Bexrose Bulletin

JUNE  2008

Published by the Bexleyheath & District Rose Society

Patron:-                                 Dr. David G. Hessayon  MBE.

President:-                             Mr. B. Rainsbury     

Vice President:-                    Mr. J. Elliott

Chairman:-                           Mr. A. Nunn

Vice Chairman:-                  Mr. M. Andrews

Hon. Secretary:-                  Mrs. J.Newton

Hon Treasurer:-                   Mrs. Z.Neale

Show Secretary:-                 Mr. A. Neale       

Membership Secretary:-     Mrs. M. Cornell         

Other Committee members:- Mr. R. Jones, Mr. R. Pulling, Mrs. D. Carr, Mrs. D. Lemon,  Mrs. J. Dyer.

Mrs. E. Cleall.

Web Site:-  www.bexrose.org.uk

Webmaster  Tony Dixon  Email:-   postmaster@bexrose.org.uk

Next Meeting Tuesday  1st July 2008

We meet once again at St. John Fisher Hall, Thanet Rd, Bexley where the hall will be open from 7-15pm for setting up. The meeting will start at 8pm until 10pm with a break at 9pm for refreshments and the raffle and of course a chance to chat to other members. Please note that this month's meeting has been resheduled for 1st July. This is because the Blood Donor unit has booked the hall for the 4th Tuesday and they run on into the evening. Fortunately our speaker for June, Mrs. J. Talboys was still able to come and speak to us. Her subject is Perennial plants for continuous colour. Also rather late this year, this month will be our first Rose Table Show. Do try and enter if you have any roses left, they are all blooming so early now. Our Floral Art table exhibit this month will be a "Celebration of 60 years of the National Health Service." Please use roses and any relevant accessories.  

The Rose Growers Calendar by kind permission of Don Charlton.

1.             Continue the weeding, disbudding, watch for insect and disease attacks and take appropriate action.

2.             If the weather is dry water the ground thoroughly. A light liquid feed can be included with the watering if you wish, you will notice the difference.

3.             If you are growing root stocks then budding of these can commence this month. Check that the sap is flowing in the stocks first, if not then water well and check a day or two later before budding.

4.             Cut rose stems for the house (1/4 open) and rose shows (1/12 to 3/4 open) and don't forget to condition the stems by allowing them a long drink in a deep bucket of cold water for 3 hours or more.  When cutting stems remember to avoid leaving snags on the bush by using a conventional pruning cut just above a leaf node.

Dates for your Diary

July 8th - 13th Hampton Court Palace Flower Show  Hampton Court Palace

July 23rd - 27th RHS Flower Show Tatton Park Knutsford Cheshire

September 7th Plant Fair Hadlow College Nr. Tonbridge Kent 11am -4pm

September 11th - 13th RHS at the Inner Temple  Inner Temple London

September 27th & 28th Malvern Autumn Show  The Show Ground Malvern

October 7th & 8th RHS Great Autumn Show  Horticultural Halls Westminster

November 14th & 15th RHS London Show      "             "          "

Ellenor Hospice Open Gardens Scheme

Sunday June 22nd 11 am to 4 pm. Admission £4 Children 50p

Dairy Farm House, Church Street, Higham ME3 7LD

Family Dickens Day.  Dickens Fancy Dress for children entry £1

Higham Street Dancers, Face Painting, Lions Club Roundabout, Copperfield Clog Dancers,

Dartford Concert Band.

The Dairy Farm House was built in 1767 with extensions added at a later date. Many years have been spent restoring this Georgian house and now the owners are able to  concentrate on the garden. It is very much work in progress.  The two beautiful Yew trees, which can be seen at the front of the house are probably 300 years old and they lead into the formal part of the 21/2 acre garden. This was previously laid out with box hedging and standard roses and a new rockery has recently been added. There is also an old Mulberry tree, which still produces fruit. There is a walled cherry plum orchard and work is presently being carried out on a long herbaceous border. To the rear of the house is a further open area available for various stalls and car parking.

Sunday July 6th 2pm to 5pm. Admission £3 children 50p for entry to both gardens.

The Bungalow & The Whitehouse, Frog Island, Devon Road,

South Darenth, DA4 9AA

Come and see why these two delightful gardens are so popular. Situated on a small idyllic island with stunning lakeside views, both gardens have colourful beds, hanging baskets, climber covered pergola

( roses and clematis) water features and large patios.   

