grass Dublin Hi-Lo Combination--NO ENTRIES--2nd Remarkable Lynda & Steven Grass Runnerup Judges' Class Linda Campbell Jim Hering Club Rose Veterans' Honor Lynda & Steven Grass Large Rose Novice Tropicana Lynn Engle-LaNeve Small Gardener--NO WINNER--3rd Belle Story Terry Phillips Runnerup Fragrant Rose Mister Lincoln Terry Phillips Large Rose Sweepstakes Lynda & Steven Grass Miniature Queen of Show Ty John & Diana Fleek Miniature King of Show Renegade Gary & Monica Rankin Miniature Princess of Show Dr. Tommy Cairns Lynda & Steven Grass Miniature Prince of Show Nancy Jean Lynda & Steven Grass Miniature Duchess of Show Joy John & Diana Fleek Miniflora Queen of Show Conundrum John & Diana Fleek Miniflora King of Show Tiffany Lynn John & Diana Fleek Miniflora Princess of Show Sandy's Pick Lynda & Steven Grass Miniflora Prince of Show Mary Pickersgill Lynda & Steven Grass Miniflora Duchess of Show Shawn Sease Lynda & Steven Grass Miniature Single Rose Floranne Lynda & Steven Grass Miniflora Fully-Open Rose Black Jade Lynda & Steven Grass Miniature Spray Sandy's Pick Lynda & Steven Grass Three Miniature Roses (same variety) Abby's Angel Lynda & Steven Grass Three Miniature Roses (different varieties) Ty, Joy, & Tiffany Lynn John & Diana Fleek Two Miniature Sprays Green Ice John & Diana Fleek Miniature English Box (6) Glowing Amber Lynda & Steven Grass Miniflora English Box (4) Shawn Sease & (2) Sandy's Pick Lynda & Steven Grass Miniflora Rose in a Frame Robin Red Breast Donna Smoot Mini/Miniflora Artist's Palette Hot Tamale, Irresistible, Pierrine, Erin Alonso, & Ruby Baby Gary & Monica Rankin Miniflora Rose Bowl Sunglow Donna Smoot Miniature Bowl Collection Gourmet Popcorn Donna Smoot Mini/Miniflora Cycle of Bloom Irresistible Lynda & Steven Grass Mini/Miniflora Bouquet Lynda & Steven Grass Miniature Club Rose Irresistible Lynda & Steven Grass Mini Novice--NO ENTRIES--4th Runnerup Dr. Tommy Cairns Lynda & Steven Grass Mini/Miniflora Sweepstakes Lynda & Steven Grass Rose Photography Golden Wings Danny Craft P AGE 3

4 Thanks! Lynda Grass As your rose show chairman for another year, I would like to thank every one of you who helped in any way to set up and break down the show, enter roses, work the show room during judging, clerking, and just general support. In particular I d like to thank Joyce Rasmussen for another great job with the clerks, and for her added responsibility this year of setting up the trophy table filling in for an ailing Diana Fleek. You did a great job on both fronts. Diana did her usual fantastic job in purchasing trophies for our donors, and under unusually trying circumstances this year with an ailing (and I hope on the mend) back. Donna Smoot was wonderful in obtaining judges for our show this year. We were up against some stiff competition with the Arlington Rose Foundation show being the day before and the National show the next weekend in Columbus, which limited our pool of judges. She came through with flying colors, and was a great help in setting up the show room on Saturday morning. To my band of merry men (Steve Grass, Dick Hanlon, Terry Phillips, & Chuck Carney) who met at the storage shed on the West Side, packing up all our paraphernalia to bring to UC for the show-- many, many thanks. It was a hot, thankless job done with great speed both on Saturday and Sunday (and thanks to John Fleek for helping out on Sunday after the show). Chuck Carney doesn t know what a blessing he is, coming to us with a trailer for his truck that basically hauls everything, and returning on Sunday afternoon with the express purpose of putting everything back (even though he didn t have the trailer). Thank goodness for youth! DeWitt Bowman ran another tight ship in the show room on Sunday morning, placing roses and making sure they were where they were supposed to be. Thanks to those who clerked. I hope that you listened to the judges and learned from their experience as to what constituted a good rose and an outstanding one. There is a difference! Gary & Monica Rankin took over tally duties this year in place of John & Diana, and there was not a hitch. The staff at UC was, as always, a wonderful help in setting up the room and providing us with whatever we asked for. The familiar faces I saw on Saturday and Sunday were comforting to me--i knew we were in good hands. And we met a new friend this year, Liz Bair, Director of Catering for UC, who also took good care of us. I m just sorry that we lost one of our old friends, Treasa Russell, who was the Administrative Assistant at UC for many years and was always my contact for the rose show. I m sure they are feeling her loss in ways I can t imagine. She will be missed, and our sympathies go out to her family. My husband was a celebrity of sorts. I think he was just so tired that he didn t mind who he talked to, and ended up being on WOWK TV 13 and WCHS TV 8, talking about the show and rose people (some of his favorite topics). And then of course there was the photographer for the Charleston Gazette, Brian Ferguson, who took a great picture of the two of us with our Queen of Show for the newspaper on Monday morning. Most importantly, I thank to my husband for putting up with me. It s been a very trying few weeks for me with my mother undergoing emergency surgery the month before the show, but we managed to get through another rose show event and come out smiling on the other side! Look elsewhere in the newsletter for some photos of our winning roses. P AGE 4

