MAY IS ROSE MONTH IN THE LOWCOUNTRY

 

Blush Noisette

 

Roses, Roses, Roses Everywhere!

Roses are at their peak bloom in May in the Lowcountry and the Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society is celebrating May as their Rose Month. In the South and on the West Coast, the Rose reigns supreme in the garden in May, but from Mid-Atlantic regions and all the way up to Maine, it is in June.

The Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society will have a display of roses and rose items for the whole month of May at two libraries, one on either side of Charleston across the two rivers, one at Mt. Pleasant Public Library and another one at Johns Island Public Library. We have our monthly meeting on May 4 at Berkeley Electric Coop Office, 3351 Maybank Highway, Johns Island at 3 PM with a program on how to exhibit your roses. Everyone is welcome to attend and the admission is free. Our Annual Rose Show is on May 10 at Citadel Mall and open to the public. Everyone can enter their roses to exhibit and the show is free. We will have an educational table there where American Rose Society Consulting Rosarians will be doing pro bono service answering various questions on rose culture. Consulting Rosarians are nationally accredited rose authorities. They take classes from the American Rose Society sponsored schools and take continuing education every three years to maintain their status. They offer free advice to the public. We will also have a booth at the Charleston Farmer’s Market on May 17 at Marion Square in downtown Charleston manned by members of the Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society. We are closing the event with a picnic and an auction on Saturday, June 1 at a waterfront private garden in Mt. Pleasant open only to CLRS members and their friends, a benefit of CLRS membership. For info on how to join CLRS, visit www.charlestonrose.com. Roses will be in abundance in all these places.

The Rose has been around for millions of years and has grown naturally throughout North America. The petals and rose hips are edible and have been used in medicines since ancient times. The rose has been revered for millions of years as a symbol of love and beauty and has been an inspiration to poets and artists. Rose leaf impressions have been discovered in chalk formed in the Miocence age of 70 million years ago. The first rose illustrations were found in the ruins of the 4000-year-old Minoan capital, Knossos, in Crete. Empress Josephine (1763-1814), wife of Napoleon was so enamored by them, she commissioned Pierre Redoute to paint them from her garden at Malmaison in France and immortalized in his book ‘Les Roses’ (1817-1824).

The poetess Sappho at 650 B.C. declared it the Queen of Flowers in her “Ode to the Rose.”

"Would you appoint some other flower to reign

In matchless beauty on the plain,

The Rose (mankind will all agree)

The Rose the Queen of Flowers should be.”

 

Some gardeners have the wrong notion that roses are difficult to grow. It is not so. Yes, you can grow beautiful roses. The Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society will teach you how to grow beautiful roses. There are so many roses on the market that growing roses is not that difficult as choosing the varieties to plant. Just like people, roses need the basic things to live: water, food and sunshine. If you supply these basic needs of the rose, you will have no trouble growing them and they will reward you with the most beautiful flower there is. Roses need plenty of sunshine, at least five hours, food and water to live and good drainage. Some roses will grow in dappled shade but roses do not like wet feet. The roots will rot and the rose will eventually die.

The rose was designated the United States National Floral Emblem and several states have it too as their state flower. President Ronald Reagan signed the proclamation declaring The Rose as our National Floral Emblem on November 20, 1986. Charleston is home to the only class of old garden roses, the Noisette Rose, that was bred, evaluated and introduced to the world by the United States.

Let’s celebrate May as the Rose Month in the Lowcountry! We are blessed with this beautiful flower in our midst so let’s all grow roses. The Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society and the American Rose Society join together to teach you how to grow beautiful roses, at least One Rose for Every Home!

 

For more info on growing roses, visit the following sites:

 

www.charlestonrose.com

www.charlestonlowcountryrosesociety.blogspot.com

www.rosegardeningworld.com

www.ars.org

www.heritagerosefoundation.org.

ROSE GLOSSARY

Here is a Rose Glossary to help you understand some rose terms and enjoy your rose gardening hobby to the fullest.

ARS – American Rose Society

Anther – the part of the flower which produces pollen.  It is the upper section of the stem.

Axil – The angle between the upper surface of the leaf stalk and the stem that carries it.

Balling – the clinging together of petals in wet weather so that the bloom fails to open and turns brown.

Bare-root – a rose dug up at the nursery and sold with no soil around the roots.

Basal shoot – a new shoot that emerges from the neck or crown (bud union).

Blind shoot – a mature stem which fails to produce a flower.

Bloom – stem having one-bloom-per-stem with no side buds.

Bract – a modified or reduced leaf that occurs beneath and next to a peduncle.

Bud eye – A dormant bud on the axil of a leaf.

Bud stage – Rose should be less than 50% open.  Sepals must be down.

Bud Union – the swollen part of the stem where the scion of a grafted rose meets the rootstock.

