May 2003 Newsletter

Vol 1/Issue 2 May 2003

To Contact: WCFRS

C/O Patti Hartzell

217 Salt Brick Court

Wilmington, NC 28411-7855

Welcome! to the second edition of the Wilmington Cape Fear Rose Society (WCFRS) newsletter, The Costal Rose with articles about growing and enjoying roses in the coastal North Carolina area.

Suggestion and questions are welcomed. We encourage you to submit them to us using the e-mail or postal address listed above.

Check out our web page at: http://carolinadistrict.org/WCFRS/index.htm

President’s Message

Hi there Rose Buds!

May is rose show month to many around the Carolina coastal area. By now we have roses blooming all over the place and no doubt, if you have been following a schedule of feeding and spraying, you have beautiful blooms. Now is the time to consider entering some of your prize blooms in the show. Last month's newsletter laid out a simple schedule to follow in preparing for the exhibition. I encourage you all to bring some entries to the rose show in Raleigh on May 17th. If you don't choose to enter, come anyway and see the spectacular variety of blooms that are growing in the area. You will probably go home with a list of roses you want to add to your garden collection. Mini roses will be for sale at a great price during the show also. If you have any questions about preparing for the show, don't hesitate to call. I will help you in any way I can. I will also be at the show to help you with your grooming and staging. I can't wait to see your entries!

Don't forget the Wilmington Cape Fear Rose Society Garden Tour, Saturday, May 24th. We are having the "Rescue A Rose" drawing and will have about 60 roses to choose from. Tickets will be sold at this event for $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. All proceeds will go to our society. Bring your lunch, a chair and a camera! Lunch is in our gardens after the tour. We'll have lots of fun. We will be meeting at the Arboretum at 9:00 to pick up maps and begin our tour by 9:15. If you plan on being late call and you can pick up your map at my home on an earlier date and meet us at one of the gardens.

Your roses have worked very hard to give you an awesome spring flush last month and will now begin its season of blooms in a rather sizzling climate for the rest of the summer. Make sure you have mulched heavily to keep their root systems cool. If you haven't already, you may want to put a small handful of Epson salts around your roses to encourage basal breaks (new shoots from the graft). Keep your roses watered, fertilized and sprayed on a regular schedule. If your drainage is good, it is hard to over water during the hot dry summer. Cut off spent blooms and keep the weeds out. Tie down the climbers, as they grow taller. Strips of pantyhose work well. Keep the centers clean so that there is air movement to aid in prevention of black spot.

They are depending on you and will reward you immensely for your efforts. Don't forget to cut a bouquet to enjoy or take to a neighbor and a friend that is less fortunate to have roses in their gardens!

Our May meeting brought us David Strickland, from Witherspoon Roses, who gave us a fantastic seminar on caring for roses. His feeding formula sounds great and requires much less work. We will be stopping at the farm supply David recommended to pick up some of those items in the very near future. We will be happy to pick up anything you want while we are there. Just let us know what you need..

See you at the May 24th garden tour.

Patti

PS: Rose bushes are the ultimate gift for Mother's Day, Father's Day, anniversaries, “Get Well” and birthdays or a simple "I Love You". We are now offering annual WCFRS membership gift certificates for purchase. Combine this with a rose bush for that special rose lover in your life. Contact me if you are interested in purchasing a gift certificate.

Second Meeting: Witherspoon Rose Culture

The Wilmington Cape Fear Rose Society (WCFRS) of North Carolina was fortunate to have David Strickland, Assistant Area Operations Manager for Witherspoon Rose Culture, present information on planting and caring for roses in North Carolina. The talk covered the following major areas with a special focus on Hybrid Teas:

Planting
Dig the rose bed to a depth of 16” and create a good loamy soil by adding well-rotted cow manure, soil conditioner, and in heavy soil, Perma Till. Improve the pH by adding a small amount of lime and bone meal.
Pruning
Prune when there is ¼” to ½” of new growth formed on previously dormant canes. Use sharp shears and cut to a 45 degree angle. Thin out until there are 3 or 4 healthy canes left.
Fertilization
Do not fertilize newly planted roses until they bloom. Fertilize established plants in March with a quick-release fertilizer and then add a good, slow-release fertilizer in May. Water regularly.
Disease and Pest Management
Begin spraying in April and spray every 7 to 10 days until October. Spray under the leaves. The formula used by Witherspoon is:
1 gal water
5 teaspoons Captan 50%
2 ½ teaspoons Halt
1 ½ teaspoons Orthene
½ teaspoon Spreader Sticker

The Importance of Variety Selection

By Jan Shannon

Past President & Rose Judge

Corpus Christi Rose Society

After spending days, weeks and months planning and building a rose bed, too many people make the mistake of using the wrong tool to pick the varieties needed to win at rose shows.