Sunday 27th July 2pm to 5pm Admission £2-50 children 50p

St Margarets, Manor Drive, Hartley, DA3 8AW

The garden has many attractive features and is landscaped with lawn, shrubs, mixed flower beds and a large bridged pond, home for some extremely large Koi Carp.

Wednesday August 6th 11am to 4pm. Admission £4 Children £1-50 including National Trust Members.

Ightham Mote, Mote Road, Ivy Hatch, Sevenoaks, TN15 0NT

Family Picnic Day.

Whilst the extensive grounds are open the house is not open to visitors on the day of this event.

Greenwich & Bexley Hospice Open Gardens

Sunday 29th June 1 pm to 5pm Admission £2 children free.

Age Exchange Reminiscence Centre. 11 Blackheath Village, London SE3 9LA

(opposite Blackheath Railway Station.)

This delightful centre encompasses everything from "the good old days" and will have you transported back in time as soon as you enter. You can browse and buy from the old fashioned sweet shop and see the replica shop from years gone by. Real cream teas will be served, alongside other home baked treats. Wander through the displays into the small but quaint walled garden.

Correction to last months Bulletin  Sorry to Eltham Cactus Club, mentioned in last month's Bulletin. They meet on the second Monday of each month.

Welcome to new members

Mrs. H. Thompson from Barnehurst

Mrs. M. Lindfield from Dartford

S. Hammett from Crayford

Day Trip to Spalding

We took a full coach to Spalding and got there in very good time as we didn't stop but made coffee on the coach. Several coach companies from our area didn't arrive until about 1oclock because of traffic. We seemed to have missed all that. First stop was the Springfields Outlet Centre where many of us found bargains. We then wandered through the gardens built by Chris Beardshaw, Kim Wilde and Charlie Dimmock. The Tulips were planted through a woodland walk which was very striking. The floats were parked on the open show ground where we could inspect them and take photographs. Later in the afternoon those who had reserved seats were able to get a good view of the parade as it passed us. The floats were covered in Tulip heads in a multitude of colours and various themes. The Mayor of Spalding was sitting in a gold coach drawn by purple horses all on the back of a flat bed truck. There was a Thomas the Tank Engine, a float with a polar bear, elephant and monkeys up palm trees, and the Festival Queen and her attendants were perched precariously in the middle of giant flowers. There were several marching bands, clowns, and people on old fashioned bicycles and of course the buckets were out to collect money for local charities. We found a building full of craft stalls and face painting for the kids. Several of our party had gone into town and watched the procession as it made it's way around the streets. All agreed that they had had a good day and the weather had been kind to us after the week before had been nothing but rain. Several people who had visited the show many years ago said the floats were not so good but had enjoyed it non the less.

King Tut Cruise

Thank goodness that tip is over, I got fed up with having to type that boys name, why couldn't he have been called Fred, it's much easier to spell. Anyway we all met at Waterloo Pier and boarded the boat and set off down the river to our guides commentary. The day was warm and dry thankfully and we had a good view of all the sites. The boat called in at a pier along the way to pick up our lunch which everyone agreed was very good, Chicken breast, new potatoes and mixed vegetables, all beautifully cooked. Desert was several flavours of cheese cake and two types of chocolate cake followed by coffee.

On arriving at the O2 we made our way around the inside to the exhibition area which was up stairs. We could then make our way round the exhibition at our own pace and leave for home when we were ready. The exhibition was beautifully presented and contrary to what I had heard previously it was not crowded. There were plenty of artefacts to look at and very good information about each item. The first section was about the earlier Pharonic dynasties, with statues, canopic jars, shields and swords, furniture and boxes. The last part was about Fred and several collars, jewellery and other items that I had seen in Cairo but sadly the Golden Mask was not there. It would have looked magnificent as the exhibition was presented so well. Many of us had a cup of tea before we boarded the bus for home just outside the arena. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their day and thought the meal was excellent.