5 CRS ROSE SHOW WINNERS Large Picture Frame Large Artist s Palette Steve Grass with Large Club Rose Veterans Honor Single Mini Collection of 3 same minifloras Collection of 3 Hybrid Teas Single Large Rose Fully Open Mini National Rose show--steven Grass I had the good fortune to go to the ARS National Rose show in Columbus, Ohio, on June 12. I really wanted to go because it was close (only 3 hours away), and it was an unusual combination of a Spring National and a National All-Miniature Show. After our local show, I still had a lot of buds on the bushes, so I decided to go ahead and make plans for Columbus. The weather cooperated by staying warm and causing them to open. I worked all week cutting blooms and refrigerating them for the show. Lynda stayed home to take care of our children and her Mom. Donna Smoot and Dick Hanlon were judging, and Gary and Monica Rankin were also exhibiting. On Friday afternoon I loaded up the van with all the blooms, coolers, toolbox, and such and headed north. When I arrived at the hotel and went to the registration desk to get my exhibitor number and goody bag, I found out they were giving me a rose of my choice. I choose a hybrid tea called Neil Diamond that was new this year. Donna Smoot bought herself one a few weeks ago because she liked the form and fragrance. By then the Welcome to Columbus reception was going on, so I got some snacks and talked to some fellow exhibitors. The big exhibitors skipped this reception because they were relaxing in their rooms and checking their roses for the next day. I decided to do the same and went to bed early. I got up at 3:00 a.m. on Saturday and went down to the prep room (which opened at 1:00 a.m.) and found about four exhibitors already working on their roses. Talk about dedication! I had a hard time getting started because I was used to being part of a team, and Lynda wasn t there to keep me on track. I finally got into a rhythm and started to get roses into vases and picks and tags filled out and entering them into the show. Lynda said that I did pretty well since I had 35 entries in the show. When I entered all I could, I cleaned up my area and took my rose gear to the van. continued on page 7 P AGE 5

6 COLUMBUS ROSE SHOW PHOTOS Alysheba Miniature Court of Honor Artic Circle Hybrid Tea Large Rose Let Freedom Ring Hybrid Tea Court of Honor Gary & Monica Rankin Souvenir de la Malmaison Dowager Queen and BEST IN SHOW Photos of winners for Lynda & Steven Grass, except the Souvenir de la Malmaison, which won two trophies for Gary & Monica. They also won 6 other trophies. Sandy s Pick Miniflora Stages of Bloom P AGE 6