A novice rosarian's first impulse is to pick up the American Rose Society's Handbook for Selecting Roses. They then rush off to the nearest nursery and buy only roses rated at 8 or above. I made the same mistake, and spent a lot of money before deciding, that while it is useful to check the spelling of rose names, the Handbook is useless in buying exhibition varieties.

The first stop to make on the quest to winning should be a visit with 2 or 3 of the top exhibitors in your local society. If they are winning, one of the reasons is, they are growing the varieties that win in your area. The magic words here are: your area. Nurseries and catalogs will sell you anything they list. In most cases, they will even guarantee it to live. What they don't say, is that many varieties are not suited to your particular climate. While ‘Gold Medal’ and ‘Silverado’ may often win in CA, in TX, they are not worth the space in the garden. This is where your top gun exhibitors come in. They will know what does well in your particular climate and which are a waste of time and money.

As you progress in the wonderful world of exhibiting, you will want to enter the challenge classes. The question of varieties then becomes, which challenge classes are the most important to me?

If you want to enter the classes that call for AARS winners, good varieties are hard to come by. Historically, AARS roses are not good exhibition varieties. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, and these will be the varieties you will need to grow. In our area, ‘Touch Of Class’, ‘Sheer Bliss’ and ‘Olympiad’ would be good choices, while another AARS winner, such as ‘Sweet Surrender’ never has a chance of seeing the head table. Also, many local societies have AARS classes that allow you to enter floribunda single blooms or sprays. This is where varieties such as ‘Ivory Fashion’ and ‘Bon Bon’ will serve you well.

If you are serious about exhibiting, the next step would be planting multiple bushes of the best exhibition roses. The top exhibitors have several bushes of each variety. This insures they will have blooms on any given show date. If space allows, it is better to have 5 bushes of one variety that wins, rather than have 5 different varieties of "possible" winners. In NC, this means having 5 ‘Veterans’ Honor’, 5 ‘Moonstone’, and 5 ‘Signature’, and so on. In the class of possible winners, such as ‘Dublin’, which can occasionally throw a good bloom, you might want to grow one or two bushes. Miracles do happen.

In addition to the tried and true exhibition varieties, it is also a good idea to try some of new ones that come on the market. I am not advocating buying all the latest. It just never hurts to be the first to show a new variety. Judges with experience always have a picture in their minds of the best they have seen of a particular variety. When a new rose comes on the scene, they have no pre-conceived idea of how that rose will or should look. I can remember seeing blooms of a new variety win, which after the rose became well known, wouldn't rate a second look. A beautiful bud of ‘Suffolk’ once took Queen at our TX show, after being introduced only the year before. Now, if that same bud was entered, it probably would not win a white ribbon. The judges now know that ‘Suffolk’ has a lot of petals, and they know how to judge it.

Variety selection is not a big secret, but it is important to follow these few rules. After talking to the top exhibitors, decide what classes are important to you, and then make the trip to the nursery or place a catalog order. Chances are, if you grow the winning varieties, keep them disease free and get cleans blooms to the show, your roses will end up on the head table.

PS from Patti: I have to say that almost everything I have learned about roses, I learned from Jan Shannon. She knows we are getting started and wanted to contribute this to our news letter. Thanks Jan!

Grafted and Own Root Roses

By Amy Padgett

Many rose aficionados are unaware that roses are available “in two flavors”. The most commonly available roses are grafted onto root stock such as ‘Dr. Huey’. You may not even realize this until your rose suddenly sprouts a cane that has different leaves and blooms once in the spring with rich red flowers. This is actually the root stock suckering and you will need to shovel-prune it by carefully moving aside the dirt until you find the base of the cane and then cutting it off. If left, it will gradually draw strength away from the grafted rose you purchased and you will end up with ‘Dr. Huey’ or whatever root stock was used.

The advantages of grafted roses are:

They are larger when purchased and produce blooms more quickly. The bush is generally producing exhibition-quality roses within a year or two.
They are easier to find—most garden centers only carry grafted roses, except for miniatures, which are almost always own root roses.
They survive transplanting very well and almost always live through at least the first few years.
They produce blooms the first year planted.