Calyx - the green protective cover of a rose flower which opens into 5 sepals.

Cane - one of the main stems of a rose plant.

Collection Class – multiple stems or blooms in specified classes.

Corolla - the petals of a rose flower considered as a single unit.

Cultivar - a named rose variety exhibiting distinct and consistent features, indicated by single quotation marks.

Deadheading – removing spent flowers.

Disbudding – removing buds from side or center of spray to improve overall appearance of specimen.

Disease Resistant Roses – Roses that have been bred to resist many diseases.  Disease resistant are just that resistant but not immune to disease.

Foliar feed – a fertilizer capable of being sprayed on and absorbed by the leaves.

Hard Pruning – Rose canes are severely cut back to less than 6”. Not all types of roses respond well to this treatment.

Hilling – A method used to protect roses from winter damage. Material, such as compost, is mounded 10-12 inches around the base of the bush after the ground is frozen.

Hip - the fruit of a rose, large and decorative in some varieties.

Inflorescence – the arrangement of flowers on the stem.

Lateral branch – a side branch which arises from a main stem.

Leaflet - the individual segment of a compound rose leaf.

Node - the point on a stem from which leaves and buds emerge.

Old rose - strictly speaking, a rose introduced before 1867, but more loosely used to describe any rose grown or introduced before 1900.

Once-blooming - a rose that flowers only once in early summer and does not repeat.

Open bloom – roses should be completely open and center stamen visible.

Own root roses – roses that are not grafted, a rose propagated as a cutting rather than by grafting.

Peduncle - a stalk that supports a single flower or flower cluster.

Pegging – bending the rose cane to the ground to encourage lateral branches.

Petal - the showy, usually colored part of a flower.

Petiole - the stalk by which a leaf attaches to a stem; also leafstalk.

Pistil - the female reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of an ovary, style, and stigma.

Pith – the spongy material at the center of the stem.

Pollen – the yellow dust produced by the anthers.  It is the male element which fertilizes the ovule.

Prickle – the technical term for a rose thorn.

Recurrent flowering – same as repeat flowering.

Remontant – roses that repeat flowers during the season, same as repeat flowering.

Rootstock - the root portion of a plant onto which the scion is grafted; also understock.

Rose Rustler – a person who propagates Old Garden roses from cemeteries and old homes sites.  Etiquette requires that permission be obtained if possible before cuttings are taken.

Scion - a shoot grafted onto a rootstock; the "top" of a grafted rose.

Sepal - one of the five individual, leaflike divisions of the calyx.

Specimen Class: Single stem of any rose variety in specified classes.

Sport - a spontaneous genetic mutation, often resulting in a plant that bears flowers of a different color or with more or fewer petals than the original plant.

Spray – stem that has two or more blooms with or without side buds.

Stamen - the male reproductive organ of a flower, consisting of a filament and anther.

Standard rose – a term used for tree rose.

Stigma – the part of the female organ of the flower which catches the pollen.

Stipule - a small, leaflike appendage that occurs at the base of the petiole.

Sucker - a stem, usually unwanted, that originates from a rootstock.

Sustainable Roses – are those roses that are winter hardy, possess above average insect & disease resistance, and require little or no pesticides in order to remain healthy.

Stage – an exhibition rose that is at its most perfect phase of possible beauty.

Stem-on-stem – Refers to a bloom on a stem that branches off another stem. This Y formation cannot be exhibited.

 

Visit my website - www.rosalindasgarden.com

 

 

CHARLESTON LOWCOUNTRY ROSE SOCIETY FEBRUARY 2014 MEETING

The Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society will hold their next meeting on Sunday, February 2 at 3 PM at Berkeley Electric Cooperative Office, 3351 Maybank Highway, Johns Island, SC 29455.

The program will be on Pruning given by Bob Lundberg.  Bob is an American Rose Society Master Rosarian, the Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society Consulting Rosarian Chair and the Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society Program chair. The program will start with a discussion of the tools required to accomplish the pruning task, followed by some comments on why we prune and the different approaches to pruning as we go through the growing season.  There will be a discussion on the approach to pruning different classes of roses.   At the conclusion of the discussion period, there will be a demonstration of spring pruning on Hybrid Tea and miniature rose plants.

Membership in the Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society is open to anyone with interest in roses. Dues are $15 for single membership and $20 for family membership annually, January - December and includes information-packed newsletter, The Charleston Rose and participation in all society activities.

For more info, email Rosalinda Morgan at RosalindaRM@comcast.net. To join, send dues to Matthew Morgan, Membership Chair, 3056 Sugarberry Ln., Johns Island, SC 29455.

Visit our website – www.charlestonrose.com.

