June 2003 Newsletter

Vol 1/Issue 3 June 2025

To Contact: WCFRS

C/O Patti Hartzell

217 Salt Brick Court

Wilmington, NC 28411-7855

Welcome! to 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!

I hope you put your umbrellas away by now and are out tending to your rose gardens. Even though our first Wilmington Rose Garden tour was moved to May 31st due to bad weather, the turn out was probably better because we didn't run into the holiday weekend. I want to thank Louise Garland-Ramsdale, Claud & Lori Eiffert, Anthony & Ann Lees, and Jennifer Arcuri for inviting all the rosebuds to their wonderful gardens. The "Rescue A Rose" raffle brought in $109.00 for the society! Everyone received at least one rose, some took home as many as 4! Leave your roses in the pots until the fall so the tender new roots are not disturbed. We are planning a fall rose flush garden tour also. Watch for details.

Establish a day of the week to spray your roses and try to stick to it. Make sure you spray from above and below to completely cover the leaves. If you don't spray underneath the leaves, you might as well not spray because this is where blackspot spores love to hang out. This is where the stomata or mouth of the rose is located. Spray the bush from every angle once a week, unless you are using Immunox, which is every 14 days, frequency depends on which chemical is used, almost guarantees disease free bushes. We add Spreader Sticker to the formula before we spray. I am not sure if roses perspire (roses transpire<G>) but sometimes it seems like it when we go to all the trouble to spray and nothing improves, so I am convinced this helps. Actually, the spreader sticker makes the water wetter, so coverage is more even and some, like Indicate 5 also bring the water to the proper pH level. The exception to using a spreader sticker is if you are using ALIETTE for downy mildew. NO spreader sticker is used with this product, and no product containing copper can have been used recently.

Now is the time to take care of the thrips. Don't know what they are? Just pull back the petals of a light colored rose (they love light roses) and you will see the tiny little critters scrambling all over the place. Put your glasses on because they are really tiny, about 1/16th inch long. If you have roses that are damaged or just don't seem to want to open correctly, you most likely have thrips. Once they are in the rose bud, it is too late for that rose bloom but you can still declare war on them! Nip them in the bud by mixing Orthene (fire ant killer) as directed in a small hand sprayer and hand mist the buds at least twice a week. You have got to get them as soon as possible so they don't get a chance to tell all their friends about the best buffet garden in the neighborhood! FYI: The singular for Thrips is Thrips!

Hot weather brings Spidermites which are on their way to your garden, also. If the normal green color seems to be fading out and the bottom of the leaf feels sandy, chances are it's spider mites. I blast them underneath with a strong stream of water to knock them off and drown them. Then there are the eggs…one would think a sure sign of reincarnation in the making. Usually a hard spray of water to the underside of the leaves three days in a row will break up the breeding cycle of the offspring critters. The more water the better and you will be doing your roses a favor with that extra cool refreshing H2O anyway.

Since we have not quite gotten into the hot evenings yet, you need to watch for powdery mildew, which shows up when the days are hot and the evenings are still cool. The new growth will be covered with a powdery white substance, causing it to grow in a contorted fashion. I use Immunox to prevent it by spraying the tops of the plant to get to the new growth, where it is affected. Once the cool nights have caught up with the hot days, you shouldn't have any problems until the fall when the evenings start getting cool again.

I have noticed a few Japanese beetles in my garden. In my opinion, SEVIN works best for them. Another alternative is to bribe a neighbor that lives a few houses down from you (and has no flower garden) to let you place a Japanese beetle trap (or two) in their yard. Then, when you have damage-free roses, take bouquets of roses to them and thank them for being so kind as to let you place the trap in their yard. They will love you for it, not to mention how much you love planting the trap elsewhere to lure the critters out of your gardens!

Before the hot weather sets in throw some extra mulch under your roses to keep the soil cooler during the scorching summers we have here on the coast of North Carolina.

See you at our next rose meeting, "Bridge's Mini Rose Seminar" on the 21st

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.