Sources: You can get grafted roses at most locations which sell roses. Witherspoon Rose Culture sells very high quality, grafted roses and advertises them as ‘virus free’.

Antique Rose Emporium

9300 Lueckemeyer Rd.

Brenham, TX 77833

409-836-9051

Fax 409-836-0928

Bridges Roses

2734 Toney Road

Lawndale, North Carolina 28090-9497

Phone: 704-538-9412

Fax: 704-538-1521

Email: briroses@shelby.com

www.bridgesroses,com

David Austin Roses Limited

15059 Highway 64 West

Tyler, TX 75704

U.S.APhone: (903) 526 1800

Toll Free: (800) 328 8893

Fax: (903) 526 1900

E-Mail: usa@davidaustinroses.com

http://www.davidaustinroses.com

Edmunds' Roses

6235 S.W. Kahle Road

Wilsonville, OR 97070-9799

Phone: 503-682-1476 and 888-481-7673

Fax: 503-682-1275

Email: info@edmundsroses.com

www.edmundsroses.com

Jackson & Perkins

One Rose Lane

PO Box 1028

Medford, OR 97501

Phone: 800-292-4769 or 800-872-7673

Fax: 800-242-0329

Email:webmaster@jacksonandperkins.com

Johnny Becnel Show Roses, Inc.

8134 Highway 23

Belle Chasse, LA 70037

Phone: 504-394-6608

Catalog: Free mail order list.

Nor'East Miniature Roses, Inc.

58 Hammond Street

P.O. Box A

Rowley, MA 01969

Phone: 800-426-6485

Email: nemr@shore.net (John Saville)

Comments: Remember that miniature roses are almost always grown on their own roots...

Rosemania.com

4020 Trail Ridge Drive

Franklin, TN 37067

Phone: 888-600-9665 (orders) or 615-790-2728

Fax: 615-790-4981

The Mini-Rose Garden

P.O. Box 203

Cross Hill, SC 29332

Phone: 864-998-4331

Email: contactus@minirosegarden.com

Wayside Gardens

1 Garden Lane

Hodges, SC 29695-0001

800-845-1124

Fax 800-457-9712

Web site: www.waysidegardens.com

Weeks Wholesale Rose Grower, Inc.

430 East 19th Street

Upland, CA 91784

Phone: 800-992-4409

Fax: 909-920-0308

Email:info@weeksroses.com

Witherspoon Rose Culture

3312 Watkins Road

Durham, NC 27707

1-800-643-0315

http://www.witherspoonrose.com

Own Root Roses: There are an increasing number of own root roses sold as an alternative to grafted. Many of the Old Garden Roses (OGR) are offered as own root roses, and there are sources for David Austin’s English Roses, as well.

Own root roses are simply roses which are growing on their own root system. Depending upon the source of your roses, they may be fairly small roses—almost a twig with roots—when first purchased. The very tiny ones must be “babied” the first year until they can develop. Keeping them in a pot for a year and ensuring they have plenty of light and water is usually sufficient and by the next spring, they can easily be placed in their final garden location.

There are some sources which sell larger roses which may be placed in the garden immediately, such as Chamblee’s and Roses Unlimited.

The advantages of own root roses are:

There is no root stock, e.g. ‘Dr. Huey’, to worry about. There will never be any suckers from the root stock to draw strength away from your rose.
The rose, once it acclimates to your garden, may be healthier in the long run.
The bush will live longer and frequently, even if the winter kills the top growth—or you accidentally mow it—it will generally come back.
Own root roses do not have rose virus. Unfortunately, nearly 100% of the roses in the United States budded onto root stock have rose virus disease, which eventually weakens the rose. That is why it is very important to read the label before you purchase a rose and verify they are free of rose virus (which requires a specific heat treatment) when you purchase grafted roses.

Note: If you prefer to replace your roses at regular intervals to take advantage of newer varieties, then this is unimportant.

Sources for own root roses include:

Chamblee’s Rose Nursery

10926 U.S. Hwy 69 North

Tyler, TX 75706-8742

1-800-256-ROSE (7673)

FAX: 903-882-3597

http://www.chambleeroses.com

Comments: Well grown, good sized roses which may be planted in the garden immediately. They have a good variety of Old Garden Roses and some English Roses. They are very inexpensive (cheap)! The average rose is $7.95, although you will have to pay shipping, as well.

