I hope you enjoyed the first judged show of the 2019 season. Thanks to all of you who brought horticultural specimens. Please bring in your blooms and arrangements for the June 18th meeting. You can refer to the earlier issues for how to groom and exhibit single stems and hopefully you all learned more about mass arrangements in the April meeting. Remember, bringing in horticultural blooms and arrangements qualifies you for the separate drawing for extra Wegmans gift cards (1ticket per horticultural stem, single or spray, and 5 tickets per arrangement).
One thing I brought up at the May meeting and which we will discuss at the next Board meeting is a suggestion from Eleanor that we have an informal gathering and refreshments before the normal start of the meeting, starting at 7 PM. This would allow time to socialize, and get raffle tickets, enter the show etc. before the current 7:30 PM start, and may mean we can be through a bit earlier.
Regarding Filoli and possibly hosting a Fall 2020 NCNH District conference, we continue to get comments from other Rose Societies about how interested they are in coming to an event at Filoli, and even hearing offers of help or financial support. When the Head of Horticulture (Jim Salyards) returns from the European Filoli tour he leads we will make arrangements to meet with him and discuss specifics about a show and meetings at Filoli to see if it works for Filoli and PRS.
In the garden
I’ve been deadheading for a while. It is hard to do it properly every time I walk the garden and sometimes I just cut off the blooms as an expedient, or even crack off the bloom to prevent it from going to hip, then come back later and open up the center and cut back properly, making sure the growth is to the outside. It keeps the plant actively growing.
I used a whole 50-pound bag of alfalfa and some foliar fertilizer on the plants after the main first bloom was done. This should give the plants some nutrition for a nice second bloom 6- 8 weeks after the deadheading. I use alfalfa on roses, veggies etc. I already bought a third bag.
The late rain made things look a bit bedraggled, and my nice, 40-year-old rhododendron really did not last more than a week, but some of the new roses are still coming along nicely. The big Sally Holmes I moved last November is still looking great and the half dozen Sally Holmes I’ve planted in semi shade are looking like they will do well. One David Austin that is going great guns that I planted in early 2018 is impressing me with the cupped shaped bloom, fragrance and almost peony appearance with tons of pink blooms. This is the Ancient Mariner. You may have seen a spray I entered in the Shrub class at our May show. It needs room. Another David Austin I put in last year that I like for the color and fragrance is the Poet’s Wife. Bright yellow and almost a lemony scent. The Poet’s Wife is much more compact.
PRS Picnic July 14th
The Peninsula Rose Society Picnic will be at my home on the second Sunday in July (July 14th). The time will be a noon start. Sign up for Appetizers, Main Dish, Salad or Dessert at the June Meeting or send an email to me at [email protected]. We will not have a regular meeting or PRS Board Meeting in July.
Happy Gardening,
Stu Dalton