Secretary's Report on the May Meeting

Our speaker this month was Everret Leeds who came to speak to us on Clematis. He told us that it is 150 years since Clematis Jackmanii was introduced and because of  inbreeding "wilt" began to appear. When Jim Fisk came back from World War 2 he started the first Clematis nursery. When buying a Clematis, it should be in at least a 2 litre pot, tip it out of the pot to check the root system. They should look medium brown with light brown tips. Before planting emurse the pot in water as Clematis often dry out in the nurseries. Dig a hole slightly deeper and larger than the pot sprinkle a handful of bone meal in the bottom and plant at an angle towards whatever it will be climbing up. Back fill, firm in and water well. Pinch out the growing tips to make the plant bush out. Clematis can be grown in pots but it is a good idea to line the pot with bubble wrap to keep the roots cool in summer. Don't let the pot become waterlogged. If you want your Clematis to ramble through bushes or up trees plant on the north side. Feed the plants with Tomorite or Rose fertiliser around the roots in March and May. Dead head early flowering plants to get a second flush. This type don't have to be pruned just cut off the dead leaves and stalks but you can cut them back if they get too top heavy. If your Montana's get out of hand reduce them over a period of 2 years. Late flowering can be cut back to the 2nd live buds every year and pinch out the growing tips. Herbaceous Clematis only grow to about 3 to 4 feet and flower in August and September. Everret told us that if a plant suffers from wilt cut it down to about 6 ins. from the ground and keep watering , feeding and praying for about 6 weeks. If the wilt comes back dig it up and destroy it.  Texcensus gets mildew and blackspot in the wild so it is advisable to spray with a systemic fungicide. Earwigs like Clematis and they are responsible for the holes in the flowers. Cuttings are easy to raise, just take the thinnest wood possible for internodal soft wood cuttings in May and June. Put around the edge of a clay pot filled with perlite and peat or sharp sand. Spray with water and fungicide every day and cover with a poly bag to keep in the humidity. Keep damp but not wet. Everret had lots of lovely slides of some very unusual Clematis as well as some old favourites. After tea he took a few questions from the floor. Over 100 members attended this meeting proving that Clematis is a popular plant.

The  Society have had a letter from Pilgrims Hospice Canterbury thanking us for our donation in memory of Vanessa and assuring us that the money will be put to very good use. We have also had a letter from Vanessa's sister Kay on behalf of herself and her brother Eric thanking us for our donation and telling us that the final total from friends, work colleagues and neighbours came to £1465. Our final contribution to that amount was £620.

Holiday to Oxfordshire 5th to 8th September   (3 nights 4 days )

There are still some twin rooms available on this trip at a cost of £177 each with a deposit of £25. Hopefully we will visit Clivedon on the way up and Berkhampstead Model Village on the way back. This is a very old model village and well worth a visit. We will not be visiting Oxford as we did this several times with Bert but hope to find some very nice gardens for you to look at. Please let Janet know as soon as possible if you are interested in this trip as unsold rooms will have to be returned soon to avoid a penalty.

Holiday to The Christmas Markets of Germany. 5th to 8th December  (3 nights- 4 days )

There are 4 twin rooms still available on this trip at a cost of £230 each. There are 7 single rooms available at a cost of £245 each. The price includes Bed, Breakfast and Evening meal. A wine tasting with the Baroness, a day trip to Trier for the Christmas Market and a day trip to Boppard where we will stop at a hotel for Coffee and cake (price not included ) and then a short cruise on the Rhine, (cost also not included but this will probably be about £7). If you don't surcome to Gluewine and wooden toys this will be a very reasonably priced trip and don't forget the mince pies and sherry on the way home.           

Please let Janet know if you are interested. Your place can be secured with a £25 deposit.

Secretary's Report on the Summer Show.

