President’s Message

Birmingham

Rose Society Garden Faces

October 2013

We had a smaller than usual attendance at our last rose society meeting due to the change in date which was

caused by the Antiques in the Gardens show. I hope that a number of you were able to attend Antiques in the Gardens.

Virna and I were there Saturday morning and were very impressed with the quality of the merchandise that was offered.

I bought a painting from an artist out of Huntsville, Alabama and Virna had been looking for a bar for our dining room

and found just exactly what she was looking for. It’s a beautiful rosewood cabinet which opens from the middle. We

brought it home Sunday and she is absolutely thrilled with it.

Our next meeting will be at the usual time, Monday night, October 28. This meeting will be our members rose show

and I would encourage everyone to bring in a single bloom hybrid tea, floribunda and single bloom mini-flora and

miniature rose. If you have your own vases, it would probably be best to bring them in those vases though we may have

some vases available. If you have never exhibited, this is the perfect opportunity to gain experience. Cut your stems as

long as possible, bring them in water and we will show you how to groom them and present them for judging.

Hopefully we will have lots of blooms to display.

This time of the year is also when I spend time reevaluating my rose beds, determining which roses have been

productive and which roses should go. As a rule of thumb, I give a rose 3 years in my garden before making that

decision. This year I have decided to remove 4 floribundas and 3 hybrid teas that have not done well for the past

several years. I also am developing a new bed that will be exclusively for miniature roses though I will use this bed to

relocate miniatures that are currently in the garden to a better sunnier location. I started construction of the bed about a

month ago when I rounded up an area in front of some existing miniatures and mini-floras where I have some perennials

that were being invaded by Bermuda and centipede grass. After I killed everything in that area, I dug it up by hand and

then added about half cubic yard of sand to this area, which I have mixed into the existing soil. I have just placed an

order with K&M Roses out of Mississippi for 10 mini-floras and they should be arriving any day now. I absolutely love

the mini-floras and am going to use those to plug the existing holes in the garden. The beauty of mini-floras is that

planting them this fall they should be productive and ready for the rose show this coming May, whereas a floribunda or

hybrid tea would take at least 2 years to develop before it is show ready. The mini-floras also make a beautiful cut

flower arrangement and they are so perfect in shape that when I bring them to the office, the patients have trouble

believing that they are real flowers. The ones that I have ordered include Abby’s Angel, Ambience, Charismatic

Cooper, Double Take, Seattle Sunrise, Ghost Zapper, Whirl Away and Tammy Clemens.

I look forward to a great members rose show.

Harold Settle, M.D.

President, Birmingham Rose Society

An American Rose Society Affiliate

Consulting Rosarian Report

September and October are our driest months, so make sure that your roses are getting

enough water. It is important to continue your spray program until winter arrives and

the roses go dormant. This will help to keep your bushes healthy. You do not want your

rose bushes to enter cold weather in a weakened condition with blackspot or other

diseases and no leaves.

Remember to wash your sprayer with warm soapy water before you store it until Spring.

Also prepare a safe, dry place to store spray material – out of the reach of children. This

may be a good time to sharpen and lubricate your rose tools. Check the pH of your soil

and add any needed adjustments before you place mulch for winter protection.

We enjoyed a wonderful film last month on “found” Old Garden Roses. They are often

found in old cemeteries. OGR are hardy and can grow in poor conditions with little care.

Like all roses they do need 5 hours of sunshine a day and 1 inch of water a week. A few of

the very fragrant OGR are Souv. De St. Anne, a semi double, light pink Bourbon rose and

Nastarana, a semi-double Noisette rose with clusters of white blooms. A favorite of many

rosarians is Mutabilis, a single China rose of yellow blend. This is often called the

butterfly rose. You might enjoy adding an earth kind Old Garden Rose to your garden.

Martha Eskew

American Rose Society

Consulting Rosarian

Advice from a rose: “Remember your beauty stems from within”

October Meeting 10/28/2013 6:30 p.m.

THIS MONTH: - In-House Rose Show

Bring your single stem blooms of Hybrid Tea, Floribunda, Miniature & Miniflora roses to

display. A winner will be chosen from each category.

American Rose Society Consulting Rosarians and Horticultural Judges will be on hand to

answer your questions and offer tips and suggestions on showing roses.

This is always a fun event and the room is FULL of roses.

If you have no roses to bring, come and enjoy the blooms!

The ARS has an

updated website!

Check it out

ARS.org

Horizon Roses 2013 is a compilation of comments by the nation's top rose exhibitors on the exhibition potential of the newest hybrid teas, floribundas, miniflora and miniature roses. For most exhibitors, it has long been considered the indispensable guide to buying new show roses. www.RoseShow.com to order

Rose Society Meeting Minutes

George Ann Hamilton – Recording Secretary

Meeting Minutes

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Birmingham Rose Society

September 23, 2013 6:30 P.M.

Harold Settle, President, called the meeting to order. We had twenty members in attendance. Jennifer and Robbin

Phillips were thanked for providing the refreshments for the evening. The minutes from the August meeting were

approved as printed in the September 2013 Garden Faces. Harold Settle gave the Treasurer's Report for Hyacinth

Prince; the plant sale last month netted $278.00. The checking account balance as of September 23rd is $3,705.74.

Our CD balance is unchanged at $5,073.01.

The program for the evening was a documentary entitled "Cemetery Rose". The film was about thirty minutes long

and popcorn was served. Filming was done in Sacramento, California. The cemetery was rescued along with the few

roses that remained. Today due to the rose rescue, 500 Heritage roses are in the cemetery. Another term often used

besides rose rescue is rose rustling. Without the dedication of the men and women who take charge of rescuing these

old cemetery roses, they would be lost forever, never to be seen again. The first public parks were cemeteries. The

documentary was excellent.

Gloria Purnell reported that Ann Jones is recovering nicely and Carl is doing fine. Harold Settle grows the rose

named Alabama, a red hybrid tea, in his garden. He brought the Sport of Alabama for the members to see. This

bloom was pink on the inside and white on the outside and grew on the Alabama rose.

The October meeting will be held on Monday October 28, 2013. We will have an in-house rose show, so remember to

bring your blooms. The meeting was adjourned at 8:00 P.M.

BRS by the numbers:

67 BRS Members 373 Fans on Facebook

123 followers on Twitter

3060 visitors to website since Jan ‘13

How can we reach more?

Treasurer’s Report September 2013 Still Time to GO!

DSD Fall District Show

10/25-10/27 Hosted by the

Greater Palm Beach RS Hilton Palm Beach Hotel

West Palm Beach, FL

Contact: Debbie Coolidge

561-684-2421

geoffcoolidge@bellsouth.net

DeepSouthDistrict.org

Great friends and Great Roses at our September Meeting

Birmingham Rose Society 219 Chadwick Lane Helena, AL 35080

Birmingham Rose Society

American Rose Society Affiliate

While the advice and information in this newsletter is

believed to be true and accurate at the time of

publication, neither the authors nor the editor accept any

legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may

have been made. The Birmingham Rose Society makes no

warranty, expressed or implied with respect to the

material contained herein.

Garden Faces Deadlines:

Submission Deadline: 10th of each month

Publication Date : 15th of each month

Editor: Chris VanCleave

Phone: 205-585-9687

E-mail: Editor@BirminghamRose.org

Grow Roses. Show Roses. Share Roses.