We now have an official checking account, so all checks from this point forward should be made out to the “Wilmington Cape Fear Rose Society”.

American Rose Magazine

Anyone interested in joining the American Rose Society (includes the American Rose magazine subscription) should mail or hand our treasurer, Kim Landis, their subscription request along with a check made out to "Wilmington Cape Fear Rose Society" so that Wilmington Cape Fear Rose society will receive $5.00. If the subscription is sent directly to ARS, we will not receive the donation from American Rose Society.

Mail to:

Treasurer: Kim Landis

108 Stonehead Court

Wilmington, NC 28411-7855

Phone: 910.686.3025

"Urgent SOS"

Our Rose Garden at the arboretum is in need of volunteers. This will involve pruning, weeding and gentle rose love & care twice a month. I am requesting that at least 4 couples or 8 or more people volunteer to commit themselves to help take care of the gardens from this point on because their curator and our valued society member, Barbara Hardison, is moving out of the Wilmington area. Please notify me as soon as possible so that our rose gardens at the arboretum will not be neglected. You will be requested to help in the rose garden twice a month. This will be a great way to learn about roses and have hands on experience! Please consider this because this is a very urgent need.

Contact me as soon as possible at 910.686.1871.

--Patti

Growing Larger Roses

By Dennis Bridges of "Bridges Roses"

Most Rosarians like to have the largest rose bushes they can grow. The size of our rose bushes depends on the foliage on our bushes that feed the roots by the photosynthesis process. You will notice the largest roses you have seen usually have outstanding foliage free of disease and pests. There are several things we can do to have better foliage and consequently, better roses.

We need to keep the diseases in check by regular preventative spraying following the instructions on the chemicals we might use. Be sure to spray when the temperatures are under 80 degrees. The roses should be watered the day before we spray to prevent burning the foliage. The old foliage on our roses will turn yellow and fall off sometimes due to excess spray build up when rain does not cleanse the foliage. We can help by washing the foliage off on the hot days giving the plants a cooling bath early in the day. Excessive spray residue can decrease the photosynthesis process thus preventing food to be produced for the plant.

Another way to prevent the spider mites, that destroy our roses foliage, is by using a strong force of water applied to the underside of the foliage to wash them off. This is one of the most effective methods of mite control and gives the rose bush the needed "bath" to wash off the spray residue. There is even a special attachment to your garden hose called the "water wand" that does an excellent job of washing the underside of the roses. We incorporate this method as our primary mite control to some degree of success.

Keeping all the foliage on the bush as possible can also be achieved in another way. We simply "pop" off the bloom at the first set of leaves during the summer. Although this goes against the general rule of cutting the stem at the "five leaflet" on the stem, we have found it will build large strong bushes that produce more roses. All of you are thinking right now that we only get roses on small, short stems which is not true. If your rose bush is growing well with a good pH, well watered, and sufficient nutrients, you will get three cuttable stems from the top three bud eyes on the original stem. You will have to stake your bushes to prevent wind and rain breaking the canes.

This practice of "popping off the bloom only" has been popular for years by rosarians trying to build a bush when it is first planted. Suzy and I being avid exhibitors do this all summer to build large bushes to cut back for the fall shows. I know the average rose grower is not willing to remove the buds before they bloom like we do, but you can build your bushes to a degree by using the same technique. In the summer when our roses open so quickly you may not have use for the full open blooms that appear so quickly.

When a rose passes its prime so to speak, and you have no use for the rose, simply "pop off" the bloom allowing all the foliage to stay on the plant.

Foliar feeding is another way to keep the foliage productive. Liquid fertilizers will help as will organic supplements to the foliage. I have problems of burning with the liquid fertilizers poured over the foliage so we use organics like fish emulsion or seaweed. Both of the supplements do an excellent job keeping the foliage green and productive.

As a good rose friend of mine said from his truck farming days: "You will not have any fruit without a vine" and this definitely applies to our roses. The better the foliage on your plants, the better your rose blooms and rose bushes will be.

