30 November 2009 by Marilyn.

Did you know that fall is considered to be the optimal time to propagate roses by cuttings in Texas? The premise is that cuttings will have all winter to rest in a protected location and form new roots, free from the challenges of harsh summer conditions. It may be tempting to plant the newly rooted roses in the garden the following spring, but young plants will still be tender and planting should be delayed until fall.

During the fall bloom and while rose hormones are abundant, 6 to 8 inch cuttings may be taken from stems that have spent blooms on them. Remove the bloom, preferably keeping 4 sets of leaflets below the bloom, and be sure to keep the cuttings well-hydrated until they’re stuck into the rooting medium. A good rule of thumb for sticking cuttings is to have 2 leaf nodes above the rooting medium and 2 inserted into the medium.

Use of a rooting hormone is optional. Rooting media can consist of a peat and perlite mix, a mixture of perlite and vermiculite, a sterile soil-less mix which usually contains peat and perlite, sand, or any combination of media that maintains moisture while new roots form. Never allow cuttings to dry out. Rooting in water is not recommended because the roots will be brittle. Cuttings will need indirect light, but should never receive direct sunlight during the rooting process.

There are numerous methods for propagating roses. Detailed information can be found on http://aggiehorticulture.tamu.edu/southerngarden/roseprop.html.

If you’re interested in reading about some of the methods used by members of the Texas Rose Rustlers, check out http://texasroserustlers.com/TRR_article1.pdf.

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10 November 2009 by Faith.

What a treat we have ahead of us at the November monthly meeting!  Now I may be just a little prejudiced as Ray Ponton is one of my Texas Rose Rustler friends.  Whether he talks about rose hybridizing or his roses, an interesting and educational experience will occur.

As I have mentioned, Ray’s hobby (or avocation) is rose hybridization.  Cameron Bohls, Meridith Bohls, Chireno and Deanna are just a few of his roses that are commercially available.  He has registered the names of his roses but has chosen not to patent them which means that we can share cuttings.

Ray and his wife, Margaret, live in Taylor, northeast of Austin.  Several of us have had the enjoyable experience of visiting them and have seen his roses and seedlings firsthand.  Ray has planted his roses in what was once a pasture and operates very much like the Earth-Kind trials- very little care after initial establishment.  The last two years of drought have been very hard on his roses, but he perseveres with his hybridizing.

Those of us who have been the happy recipients of his roses, sometimes testing them for him, prize these roses.  Look in the future for one of his roses to be named Phyllis’ Delight in honor of my mother.

See you November 19th!

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6 November 2009 by Robert.

A few months ago, my wife and I visited the Tidewater area to attend a retirement ceremony. We had planned to have a few days to re-explore the area and treat ourselves to some time at the Zoo. But we weren’t expecting the Horticulture Gardens to be the highlight!

The Virginia Zoo in Norfolk has developed ten different themed gardens throughout the park that complement the animals in residence. They have a Butterfly Garden, Color Gardens, an Organic Rose Garden, an Ornamental Grass Garden, a Rain Garden, a Shade Garden, and a Tropical Garden. However, my wife and I were overwhelmed by three of them – the Herb Garden, the Virginia Barnyard Garden, and the African Village Garden.

At first, we didn’t realize that the Gardens were there. We were walking over to the African Savanna exhibit when we stumbled across their Herb Garden. A wonderfully refreshing smell of herbs was noticeable from 15 feet away. Each section was marked as to the use of the herbs (such as medicinal or culinary) and the herbs were identified by common and scientific names.

We then starting looking for more gardens to visit (alas, we soon forgot about the animals) and found several more. Eventually, we found the Virginia Barnyard Garden where we spoke with a zoo employee about it. She mentioned that the gardens were used to educate the public and to provide fresh provender for the animals. The garden changes frequently as the seasons change and fresh plantings are continuous.

The third garden that made an impression on us was the African Village Garden. All of the plantings here are familiar to all of us but have in common being originally from Africa.

We learned a lot visiting the Gardens in this zoo and since most of us have interest in this subject, I highly recommend a visit to the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk – but you don’t even have to look at the animals!

To view more about these Gardens, visit http://www.virginiazoo.org/about-the-zoo/our-gardens.asp and see what they have done to improve their zoo!

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