Unfortunately the seasons have not been kind to us this year. Because everyone's best blooms were out the week before the show last year, we decided to move the show date even earlier to catch up. We were caught out by the cold wet spring and there were very few blooms ready for cutting. Poor Sam Shuttleworth looked very despondent with only a handful of his usually wonderful miniatures to try and make up his entries. Ray Martin and his wife came all the way from Felixstowe, also with very little but managed to win the RHS Banksian Medal. Nigel Chapman had very little to show for his trip up from Canterbury and Mick Andrews who usually has an allotment full of roses couldn't put up a bowl of 12 or a box of 6 this year. In fact only 3 of the Open Classes had any entries. Roy Harris won the RNRS Bronze Medal for best bloom in show, one of a three stage HT.  There were a couple of baskets of miniatures and a couple of pallets but miniature classes were very thin on the ground. I was quite surprised that we had as many entries as we did considering the problems we were facing but the show bench looked bright and cheery although much below the usual quantity. The vases of grasses and vases of perennials were very attractive and a new class this year " Vanessa's Sponge" attracted 6 entries which all looked good enough to eat. All were made to the recipe that Vanessa used but the entrant could interpret their own decoration. A lady came from the W.I. to judge and was very professional, tasting just the cake and then the cake with the decoration. The winner was a very pretty cake finished off with dusted icing sugar and little pink roses in the centre made by Jean Rider. The pot grown rose had 18 entries which was well up on previous years and many of these were in bloom. The Floral Art best in show was won by Silvia Page for her interpretation of "Jade", and Janet Newton won Floral Art Champion.  There was a record number of entries in the photographic section, filling up the boards and spilling over onto the wall. They were all beautiful photo's too, thank goodness for the digital camera, it has made us all budding  David Bailey's.            

Brampton Art Group joined us this year with an exhibition of their botanical art. They filled up what would have been very empty tables and what a wonderful display of their work. Many of our visitors showed great interest in this section and 5 paintings were sold. This experiment has proved successful and we hope to run it again next year. The Tombola did well and they had some very nice prizes. The plant stall was busy as always and we even sold a few gardening books that had been donated. Ron did very well with his raffle and everyone who came in seemed to have a cup of tea and a piece of  Isabel Jemmott's delicious sponges; in fact some of the men from the art group couldn't believe their eyes and had two or three pieces, so the catering staff were working full pelt all afternoon. 

We seemed to have taken much more money on the door this year, Whether it was our advertising in the local press or our banners outside or maybe as the Church had an event going on in the street we caught some of their audience. We certainly had far more casual viewers than in past years and the hall was quite crowded at times.

Alec Nunn and the Committee would like to thank all those members, friends and relations who helped set up the show on the Friday night and helped dismantle it in record time on Saturday evening.  Thanks also go to everyone who worked on a stall or sold tickets on Saturday and particular thanks to Dorothy and her girls in the kitchen who never stopped all afternoon. Jim Cleall did a grand job clearing tables, getting change and transferring toilet paper from the gents to the ladies. Thanks also to all the members who put an entry in, 37 in all. 

Results of the Advanced Entry Prize Draw

1st prize               1470  A George Forman Grill           Alison Flemington

2nd prize              0716  A Crystal Bowl                        Mrs. A. Stocks

3rd Prize              2777 Electric Carving Knife           Mrs. J. Richardson

4th Prize               0960  RHS Garden Book                 Mrs. M. Kenna

5th Prize               2175  A Garden Care Set                  Mrs. G. McElwaine

Results of the Raffle

1st Prize                349 Orange  RHS Book of Plants   Mrs. T. Lake

2nd Prize              691 Blue  Igthtam Mote Print          Mrs. J. Sprowles

3rd Prize              130 Green  Travel Bag                      Mrs. Keeling

4th Prize               631 Blue Tea Pot cup & Saucer       Mrs. L. Whelpdale

5th Prize               453 Orange  Radio                             Mrs. M. Downes

6th Prize              23 White Hip Flask                             Mrs. E. Cleall

Common Rose Pets -- Insects that dine on Rose foliage -- and their control.

Aphid Species  Green or pink aphids suck sap from foliage, shoot tips and buds. Control  Remove by hand, jets of water or spray with bifenthrin (Bug Clear, All in One Garden Pest Killer) or with systemic insecticide thiacloprid (Provado Ultimate Bug Killer Ready to Use.)

Large Rose Sawfly (Arge pagana) This pest has two generations in early and late summer. Eggs are laid in the soft stems and these hatch into caterpillar-like larvae that feed together and cause defoliation.Control  Difficult. Thiacloprid will give some control.

Leaf Cutting Bees (Megachile species)  Cause circular or elongated holes with smooth edges in the leaf margins-- the tissue is used in nest making by female bees. Other plants can be targeted.

Control Leaf cutter bees are pollinators so should be tolerated.

Leaf --Rolling Rose Sawfly  (Blenno--campa  phyllocolpa)  Females lay eggs in the leaves in April and June, making affected leaflets roll. The rolled leaves are eaten by small green larvae.

Control Difficult. No chemical control available to home gardeners.

