By Stuart Dalton, President
I hope you have all had a great January and February. It was hard to believe it was winter! But now, finally, it is winter! It certainly is a busy time in the Peninsula Rose Society (PRS) rose cycle. In our area, pruning, planting and preparing for the year are common tasks. About now it may be you are still “finger pruning”, breaking off tender shoots that are sprouting to the center of the plant. This is indeed part of preparing. Preparing the plant for better health by clearing out the middle facing new growth and letting in air and light to get better blooms and less fungal disease. And the weather, while way too dry, was spectacular for getting out and working in the garden in our area.
Our Society had a very active January meeting where we met a number of people visiting or were joining as members. We tried using Nextdoor to publicize prunings and the meeting and it brought in extra guests. Please consider posting locally about our events like meetings if you use this or other social media sites, as this can increase the rose fun and attendance at meetings. And of course, feel free to bring in friends and neighbors interested in roses, as well as problems in the garden like insect or disease issues (as photos or in a sealed bag please) to help in identification.
The Board voted in new members, worked on the presentation schedule, publicity and show ideas, and looked at our finances which are the best at the start of the year in a decade (thank you to Barry Johnson and others for special donations).
At the February meeting, new members were more formally introduced and given welcome packets by Barbara Todd, our membership chair. In the February meeting we welcomed Jackie Copple of Menlo Park, Pam Hoffman of Atherton, Patti Spezzaferro of Atherton, Roberta Thompson of Menlo Park, and Judy Webster of Redwood City. And one person, Teddy Heinrich of Redwood City put in her application in February. We are glad to see all the new members! Barbara Gordon did a masterful job (as she always does on so many topics) giving us a talk on Fertilizers and Soil.
We have refreshed the PRS pruning guidelines and rose care through the year (month by month). If any of you want these electronically as references, we have them available or you can email me ([email protected]) for copies or pick up hard copies at the meetings.
Jerry Georgette and I held two pruning demonstrations at Summerwinds Nursery and Orchard Supply Hardware. We have added them to our sponsors since they both donated items to PRS.
Russell Coop’s memorial is very soon, on March 10. I often ran into Carol and Russell at the Costco where Russell was in his ride-around cart. And of course, Carol supported PRS in many ways over the years including a stint as PRS President.
If you have not joined ARS, now is a great time to do so as there is a trial offer (see elsewhere in this issue).
Happy gardening
Stu Dalton