CHARLESTON LOWCOUNTRY ROSE SOCIETY JAN. 2014 MEETING

The Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society will hold their first meeting for 2014 on Sunday, January 5 at 3 PM at Berkeley Electric Cooperative Office, 3351 Maybank Highway, Johns Island, SC 29455.

The program will be "Your 2014 Master Plan in the Rose Garden" to be presented by Bob Lundberg. Bob is an American Rose Society Master Rosarian and is also the Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society Consulting Rosarian Chair. He and his wife, Sandy Lundberg, maintain a rose garden of about 400 roses in Blufton, SC. They are top exhibitors, having won numerous awards from rose shows at the local, district and national level. Bob will go through each month and give an overview of what you should be doing in the garden. He will have a flip chart for each month and will also put the same information on a hand out.

Membership in the Charleston Lowcountry Rose Society is open to anyone with interest in roses. Dues are $15 for single membership and $20 for family membership annually, January - December and includes information-packed newsletter, The Charleston Rose and participation in all society activities. For more info, email Rosalinda Morgan at RosalindaRM@comcast.net.

To join, send dues to Matthew Morgan, Membership Chair, 3056 Sugarberry Ln., Johns Island, SC 29455.

FRAGRANCE IN ROSES

The McCartney Rose has intense fragrance.

Fragrant roses have been a seductive tradition for years.   In the garden, a bed full of fragrant roses is heaven on earth.  Their sweet aroma as you enter the garden gate will be so captivating.  Fragrance is what we expect of the rose, whether consciously or unconsciously.  It is evident when one sees a rose either in the garden, at the florist or at the rose show.  The first thing a person will do is stick one’s nose to inhale the fragrance and commenting on its fragrance or lack of it. 

There are variations of the term fragrance like perfume, scent, incense and redolence.  Fragrance suggests the odors of flowers or other growing things.  Perfume suggests a stronger or heavier odor and applies especially to a prepared or synthetic liquid.  Scent is very close to perfume but of wider application.  Incense applies to smoke from burning spices and gums and suggests an especially pleasing odor.  Redolence implies a mixture of fragrant or pungent odor.  These terms are invariably used in conjunction with roses.

The American Rose Society recognizes the importance of fragrance with the James Alexander Gamble Fragrance Award which is given to outstanding very fragrant roses.  The ‘Wild Blue Yonder’ is the 2013 winner of the James Alexander Gamble Fragrance Award. Other roses that won the Gamble Fragrance Award are Crimson Glory (1961), Tiffany (1962), Chrysler Imperial (1965), Sutter’s Gold (1966), Granada (1968), Fragrant Cloud (1970), Papa Meilland (1974), Sunsprite (1979). Double Delight (1986), Fragrant Hour (1997), Angel Face (2001), Secret (2002), Mister Lincoln (2003), Sheila’s Perfume (2005), Fragrant Plum (2007), Sweet Chariot (2008), Louise Estes (2010), Falling in Love (2012). 

A rose is only half appreciated by the eye and the other half by the nose.  It is the fragrance of the rose that Sappho in 650 B.C. named it the “Queen of the Flowers”.  In England, they value the Old Rose fragrance in their roses that they awarded the Clay Cup for almost hundred years.  Shakespeare loved the Musk Rose, the Damask, the Sweetbrier, or Eglantine, the Cabbage Rose and the Canker Bloom that he referred to them in his writings.  Here in the colonies, the first sweetbriers were believed to come over in the Mayflower or soon after since it was growing in the Pilgrims’ garden before the end of the 17^th century. 

Each year, new roses appear in catalogs.  Copywriters do a fantastic job describing the roses and its attributes.  I found the fragrance very subjective and if we want to grow roses for their fragrance, you have to choose your varieties very carefully.  A slight fragrance in the catalog lingo is basically no fragrance at all.  If you want a fragrant garden, look for roses with strong fragrance on the description.  In recent years, there were many scentless roses in the market that you wonder why people are buying them.  Modern hybrid teas are known to have very little fragrance.  Some have none at all.  The hybridizers are doing the public a disservice by hybridizing the rose too much to create a perfect formed rose that they are compromising its fragrance.  Luckily, more gardeners want the fragrance back and so the trend is reversing.  We should encourage the hybridizers to put more fragrance in their new creations. 

The “true old rose scent” is the property of the three classes of roses – Rosa centifolia, the Cabbage Rose; Rosa damascena, the Damask Rose; Rosa gallica, the French Rose.  No rose can surpass Rosa centifolia for fragrance. The Hybrid Perpetual which is a cross between Rosa indica and the old Damask and French Roses produced roses with lovely old rose scent.  Prominent in this group is General Jacqueminot which became the parent of a long line of fragrant roses.  I saw this rose at the Heritage Garden in San Jose, CA  and I was enthralled by its fragrance.  The old rose scent is the most refreshing of all the flower scents.  It is not bitter and will remain sweet to the end.  Most of these fragrant roses are red with pink coming next in degree of fragrance.  Yellow for the most part is the least scented.  Single rose tend to have less fragrance than their double counterpart.  Climbers for the most part are slightly fragrant.  The scent of roses is affected by warmth and moisture.  The scent of the roses is more pronounced on warm days than on cool days especially if the weather is dry.  Roses tend to be more fragrant in autumn than in the summer.  The Last Rose of Summer is said to be the sweetest of all.  Roses picked up early in the morning have stronger fragrance than roses gathered later in the day.

