Rosy Reflections “Instead of complaining that the rosebush is full of thorns, be happy that the thorn bush has roses.” ~German Proverb APRIL 2011 What to consider when choosing a Rose color INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Understanding 2 Hardiness Grandma’s 4 Mason Jar PNW Rose 6 Show & Dis- Who would have thought that you needed a decorator to color coordinate your roses with your home. Well, you really don’t have to go this far but there are a few things you can consider when choosing your rose color. It brings out the rose and play Schedule Understanding 7 Fertilizer Straw Bale 7 Gardens March 8 Minutes Spring Check- 9 list Recipe of the Month 10 accents your home when you consider the background your rose will be contrasted with. Any rose looks great with a quiet, neutral, or plain background such as an older wood fence, a stone wall, or a green hedge. Soft pink roses are great with weathered brick. Warm- colored roses can brighten a gray or white wall. On a sun drenched patio a white or other pale-colored rose makes it seem cooler during the day and they glow as night falls. Use these suggestions and you too will have a fashion forward home with rose accents. How to read a Fertilizer Label Ever wonder what the numbers on your bag or box of fertilizer means? The label on a bag of fertilizer shows the percentages of nutrients in the mix. The three numbers shown most prominently, called the N-P-K ratio, refer to the amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium respectively. For example, an 10-8-6 fertilizer contains, by weight, 10 percent nitrogen, 8 percent phosphorus, and 4 percent potassium. Nitrogen is the most critical element. It promotes good foliage growth. Phosphorus helps the plant process nutrients and take up what the soil provides. It is needed for flowering or fruit production and you can tell if your garden is lacking this from a purplish hue and poor growth and flowering. Potassium helps the inner workings of the plant and you can tell if you are lacking this if the fruit tastes bland or the plant is small and Image obtained “A Fertilizer Primer: weak looking. So, What’s in that Rose Food? By Jill depending on what Barnard (ARS) your goal is at that time of the season you can these nutrients are the most pick and choose which of important to you. PAGE 2 What are Hardiness Zone Maps? In the mid-1900s, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mapped out the entire United States, Mexico and Canada by lowest annual minimum temperature groupings. Each zone represented a 10 degree F. difference. This was invaluable advice for the agriculture industry. Now plants could be rated by hardiness zones, taking the guesswork out of choosing plant varieties. You had a gauge, other than experience, for picking plants. The maps have been revised over the years, to reflect changes in climate. When cities and towns were moved from one zone to another, gardeners were left to wonder what would happen to their existing garden plants. While our climate may be shifting, these changes did not occur overnight. Plants are adaptable, surviving in many different climates. They also cannot read maps. In 1990, the zones were further divided, with each numbered zone being broken down into an ‘a', the lower temperature end of the zone, and an ‘b', the higher. Unfortunately plant breeders have yet to start using these distinctions, so they are mostly useful if a gardener wants to push the envelope a bit. A gardener in zone 6b will be tempted to dab- USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map North-West US By Marie Ianotti ble in 7a plants. Given the variability of climate, it's a hit and miss situation. The American Horticulture Society (AHS) introduced a Plant Heat-Zone Map in 1997, intended to supplement the hardiness map. Heat related problems are much harder to quantify. High summer temperatures only told half the story. Plants don't usually react to a day or two of heat they way they might respond to a frost. However, plants subjected to a two week heat wave could well succumb. Other variables that weren't considered were things like humidity levels, nighttime temperatures and rainfall. What's Changing? The AHS was awarded a grant to update the USDA Hardiness Zone Map. They studied 30 years of weather data and are in the process of updating the zone maps to include mitigating circumstances such as the length of cold spells in the winter, airflow patterns, the effect of large bodies of water like oceans and lakes and heat factors. The distinction of 'a' and 'b' sub-zones is gone. There will now be 15 zones instead of