Bridges Roses

2734 Toney Road

Lawndale, NC 28090

Phone (704)538-9412

Fax (704) 538-1521

http://www.bridgesroses.com

Thrips

By Bill Chaney

Consulting Rosarian, Entomologist

You know what bugs me .... Thrips! Thrips are the tiny insects that scar our light colored rose petals with their annoying habit of scratching open the surface of cells and feeding on the cell contents. This results in brown edges on white petals and disfigurement on petals of all colors. I would rather hear fingernails on a blackboard. Even their name is annoying. Thrips is singular and plural. One annoying little insect is still a thrips; it is not a thrip! At least most irregular nouns have the decency not to end in an "s".

Thrips are relatively primitive insects, having incomplete metamorphosis and rasping-sucking mouthparts. Adult thrips have strange, feather-like wings that carry them from flower to flower where they feed on both pollen and plant sap, as described. The most commonly seen species in roses is the Western Flower Thrips, known in much of the world as the "California Curse" since we have exported this creature to most parts of this country and many of the countries around the world.

In addition to its other bad characteristics, it spreads some important diseases; the most important of which is tomato spotted wilt virus. Fortunately this is not a problem in roses.

Once adult female thrips have ruined a potential Queen of Show, they lay their eggs in the damaged flower where they quickly hatch and add insult to injury. These young thrips look much like their parents except they are lighter in color and lack wings. Once they have completed their development in a week or so, they drop to the ground and complete their transformation into winged adults in the soil. The whole process from adult to adult can be completed in as few as 14 days in warm periods.

Thrips are not without a long list of enemies besides rosarians and other gardeners. A tiny black and white bug called a minute pirate bug, or Orius, finds thrips a delicacy and especially enjoys them raw, skewered on their needle-like mouthparts which they use to suck the thrips contents down before casting off the empty shell. Ladybugs, lacewings and big-eyed bugs are other general predators that feed on thrips.

The thrips family does have one redeeming member, the Six-Spotted Thrips, a cannibal of the thrips world that will feed on their fellow Western Flower Thrips as well as two-spotted spider mites. These good guys are easily identified by the six distinct black spots, three on each wing.

To keep thrips from taking over the rose garden, the beneficial insects just mentioned usually need some help. One very important thing rosarians can do to reduce thrips populations is to remove spent blooms from the plant promptly and to destroy them along with the thrips inside. A covered trash can or sealed black plastic bag placed in the sun is a fitting end for these little devils. Insecticides such as Orthene® or Mavrik® are good at controlling thrips, as are a few others. If you use these products, do so with caution and read and follow label directions.

Old Garden Roses - Alba

By Amy Padgett

This is the second in a series of articles about Old Garden Roses (OGR), which are generally considered to be roses hybridized or introduced prior to 1900. The 1900’s marked the beginning of the era of the Hybrid Teas, which are the most popular rose today.

As I mentioned in my previous article about Gallica roses, 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, and the Alba roses are no exception.

Alba roses are extremely ancient and during medieval times, the white roses were often associated with the Virgin Mary. Many rose historians speculate that the Alba rose class arose from crosses between wild Dog roses and ancient Damasks (which will be covered in the third article).

The Alba class of roses are fairly large shrubs with bluish gray leaves and white or pale pink flowers. Albas bloom once, generally in summer, and are wonderfully fragrant. The entire bush can be covered with blossoms during the flowering period and will fill the air with their heady perfume.

They do not need to be sprayed and do not suffer from blackspot. They are, in fact, one of the toughest and easiest of all the roses to grow. They are extremely tolerant of imperfect growing conditions including: bad soil, light shade, and insufficient water.

The most common characteristics of the class are:

Thorny stems.
Soft, bluish gray leaves.
Buds are long and graceful, with long sepals.
The bushes are generally quite large (average 7’ tall).
Somewhat shade tolerant.
Colors range from white through light pink.
They require no pruning and will flower well, year after year, by only removing the dead wood.