Fragrance in roses comes on various forms.  One associates rose with the true old rose scent.  Damask is the true rose scent and the Damask rose ‘Kazanlik’ is the most sought after rose in the manufacture of the attar of roses.  Old Garden Roses – the Damasks, Centifolias, Albas, Gallicas, Mosses, Bourbons and some Rugosas have damask scent with a touch of some kinds of fruit aroma.  One of the earliest Damasks is Rosa sancta found in an Egyptian tomb dated c. 170 A.D.  Cleopatra carpeted the floor two feet high with damask roses to seduce Mark Anthony.  Damask scented roses are associated with love and spring as evidenced in the painting La Primavera or Spring by Botticelli where he used Rosa gallica and in the Birth of Venus, he used Maiden Blush. 

Besides the true old rose scent, there are other types of fragrance in roses: We have the tea scent; the odors of spice – bay, clove, pepper, vanilla.  During the Roman times, bay was used as crowns to protect the emperors from evil spirit and ward off harmful bacteria.  In ancient Greece, the Pythian priestess ate bay before she went in to the sacred shrine at the Oracle of Dephi and started reciting verses. 

We also have musk, myrrh, wine, honey scent.  The Tea or the Musk roses also seem to be scented of muscatel wine.  Felicia, Cornelia and Buff Beauty will scent your garden with its tea and musk fragrance.  Tuscany, a deep purplish red gallica has the scent of wine.  Then we have a whole slew of fruity scents like apple, raspberry, lemon and oranges.  The hybridization of China with Austrian Briars gave rise to roses with fruity fragrance.  Mme Isaac Perriere has a raspberry fragrance.  Zephirine Drouhin and Rosa Eglanteria are good examples of roses with an apple scent.  Apples have been a fruit of favor since the Biblical times when Eve chose to eat it.  In mythology, the golden apple was given by Paris to Aphrodite in a beauty contest which indirectly led to the Trojan War.  We also have balsam, clover, violet, jasmine, and lavender scent.  Most of the Old Garden Roses- Rosa gallica, Rosa damascena, Centifolias, Mosses all have the balsam scent in their leaves.  Balsam was highly praised in the Bible as the Queen of Sheba took The Balm or Balsam of Gilead from Arabia to Judea and presented it to King Solomon.  Many Rugosas and some Hybrid Teas like Crimson Glory and Chrysler Imperial have the scent of cloves.  Some Hybrid Teas also smell of clover.  In the Middle Ages, clover was a symbol of the Holy Trinity because it had three leaflets and a four-leaf clover is a good luck symbol. 

Jardins de Bagatelle and Jude the Obscure have scent of vanilla which I find so intoxicating.  Stanwell Perpetual has the sweet scent of lavender and violet.  Some David Austin’s roses are myrrh scented.  One of them is Ambridge Rose.  In the Bible, myrrh was given to Jesus by the Magi and again while Jesus was dying on the cross.  The Egyptian also used myrrh resin in the mummification processes.  Old Blush, the Green Rose and La Reine des Violettes are all scented of pepper.  Gloire de Dijon and Marechal Niel have the scent of tea.  It seems that there is a correlation between yellow or ivory colored roses and tea scent. 

A form of Rosa indica odorata, the Tea-scented Rose from China smell like fine China Tea as distinguished from Rosa indica, the China Rose which is not always fragrant.  This rose found its way to France and later crossed with the old Musk Rose which gave rise to a new class called Noisettes.  The old Musk Rose scent is not exactly as you would expect a rose to smell.  A fine example of Noisettes is Marechal Niel, a fragrant but tender rose that can only be grown outdoors in mild climates.  Late in the nineteenth century, Hybrid Perpetual was crossed with the Tea-scented rose which resulted in the Hybrid Tea of the modern days.

The perfume of the rose is believed to have curative powers.  In the olden days, roses are used to make all sorts of medicinal potions to cure maladies and drive away bad spirit.  A bouquet of roses uplifts the spirit any day of the year.  Even a single rose in a room will liven it up on dreary days.  We are very lucky to be growing the rose.  Take a break and smell your roses! 

Copyright © 2013. By Rosalinda R Morgan, author of “BAHALA NA (Come What May”.

All rights reserved. FRAGRANCE IN ROSES