the current 11. How Will This Affect My Garden? Hardiness zones are more of a tool for gardeners than gospel. Weather is just too unpredictable. What's growing well in your garden now should continue to grow well. The usefulness of the new Hardiness zones will mostly depend on how well plants are tested and labeled. How quickly the plant industry will adapt to using these new maps remains to be seen, but it will make it more difficult for people like me, in zone denial, to come up with excuses for high plant mortality. (Map) www.usna.usda.gov/ Hardzone/hzm-nw1.html PAGE 3 PAGE Grandma’s Mason Jar Propagating Roses by Rooted Cuttings (Santa Clarita Valley Rose Society) 4 By Kitty Belendez, Master Consulting Rosarian Everybody has a story to tell of how their grandma would stick a piece of rose stem into the ground and then place a Mason Jar over the stem to make it grow. There are tales of how the early American settlers of the 1800's traveled to the far reaches of the wild west in covered wagons, with grandma bringing along "starts" of her favorite roses from back home. Perhaps the treasures of these "monsters on wooden wheels" were raided, and they discovered the Yellow Rose of Texas hiding under the bonnets of the women. Or maybe the settlers used their precious "starts" to barter for provisions along the endless dusty trails. Rose propagating methods have changed over the years, from the simple own-root varieties of the Victorian era, and progressing to the budded hybrids of the 20th century with its many options of exotic understock such as Rosa multiflora, Dr. Huey, Manettii, and Fortuniana. Now, rumor has it that many of the modern hybridizers and commercial growers are interested in returning to the simplicity of yore. Today's commercial rose growers are finding that budded roses are just too labor-intensive and expensive to produce. Because of this, it appears that we can look forward to more own-root roses being introduced and sold at our local nurseries in the future. Own-root roses will eliminate suckering and hopefully will eventually help to eradicate mosaic virus. Although miniature roses have always been grown on their own roots since the 1950's when they were first introduced, Ralph Moore of Sequoia Nursery in Visalia, CA, near Fresno, has also offered many of the larger roses on own-root along with his vast selection of minis. His Playgirl floribunda has always been sold by Ralph as ownroot cuttings in 4-inch pots, as well as a good assortment of other ownroot floribundas and old garden roses. Heirloom Roses of Oregon, offers a huge catalog of old garden roses and shrubs that are mostly grown on their own roots. The plants may look puny when you first receive them, but it doesn't take long before they are up and running as fast as their budded counterparts in the garden. So grandma had the right idea in the first place, and she really did know what she was doing. It has always been fun to start roses from cuttings. Take a cutting about 6" Some people get long. their kicks by going "rose rustling" in the deserted cemeteries of old and forgotten mining towns. Others just take a twig from their favorite rose and stick it into the ground in their backyard. There is nothing neither complicated nor scientific about taking cuttings of roses and rooting them to "start" a new plant. There are various ways of taking rose cuttings, so let's tell you how. Stick in the Mud Method: I know of some people who have simply stuck the rose cuttings in the ground without covering it with a jar, and they have had some success. This method works best in mild climates with good soil. Grandma's Mason Jar: For the beginner this is probably the easiest way to take cuttings. Not much equipment is needed, just a clear quart-size glass jar and some cuttings from your favorite rose. For you modern sodapop lovers, Wound the bottom of a 2-liter plastic the stem. bottle with the bottom cut off will work just as well. Cut a piece of rose stem about 6 inches long, remove the bottom set of leaves, and just stick the stem into the ground (or into a pot) a couple inches deep, and cover with a jar or bottle. You will need to periodically water the soil around the jar, otherwise the rose stem will dry out. It will take a couple of months for the rose stem to take root and begin leafing out with its new growth. The best time of year is spring or early fall. If you live in a mild climate, then winter and summer can also be successful for rooting roses. Intense summer heat of 100 degrees is not conducive for taking cuttings, nor are 32 degree or below winters. The Baggie Method: This was the first