A few Alba roses include:

‘Great Maiden’s Blush’ ancient. This is one of my favorite roses and is a gorgeous soft pink. The shrub can reach almost 8 feet and will sucker if grown on its own roots. The glorious flowers are very double with pale pink outside petals with a deeper pink in the center. The flower will gradually fade to white as it ages. Very rich fragrance.

Rosa alba ‘Semiplena’ ancient. ‘Semiplena’ is another large shrub, known to grow up to 8 feet tall. It has pure white flowers, semi-double, with a rich scent. It has been grown frequently in place of Damask roses, to produce Attar of Roses. It will grow even in partial shade.

‘Jacobite Rose’ (aka Rosa alba ‘Maxima’) – ancient origin. Rosa alba ‘Maxima’ can grow up to 7 feet tall, with graceful, arching branches. The flowers are pure white and some may have a touch of pink in the center. Good fragrance

‘Céleste’ late 18^th century. It reaches 7’ tall and sports semi-double flowers in rose pink color with gold stamens. The roses are particularly delicate in appearance and have an interesting elongated, slender bud. The flowers are exceptionally fragrant.

‘Félicité Parmentier’ known since 1834. This Alba is one of the shorter, and therefore more useful shrubs that reaches 4’. It has double flowers in pale pink set off by a green button eye. Good fragrance.

‘Mme Plantier’ Plantier, 1835. ‘Mme Plantier’ is another tall shrub which can even be trained as a small climber (approx. 8-9’). It has lovely double flowers in creamy white. The buds are red-tinted prior to opening. As with the other Albas, this one has a good scent.

These are just a few varieties. All the Alba roses are well worth the garden space and require minimal to perform exceptionally well.

Special Feature: Recipe

This is the cake served for our Wilmington Cape Fear Rose Society luncheon. It was a favorite and many attendees asked for the recipe, so here it is.

Enjoy,

Arlene Nazario

Jamaican Pound Cake

As adapted by Arlene Nazario

Ingredients:

1 large ripe banana

2 eggs

1/4 cup dark Jamaican Rum

1 package (17 oz.) Pound cake mix

½ cup dairy sour cream

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

3 tablespoons sliced almonds for pan coat

Recipe:

Mash banana to make ½ cup. Blend with eggs and rum. Beat into pound cake mix until smooth. Beat in sour cream and nutmeg.

Butter a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf cake pan. Line bottom of pan with wax paper, and sprinkle almonds on sides.

Pour cake batter into pan. Bake in preheated 325 degree F. oven 70 to 75 minutes until done.

Place on wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Cool thoroughly before cutting. Can be frozen.

Serve and enjoy.

New Bern Rose Show

The New Bern Rose Show was held May 10^th and many of our members won awards.

Rose winners at the 2002 Eastern North Carolina Rose Show

Queen: "Signature"

King: "Hot Princess"

Princess:"Veteran’s Honor"

Mini Queen: "Conundrum"

Mini King: "Breath of Spring"

Mini Princess: "Hilde"

Congratulations to our Wilmington Cape Fear Rose Society member Winners:

Single Hybrid Tea: "Dainty Bess" by Patti & Bill Hartzell

Hybrid Tea/Grandiflora Spray: "Gemini" by Ed & Lenna Easter

Hybrid Tea Cycle of Bloom: "Timeless" by Ed & Lenna Easter

Classic Shrub: "Autumn Sunset" by Patti & Bill Hartzell

Mini Queen: "Conundrum" by Ed & Lenna Easter

Mini Princess: "Hilde" by Ed & Lenna Easter

Mini Prince, Mini Spray: "Autumn Splendor" Ed & Lenna Easter

Mini English Box: "Soroptimist International" by Ed & Lenna Easter

Think about entering "your" roses in future rose shows.

Eastern North Carolina Rose Show

L-R: Lenna Easter, Bill Hartzell, Amy Padgett, Patti Hartzell & Ed Easter.

Rosey Events

June 21, 2025