7 National Rose show--continued from page 5 Then came the hard part, waiting! Inside the show room they were judging, then taking the winners to a certification table to be verified as accurate, taking a picture of each, then taking the entry to a computer area to be entered and a card printed for the trophy table, and finally putting them on the trophy table in the appropriate place. Meanwhile, some of the exhibitors were waiting outside the doors wanting to see how they did, and getting antsy because it was taking so long! Finally they opened the doors and people were flooding in to see the results. I was lucky enough to win 4 classes: hybrid tea Court of Honor with Let Freedom Ring, miniature Court of Honor with Alysheba, large floating rose with Artic Circle, and miniflora stages of bloom with Sandy s Pick. So I thought I had a good day. Then it got better when I saw what Gary and Monica had done! They won Mini Princess with Joy, had Dr. Troy Garret on the Miniflora Court, mini English box, mini frame with Joy and miniflora frame with Show Stopper, and Dowager Queen with Souvenir de la Malmaison, which was also picked as BEST IN SHOW! WOW--I am so happy for them. Congratulations again. I wandered up and down the aisles looking at roses I knew to see how mine would compare and to see any new ones that I might want for my garden. I did buy a new miniflora from a vendor named Princess Katelyn. At last they handed out the trophies to all the winners except for the National classes, and broke down the show. The banquet was held that evening in the same room. The theme for the show was Sing a Song of Roses, and there was lots of singing at the banquet. Mary and Don Myers of Wake Forest, NC, are excellent exhibitors, both horticulture and design, and Don is an ARS judge. But they also sing (very well!), and they were part of the entertainment. Two great hybridizers, Keith Zary and Whit Wells, were also honored. ARS President Jolene Adams awarded several Presidential citations, and the awards for the National classes were given. Finally, Baldo Villegas gave a talk about his favorite subject: bugs. On Sunday there were garden tours but I didn t go. Instead, I slept until around 7:00 and headed home to Lynda and the kids. Going to a National show is a great experience for learning and seeing how other rosarians grow their roses, and to meet new friends with the same crazy hobby. The Sick list We ve had a number of members who have been bitten by the surgery or illness bug of late. Phyllis McFadden took a tumble in her kitchen in May and managed to end up looking like Muhammed Ali came by and used her for a punching bag. She s on the mend and had no broken bones, but needless to say her left cheekbone and jawbone were quite a sight for a while. Diana Fleek had back surgery on June 1 to stabilize her spinal column. She used the words degenerative disc disease in her conversation with me prior to the rose show, so this was some serious stuff. They inserted a titanium rod on each side of her spinal column and also inserted some screws and corrected some vertebrae. Hopefully this will be all the surgery that she needs to get this condition under control and tolerable. Ann Cassell (for those of you who don t know, my Mom) had emergency surgery on May 7 to correct a bowel obstruction and various other ailments that were discovered during the subsequent surgery. Dr. Hamrick took great care of her, as did the doctors and nurses at CAMC Memorial. She was hospitalized for 3 weeks, and has made a remarkable recovery for everything that happened. The cane was tossed after 5 days at home, she was on her own in one week (my sister stayed with her during that time). Steven and I check in on her and the cats each day, and she finished in-home physical therapy to build her endurance after about two weeks. As Dr. Hamrick said, she s one tough customer. Late word Tuesday, June 16, from John Fleek that Bill Byus has been hospitalized and is now in ICU. Keep all of these folks in your thoughts, wishing them a speedy recovery. New member(s)! Lynda Grass One of the great things about the rose show is the folks who come in to look at the roses and end up letting us bend their ear about our favorite hobby. Such was the case this year, and a wonderful lady from Dunbar decided to join our ranks. Please welcome Mary McClure of Dunbar to our Society. I found out later that the pretty lady who was with Mary on Sunday was the mother of one of my co-workers--isn t it a small world--and that she also intends to join our group. Welcome, Welcome, Welcome! P AGE 7

8 Rose of the month Steven Grass Stephen Rulo Stephen Rulo is a tannish/ lavender grandiflora rose that has very good form for exhibition and for the garden. The blooms are a little small for exhibition, but in the spring you will get a larger bloom. Since the bush can be covered with blooms and canes, some judicious pruning can get you the larger blooms. I got my bush from Wisconsin Roses as a maiden, and it grew like gangbusters. What hooked me on this rose was the photos on the website; I just took a chance on it, and I m glad I did, as the bush always seems to have plenty of eye-catching blooms. For me the bush gets about 3 to 3 1/2 feet tall and close to 3 feet across. The blooms, with 26 to 40 petals, come in clusters, so a lot of disbudding is needed to avoid a spray. Even with that many petals, the blooms open quickly but they reveal a beautiful set of yellow stamens. We won the open bloom class at Huntington a few years ago with this rose. William E. Chaney hybridized this grandiflora in 2007 from a cross of Singin in the Rain and Stainless Steel, and Wisconsin Roses introduced it in With Stainless Steel as one of the parents you would think that it would have plenty of fragrance, but there is little to none. Wisconsin Roses is the only place that I could find that carries this rose, but I would suggest that you start a maiden rose. It can be fun, and getting to see a rose start from the beginning is very educational and rewarding. The Ramblin Rose is published monthly from March to June and August to October. Lynda Grass, Editor/Publisher Contributing Writers: John Fleek Steven Grass The Charleston Rose Society, a member of the American Rose Society and part of the Colonial District, was founded in 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 Membership dues for the Rose Society are $8 for an individual and $12 for a family. This includes the newsletter, which is transmitted electronically. 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 Lynda & Steven Grass West Side Gary & Monica Rankin Huntington Donna Smoot South Charleston P AGE 8