method I ever tried. Here you fill 2-inch plastic pots with potting soil, insert the rose stem halfway inside the pot, then put the pots into a one-gallon plastic zip-lock bag. You can get four 2-inch pots into each gallon bag. I didn't like this method because it caused many of the cuttings to rot since the bags tended to fold over and therefore prevented the air from circulating. The success rate of this method is not very good. It may be helpful to place a couple of small sticks inside the bag to help keep it upright and Grandma’s Mason Jar (cont) full of air. The Misting Method: As you get more sophisticated in your rose propagating methods you may eventually want to set up a mistDip the bottom of ing bench. It the stem in hormone can be an open rooting powder. -air bench or one enclosed in a greenhouse, or even a small misting box, similar to the one my husband Bob built for me. (Refer to "How We Made Our Misting Box," from Rose Ecstasy, March 1999). You could choose to rig it up with a manual or an automatically-timed mister, whatever your time, money, or expertise will allow. I am fortunate to have a very handy guy for a husband, who is a good sport whenever I come up with these crazy project ideas. might cost $350 or more. PAGE 5 o Label your rose cuttings with their proper name. A special stainless steel screen on the handle of the unit raises up when it is dry. When this happens, it throws the mercury switch which o It takes 4 opens the solenoid valve and starts to 8 weeks the misting cycle. When this for the cutstainless steel screen accumulates ting to root, enough mist, the weight of the wadepending ter drops it down again, shutting on the off the mercury switch, closing the weather and solenoid valve. It needs practically The cuttings will root the rose varino care or maintenance and can be after 6 to 8 weeks. ety. left on, unattended day and night. o Keep the cuttings moist at all This control unit is a very practical times, with good air circulation and instrument which will have a long sunlight. lifetime of carefree maintenance. o Make slits in the bottom inch of There are no clocks to adjust, and it the stem to encourage more rooting. is not affected by water conditions. I scrape off some of the stem with a It works simply on the weight of knife. water. The major benefit of the Mist -a-Matic is to control the misting o Make sure the pots are very clean cycle according to weather condibefore using them, especially if you tions. Too much water promotes are reusing them. Wash them out disease and wastes water. Too little with soap and hot water. An autowater causes leaves to wilt and failmatic dishwasher works well for ure to root. The Mist-a-Matic discleaning small pots. tributes the correct amount of waNEW OR OLD WOOD? ter. In hot weather, the unit will When we first set up our mister, we turn on more frequently as the waI have successfully taken cuttings installed two battery-powered timter evaporates. In cooler weather, with both new and old wood. It is ers, as each one only had four times the unit turns on less frequently. important to let the new stems sufper day that it could turn on. The For operation, you will need to plug ficiently mature. The new wood is first model we purchased could not the unit into an electrical outlet. usually mature enough after the handle our very high water presYou need to hook it up to a water stem has just finished blooming. If sure of 120 psi and kept exploding. source with misting nozzles. you don't let the stem mature Other models we tried were just not enough, then it usually becomes dependable in coming on every Planting Mediums: The planting limp and will die before you can get hour, and the medium that I have found to be the Place the cuttings in it to root. I take cuttings from new batteries often most successful for rooting rose cutmoistened potting soil rose stems in the spring right after failed. tings is a 50-50% blend of potting mixed with 50% perlite. the first bloom cycle. Then in early soil and perlite. This is a very light Now we are to late fall (in Southern California) I blend that encourages the roots to trying the Mistprefer to use more mature or old grow quickly. Others have used a-Matic system. wood. When using old wood in the blends of sand or vermiculite with We got ours as fall, I will remove the cuttings from some success. a hand-methe Mason jar, baggie, or mister, down from an Other Tips for Rooting Cuttings: after only several weeks since it is elderly rosarian cool enough then for them to root o Use sharp cutters to prevent friend who reon their own as long as I water crushing the stem. tired