Roses Unlimited

363 N. Deer Wood Drive.

Laurens, SC 29360

Phone: 864.682.7673

Email: rosesunlmt@aol.com

http://www.rosesunlimitedownroot.com/rosesunlimited001.htm

Comments: These roses are own-root, extremely healthy and good sized. They have a good assortment of old garden roses and modern roses that do well in the South. They also carry a great list of English Shrub roses on their own roots, which can be difficult to find. As with the previous grower, these roses have good root systems and healthy top growth.

The Uncommon Rose

3333 SW Booklane Drive

Corvallis, OR 97333

1-541-753-8871

http://www.uncommongarden.com

Comments: They carry an outstanding selection of unusual and Old Garden Roses, however, their roses are very small. You will need to baby them for their first year. This is worth it to get unusual varieties such as ‘Cee Dee Moss’ or ‘Lavender Pinocchio’.

Heirloom Roses

24062 NE Riverside Drive NE

St. Paul, Oregon 97137-9715

Phone: 503-538-1576

Fax: 503-538-5902

Comments: They have recently changed from an emphasis on Old Garden Roses to shrub roses by David Austin (English) and the Romantica roses. They are all own-root roses, and they do carry an outstanding selection, however, their roses are very small. You will need to baby them for their first year.

Old Garden Roses - Gallica

By Amy Padgett

This is the first in a series of articles about Old Garden Roses. If you participate in rose shows, you find there are two classes of Old Garden Roses. The first class consists of roses hybridized or introduced prior to 1867. The second contains roses from 1867 through 1900. The 1900’s marked the beginning of the era of the Hybrid Teas, which are still the most popular rose, although new shrub varieties, such as David Austin’s English roses are gaining in popularity due to their resistance to disease and wonderful “old rose” shapes.

You might ask why you should grow OGR roses when many varieties only bloom once—often only in the spring. The history aside, there are many excellent reasons. You often do not have to spray or cosset them. You do not need to prune them, except to remove dead wood or keep them within a certain size limit. And, because they only bloom once, they do not require extensive feeding.

OGR’s have been around this long simply because they are worth growing and are survivors. The majority are intensely fragrant and extremely attractive when in full bloom.

The Gallica class of roses represents one of the best and oldest of the OGR groups. They bloom once, generally in the spring, and are wonderfully fragrant. They do not need to be sprayed, and in fact, have problems if they are sprayed. The most common characteristics of the class are:

Nearly thornless stems with just a few prickles.
Leathery leaves, generally dark green, which often point upwards.
Buds are round and fat.
The bushes are generally compact and rather short (the British often refer to them as ‘crotch rippers’).
The flowers are held erect on firm stalks.
Colors range from pink through mauve, deep wine-red and purple.
Gallica’s are prone to reproducing freely when grown on their own roots. They produce suckers so they are easy to use to form a short hedge, or provide plants to exchange.
They require no pruning and will flower well, year after year, by only removing the dead wood.

A few Gallica roses include:

‘Belle de Crécy’ pre 1848, hybridizer: Roeser. This rose reaches 4’ and has soft violet-pink flowers with a rich fragrance.

‘Charles de Mills’ (uncertain origin) has very full flowers of rich crimson-purple. The bush often may reach 5’.

officinalis (aka Rosa gallica maxima, ‘Splendens’, ‘Apothecary’s Rose’, ‘Red Rose of Lancaster’) – ancient origin. Rosa gallica maxima is a well-know and beloved variety. It blooms later than most and the light crimson, semi-double flowers are held well aloft over the bushes in a gorgeous display. Very fragrant.

‘Rose des Maures’ (aka ‘Sissinghurst Castle’) is an ancient Gallica refound by Sackville-West at Sissinghurst in 1947. It reaches 2-3’ tall and sports semi-double flowers in rich plum-color with gold stamens. The flowers are fragrant and when the light hits them, you can see darker areas like the nap of velvet.

‘Tuscany’ (aka ‘Old Velvet Rose’) ancient. ‘Tuscany’ reaches 3-4’ and has semi-double flowers in deep maroon-purple set off by yellow stamens. There is another variety with larger flowers called ‘Tuscany Superb’ dated to 1848.

‘Versicolor’ (aka ‘Rosa Mundi, Rosa gallica ‘Variegata’) ancient. ‘Versicolor’ is a beautiful striped rose and often grown with the flesh-pink ‘Maiden’s Blush’. ‘Versicolor’ is light crimson splashed with pale pink.

There are many more varieties and all of them are well worth the garden space as they require almost no care and yet perform well despite neglect.

Rosey Events

May 24