Santa Barbara Rose Society Newsletter

Newsletter for March, 2010

Next Meeting – Thursday, March 11th

‘Old Roses Down Under’

Gregg Lowery, owner of Vintage gardens, nursery of Antique and Extraordinary Roses and Hydrangeas, in Sebastopol, CA, will talk about the roses, the gardeners and the rose gardens of South Australia and Western Australia, and about their relevance to Californians faced with similar climates and challenges.

(photo by Ingrid Wapelhorst)

PLUS OUR MEETING WILL START AT 6:30 PM SO WE CAN ENJOY A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY TO BUY ROSES DIRECT FROM GREGG!

He will bring an assortment
of hard-to-find roses specially
suited to our area: Teas, Chinas,
Noisettes, Polyanthas and early, pre-Pernetiana Hybrid Teas---”some of my favorites.”
Treat yourself to one or more of
these beauties —no shipping costs!

7:00 PM Refreshments - 7:30 PM Program

Louise Lowry Davis Center - 1232 de la Vina – Santa Barbara
Corner of Victoria and de la Vina - parking lot access is from Victoria

* * * * * *

Burling Leong, a renowned budding expert, was our February speaker. She demonstrated chip budding of roses - the joining of scion to rootstock -to make a chip budded rose plant. Some roses when propagated from cuttings do not develop strong root systems. Chip budding on certain root stocks with already robust roots are more likely to take.

Her nursery, Burlington Rose Nursery, is in Visalia, CA. She grows some 300 varieties of roses. If you are looking for a favorite rose your grandmother grew but the big rose growers do not have it, check with Burling. She just might.

Visitors are welcome by appointment only. Please call or email to make arrangements for a visit. Email: BurlingtonRoses@aol.com
Tel: (559) 747-3624

* * * * * *

Please bring roses to the meetings - not to be judged - but for the little rose show we have at the beginning for others to see, learn and enjoy.

* * * * * *

Forgotten Roses
Collection, Preservation, Identification
North Coast Heritage Roses Group presents a free seminar
Saturday, March 20 - 10:00 a.m.
Garden Valley Ranch
498 Pepper Road, Petaluma, CA 94952 (707) 795-0919
http://www.gardenvalley.com/
SPEAKERS:
Jeri & Clay Jennings
Rose Collection & Preservation
Cass Bernstein
Rose Identification
For information and to register for the seminar,
Contact Alice Flores via email at: aflores@mcn.org

Top of page

* * * * * *

We encourage
ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ROSE GARDENING

The Santa Barbara Rose Society encourages the use of environmentally friendly methods of growing and caring for roses. Chemical sprays pollute the soil, the water, and the air we breathe. The traditional chemical fertilizers and pesticides reduce the effectiveness of excellent organic supplements such as Wormgold. Chemicals also rid your garden of beneficial insects while eliminating your pests. The Rose Society Newsletter and this website include articles and tips on organic gardening, organic methods to fight pests and disease, and some simple and effective ways you can have an environmentally friendly garden. Please use them.

Top of Page

* * * * * *

Rose of the Month

‘Easy Does It’

The first time I saw Easy Does It, I knew I had to have this rose. Easy Does It was named the single winner in 2010 by the All America Rose Selections. The floribunda hybridized by Harkness New Roses of England was introduced into the US by Weeks roses.

Everything you ever wanted in a rose, Easy Does It, has: beautiful ruffled double blooms in a luscious mango, peach apricot color, mildly fragrant, disease resistant and easy to maintain. Companion plants like purple clematis, purple trachelium, true geranium or chartreuse euphorbia or lady's mantle would make the sherbet colors of this
rose pop!

~ Hetty Shurtleff

Top of page

* * * * * *

Rose Checklist…

For helpful information about what you should be doing in your rose garden each month, become a member of the Santa Barbara Rose Society. You'll receive the monthly (except for July, August and December) Newsletter by mail filled with all sorts of advice and tips. And, you’ll enjoy attending the monthly meetings to hear renowned speakers and have access to expert advice from fellow members and consulting rosarians plus the opportunity to visit members' gardens. Go to http://sbrose.org/joinnow.htm and join today!

Top of Page

* * * * * *

A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden News
Robert Funai, Volunteer Coordinator

Hello fellow SBRS members,
It’s Monday evening on Feb. 15th and nearly all the pruning has been completed at the A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden. The Old Garden Roses at the top of the garden will soon receive a light pruning of diseased and dying wood.

After a couple weeks of wet weather and a weekend pruning of the Hybrid Musks and Miniature roses, the garden’s roses were given a dormant spray of Neem Oil on Monday the 5th of February. Most of you are probably aware of Neem Oil as an organic treatment for the control of pests and diseases on roses during the growing season. The SB Parks department has used this product as a dormant spray for the two previous years with good results.

Now that workers can move freely between the newly pruned rose bushes, weeding is the main task for the next few weeks. As mentioned in last months report, our diligent team of off season volunteers hope to clean the beds of weeds in preparation for fertilization and mulching, in that order, tentatively scheduled for early to mid March.
The garden will likely need a few new volunteers for the 2010 growing season, which runs from mid April through October. Volunteers are requested to visit their assigned beds once a week, for deadheading and other light chores. You can do this on your own time and Robert will train you and will fill in for vacations and sick leave. Please give him a call at 682-1160 for more information. This is a great opportunity to learn more about roses and give a wonderful gift to an appreciative community.

Robert A. Funai
Volunteer Coordinator
A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden

A BIG THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HELPS MAKE THE SB ROSE SOCIETY HAPPEN EVERY MONTH AND FOR OUR SPECIAL EVENTS.

WE CANNOT DO IT WITHOUT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!

Top of Page