to a nursthem daily. o Rooting hormone is optional; sucing home. A cess rate is much better with it. new one from PAGE 6 Schedule of 2011 Rose Shows and Displays Pacific Northwest District American Rose Society June 5 Tri-City Rose Society June 9-10 Portland Rose Society (Spring Show) June 11 Rogue Valley Rose Society June 11-12 Corvallis Rose Society June 18 Ft. Vancouver Rose Society June 19 Heritage Rose Society (Display) June 18-19 Seattle Rose Show June 25 Southwestern Oregon Rose Society Spokane Rose Society June 25 Tacoma Rose Society (District Rose Show) July 2 Olympia Rose Society July 9 Kitsap County Rose Society July 16 Rainy Rose Society (Display) August 13 Portland Rose Society (Mini Show) September 10 Tualatin Valley Rose Society September 17 Portland Rose Society (Fall Show) Straw Bale Gardens I know this is a rose newsletter but if the readers are like Greg and I you dabble in other things. Last year the Kitsap County Master Gardeners did this in the demonstration garden at the Fairgrounds and this year Greg and I are going to try it. The best straw bales for a garden are wheat, oats, rye or barley straw. These consist of stalks left from harvesting grain; they have been through a combine harvester and had the seeds threshed from them, leaving none or very few left. Put each bale in the exact place, because it's hard to even nudge these bales once they are wet. Gardeners seem to be divided on the best way to lay the bales down…string side on the ground, or string parallel to the ground. If it is a string that will rot you might want to stake the sides. Just like a normal vegetable garden, your straw bale garden needs 4-8 hours of sun. If you have a sunny rot-proof wall, you can put your bales against it and grow tomatoes, cucumber or similar vegetables up the wall. A very popular idea for straw bales is to make a raised garden bed with the bales as the edge. This limits excessive evaporation from both the garden in the middle and one side of the bale. If you start with aged bales of about 6 months or more, they may already have been through their initial weathering and starting to decompose slightly inside. If they have been wet at all they almost certainly would have lost their cool and done their cooking. If not and they are still new or in pristine condition, they need to do a bit of cooking before it's safe to plant in them. Thoroughly soak with water and add more water so they don't dry out at all for the next 5 days while the temperature rises and cooks them inside. Slowly they will cool over the next 1-2 weeks and then be ready for planting. With the proper fertilizers and water your straw bale should warm up to a temperature of about 100 degrees. If you want to jump start the cooking process you can do a 10day pre-treatment regime of water and ammonium nitrate, a high nitrate fertilizer, fish or blood meal, or fish oil on the top of each bale for four to six days (half a cup). Then for another couple of days you cut back by half on the fertilizer. After another couple of days you can measure the temperature of the inside of the bale with your bare hand (should be cooler than your hand) or use a thermometer. It ultimately provides a bet- PAGE 7 ter base and growing conditions and saves you having to be so worried about getting nutrients to your plants as they start growing. You can plant when the bales are still warm which promotes root growth. The bales won't be composting much inside yet, that takes months, but you don't want that initial hot cooking of your plants. A straw bale garden needs more water than a typical garden and keeping the bales wet sometimes takes twice a day waterings. As the bales begin to decompose, they will hold more water and you should be able to water less frequently. Young plants can go straight in. Pull apart or use a trowel and depending on the state of the straw, put a handful of compost soil in also. You can place the plant down to its first leaf, and gently close the crack back together. You can layer some soil on the top to start with also. Seeds can be planted on top if you put a good 2 inches of compost soil there first. There's no limit to what you can plant including putting some flower annuals around the sides. Once a week or more often when your plants are in full growth water in a liquid organic feed, such as compost tea or fish emulsion. You can add some worms on top if you want to use your bales only one season. When the season is over it makes for great compost or mulch when finished with them. PAGE 8 KCRS Meeting Minutes: March 14, 2011 Meeting was called to order at 7:00 by President, Ray