President's Message - February 2026

Hello to all GRS members and friends:

February is for most rosarians in our area a time to start their Spring pruning. However, for me mid-March has been my time to prune. This is to target Spring rose show dates and for the most part this timing has worked out if the weather works out. I suggest after pruning the remaining stems and ground around each plant be sprayed with a dormant solution like Lime/Sulfur. This treatment will go a long way in sanitizing the garden.

As mentioned in last months newsletter, I am trying to downsize the number of plants we need to take care of. Potted plants are where I am downsizing. So far only one person has committed to take a few, so if you are interested, please let me know. I will be working on removing some, trashing them if there are no takers. I can let you know what varieties I have available.

Part of this month’s program being presented will be a talk by Ann Sherwood. Remember Ann had set up her nice display at our last meeting and we did not have time for her to present it. She’s going to talk on The World Rose Convention 2025 in Fukuyama, Japan—the City of Roses. If time allows, Jean Giesel will help us view Rose Diseases with Mark Windham. We are all familiar with Mark and know him to be a wealth of rose culture knowledge. Thank you, ladies. We look forward to these talks. We will have Michael Johnson, General Manager from David Austin Roses coming to give us a program on March 8th. This talk promises to be engaging and informative so, please come and let us all show our support for our speakers.

I am in need of two members to serve on our 2026 nominating committee. New officers needs to be voted on at our March meeting (positions to start in September). A new slate of officers should be ready to start in our new fiscal year. Please consider volunteering.

It was nice to have a break in January and now it is time for all of us to get together again. I hope to see you all at the meeting on Sunday, February 8th.

President's Message - January 2026

Happy New Year to all:

As I set here writing this my first President’s message of 2026, I have to ask myself, where did 2025 go so fast? Each year we get a little older and hopefully wiser, but with this aging process getting wiser also brings on getting slower. So, with this said, I am at the cross roads of what to do with all of our roses. Do I just hang in there in hopes of better times ahead? or do I start downsizing and start giving away some rose plants? I have come to the conclusion of asking members and friends if they would like any of our 50 or so potted roses. This move would take a lot off my work load since my ability is getting worse. Call me if you would like to come and pick out a few potted roses to take home, pots go with them.

This month is our slowest month to tend to our rose plant needs. The only suggestions I can offer is to keep the plants well hydrated by watering them at least once a week. This is very important since we have not had any significant rain amounts in nearly a year.

One other suggestion for January is to apply at least a 1/3 of a cup of Epsom Sale to each plant. The magnesium sulfate in this product gives the roses a jump start once the ground soil has warmed up to 60 or 70 degrees, usually mid-April in this area.

As discussed at our Holiday party, there will be no GRS meeting in January this year. The suggestion for this to follow through in the following years was not finalized. Please note, this is my last 4 year term ending in May and I cannot and will not be able to serve as GRS president again until I set out a two year term. Our bylaws are specific with this eligibility. I am hopeful someone will step up to fill this president’s slot and if not, GRS may have to disband, this is in accordance with our DSD bylaws. Let us not go this route like so many others in our district have done in the past few years.

We will find something fun for the February program and look forward to Ann’s talk on international judging.

Stay safe and well.