Etheredge, Society’s fertilizer which he plans to get this month. It is $21 for 50# The Pledge of allegiance was recited Newsletter: Greg Mick asked for an apprentice for the newsletter and for articles from the members. GUEST SPEAKER, Frank Gatto of Raft Island Roses was introduced. He gave a very informative talk on what is going on with the bigger rose growers, Palentine roses and on the newest roses for 2011 and 2012. There are some beauties out there. The talk was followed by a question and answer period. Frank has generously extended the roses sale price of $17.95 for the members of our club through the month of March. Following the social and the 50/50 drawing the business meeting was called to order at 8:20. Minutes of the February meeting were approved Program Speakers: Joyia Rubens said that Jack Kiley will be our guest speaker in April. He will speak on what is going on in the Rose World in the PNW In May our program will be on choosing and preparing roses for the Rose Show. Publicity: Madeline West is doing publicity for the Rose Show and Judy Siebel will help Refreshments: Sharron said that Judy Siebel and Harry Hinton will bring refreshments in April Sunshine: Margie Breunig reported that she had sent a card to Roberta Messinger and that Eric Hunter seems to be doing better. Treasurer’s report: Jerry Breunig reported that we have $912.71 in our account. Framers’ Market: Jenifer Mick will schedule for June. President’s report: Ray reported that he had pruned the roses of someone who had requested our help and was given a donation of $40 for the club Membership dues are due! COMMITTEE REPORTS Door Prizes: Sharron Etheredge reported that Monica Goldsberry and Ed Evans would bring the door prizes in April Library Garden: Gary Siebel reported that the pruning of the roses was called off because of the rain. It will be rescheduled for this Friday, March 18, at 9AM. Gary took orders for the Puyallup Rose OLD BUSINESS: Rose Show: Date: July 9, 2011 at SK Food line/Food Bank. They are providing tables, etc, making it very easy for us and charging no fee. Cisco will be there and will be promoting it on his show. Everyone is urged to bring roses even if they do not think they are prize winning quality. We want to have LOTS OF roses Membership profiles: everyone was asked to fill out and return their form. NEW BUSINESS We voted to give Fely Messick $30 to help off-set the cost of putting bouquets in the library for special occasions Plant sales: There was a discussion on how the sale could be handled. It was decided that a suggested price would be listed and that we would have a silent auction during the break. The cut off time for bidding will be called toward the end of the break and payment and pick up will be after the meeting. Donna Hamilton will call the time. Ray will check Donna. Items for sale: Harry Hinton says that Nancy used to hybridize roses and they would like to find a good home for and sell the equipment which is no longer being used. It sounds like useful and good things if anyone is interested. He plans to get rid of it somehow, so if you are interested, contact him. (Sec note. If no one in the Rose Society wants it, I will suggest he donate it to the Rotary Annual Garage Sale. I am sure there is someone out there who will be happy to have it. So if you even may want it, contact him!!!!) Mailing list: The membership list has been or is being distributed to all members. Please keep in mind that it is against our policy to use this list for other than Rose Society business. Using it, or even parts of it, to distribute other types of information is not allowed without specific permission of the members. Meeting was adjourned at 9:20 Respectfully submitted, Donna J Hamilton, Secretary PAGE 9 Spring Chores, here’s what you have to do... Plants are easier to see when they are still in the house… But Spring is a great time to put them all outside! 1. Finish planting new bare-root roses and plant new container roses. 2. Plant roses into display pots. 3. Apply fertilizer to give roses a boost for the coming growing season. 4. Spread organic mulch around roses once the soil has warmed some. 5. Check the soil for moisture (not a problem this year) and start watering deeply if needed. Hard work in the Spring will let you enjoy your roses all summer long! 6. Start inspecting your roses for pests and diseases, aphids are common on new growth. 7. Remove and discard suckers from budded roses. 8. Fertilize roses after the first round of spring bloom (lets hope we have one this year).. 9. After they have flowered, prune climbing roses, ramblers, shrub roses, and species roses that flower only in Spring. 10. Remove weeds and winter debris. 11. Train and tie the long new shoots of climbers. 12. Prune away weak, broken, or diseased stems. Don’t forget your Veggies! How to choose healthy bare-root and container-grown roses When choosing either a bareroot or container-grown rose you should look for thick, green canes. In bare-root you want a big cluster of sturdy, fibrous roots and a stout undamaged bud union. On either if the canes are weak or shriveled this is not the rose for you. Container roses should be in a large (3-5 gallon) container due to smaller containers increasing the likelihood that the roots were probably cut back hard to fit it in the container. In container roses the roots should not be protruding from the bottom or coiling around the root ball. It is your right to ask the seller to show you the root ball if it is a container rose. Avoid any plant with dieback or weak, straggly growth. In bare-root roses, they should not be leafed out. If you follow these guidelines you should be rewarded with beautiful roses this summer. PAGE 10 April 11th Meeting Silverdale Library: Rose Garden Maintenance Door Prize Providers Please contact Gary or any member of the Library Garden Maintenance “Crew” to see if you can help this month! Gift #2 - Ed Evans Library Rose Garden Committee Members: Gary Seibel, Jane Michelinie, & Fely Messick May 9th Meeting Gift #1 - Monica Goldsberry Dessert - Judy Seibel, Harry & Nancy Hintlian Door Prize Providers Gift #1 - TBD Gift #2 - TBD Dessert - TBD Multi-Colored Meringues Courtesy of Disneyfamily.com 1. Separate the eggs. Crack the eggs over a large bowl and separate the whites from the yolks. You only need the whites. 2. Whisk the whites. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks. Be careful not to overbeat, since they will start to look lumpy -- a little like cotton balls. There are 3 stages to whisking egg whites. At first stage, the whites form soft, floppy peaks when the blades are lifted up. Continue whisking and they will form stiff peaks that stand straight up, perfect for meringues. If you whisk the egg for too long it becomes lumpy and overbeaten. Ingredients 3 egg whites (medium) 3/4 cups superfine sugar 1/2 tsp cornstarch 1/2 tsp lemon juice Food coloring -- red, green, yellow. Use a toothpick to add one drop at a time. 3. Add the sugar. Add 1 tsp of sugar to the egg whites; whisk. Pour in a second and continue whisking. Add remaining sugar, while whisking to stiff peaks. 4. Add lemon juice. Whisk in the cornstarch and lemon juice until just combined. The meringue should look smooth and glossy. 5. Add a little color. Divide the meringue into 3 bowls and color each one with a couple of drops of food coloring. Fold the color in using a spatula. 6. Make meringue swirls. Spoon the meringue into a piping bag and squeeze to make swirls onto 2 cookie sheets lined with parchment. Make each one about 1 inch across. Now bake in the oven. 7. Bake the meringues for 30-35 minutes, until firm on the outside. Turn off the oven and leave them for a further 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. 8. When the meringues are cool, sandwich them together with whipped cream or softened vanilla ice cream. Makes 30. PAGE 11 Silverdale is located north of Bremerton on the Kitsap Peninsula and due west of Seattle, WA Fire Station #51 Meeting Information: KCRS meets the 2nd Monday of every month. The next meeting is April 11, 2011 7:00 p.m. at the Silverdale Fire Station #51 **Don’t forget your unwanted items to sell for the fundraiser during this month’s meeting** David Austin Roses davidausitnroses.com Jackson & Perkins jacksonandperkins.com Weeks Roses weeksroses.com 2011 KCRS Officers President: Ray Etheredge 360-830-0669 [email protected] 1st VP / Show Chair: Jenifer Mick 360-710-9122 [email protected] nd 2 VP / Membership Chair: Judy Siebel 360-692-3592 [email protected] Kitsap County Rose Society a proud Member of the Treasurer: Jerry Breunig 253-851-1933 [email protected] Secretary: Donna Hamilton 360-308-9845 [email protected] Library Chair: Gary Seibel [email protected] 360-692-3592 Trustee #1: Dorothy Guice 360-779-2432 Trustee #2: Ralph Dunning 360-308-8924 [email protected] Trustee #3: Joyia Rubens 360-792-2265 [email protected] Programs: Madeline West 360-830-0783 [email protected] Newsletter Editor: Greg and Jenifer Mick 360-479-3340 [email protected] Sunshine Chair: Margie Breunig 253-851-1933 [email protected] We’re on the Web at www.kitsaprose.com Kitsap County Rose Society Newsletter Editor PO Box 1063 Seabeck, WA 98380
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