Fuchsia Gall Mite   --a new pest in Britain

The Fuchsia gall mite (Aculops fuchsiae) is a microscopic creature but it has a profound effect on fuchsia plants. It was first discovered in Brazil as recently as the 1970s and it has since spread to other parts of the world, including California, France and the Channel Islands. The mite was found for the first time on the mainland of Britain in early September 2007 when samples of the infested fuchsia plants were sent to the Royal Horticultural Society's members' advisory service at Wisley Gardens, Surrey.The affected plants were previously healthy hardy fuchsias that had been growing in a private garden near Fareham, Hants for about 20 years. As damage on the infested plants is very distinctive, it is unlikely to have gone unnoticed for long, so it is likely that there are other infested plants in the Fareham area, from which the mite spread to the 20 year old plants.

The gall mites are about 0.25mm (less than 1/64in) long and too small to be seen without a microscope. They infest the new growth at the shoot tips where they feed by sucking sap. They also secrete chemicals into the plant that prevent the normal development of leaves and flowers. As the infection increases, the plant produces increasingly distorted foliage until it is no longer able to produce normal leaves or flower buds. This result in the shoot tips producing a mass of yellowish green distorted tissue instead of leaves or flower buds.

Fuchsia gall mite probably first arrived in Britain at some time in the last 12 months. It may have been introduced by the nursery trade on imported pot plants, or it could have been brought here on a cutting collected by someone who had been staying in the Channel Islands or the Brittany region of France, where the mite is now widespread. Being a tiny animal, the gall mite cannot travel far by its own means but while crawling around it might get blown by the wind to another plant. it could also hitch a ride on insects and other animals that alight on the infected fuchsias.  The mite has several generations between late spring and autumn and it takes about 21 days to complete its life cycle at a temperature of 18C (64F). It over winters under bud scales but may remain active during the winter on glasshouse fuchsias. The mite cannot survive temperatures below 5C (41F) and so cold winters may kill it on hardy garden fuchsias. However, cold winters are becoming a thing of the past in the south of England and in city centres, where sheltered conditions may allow the mite to survive winter out of doors.

Gardeners who suspect they have the mite should contact their local  DEFRA Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate Office, listed in the phone book as DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS. Samples of suspected infested plants can be sent in a sealed polythene bag to PHSI Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York, YO4 1LZ with details of where the plants are growing. PHSI inspectors are currently assessing the extent of the infection in the Fareham area. If the pests are not too widespread, it may be possible to eradicate it. However, if it is already present in many gardens, then it is likely that fuchsia gall mite is here to stay.  Amateur gardeners have limited options for dealing with this pest. Gall mites in general are relatively tolerant of pesticides and most of those in home garden products will be ineffective . Bifenthrin, which is sold as Scotts Bug Clear, Bayer Sprayday Greenfly Killer Plus or Doff All in One Garden Pest Killer may give some control if applied when symptoms start to appear. Cutting off infested shoot tips will remove many mites but regrowth is likely to become infested.
In California, it has been noted that some fuchsia species and cultivars appear to be resistant to this pest. Susceptible species are fuchsia arborescens, F magellanica and F procumbens. Many commonly grown cultivars are likely to be susceptible; those affected in the garden near Fareham were "Mrs. Popple" and "Margaret Brown" Species and cultivars noted as being resistant, and which are listed in RHS Plantfinder as being available from one or more UK nurseries, are "Baby Chang" "Cinnabarina" "Mendocino Mini" "Miniature Jewels" and "Space Shuttle".

Information taken from RHS Affiliated Societies Newsletter 2008.

Note from Chairman Alec Nunn

To each and everyone.     On behalf of the membership I would like to convey our most sincere thanks to all our Rose Society Committee members for all their hard work in making the June Rose Show a success. Despite much wet weather prior to the show, there were sufficient rose exhibits to test the judges. Well done all exhibitors. In addition our thanks to the Brampton Art Group whose work on show was much admired and complimented on. Many visitors on leaving after going round the show were lavish in their praise on all they had seen.

Due to a technical hitch prize money was not ready for presentation by the end of the show. However at the next monthly meeting on July 1st we will present the prize money to the winners in attendance. Look forward to meeting you in the not too distant future.

Alec Nunn Chairman.

Joke of the Month

Caller to Directory Enquiries: "I'd like the number of the Argoed Fish Bar in Cardiff."

Operator: I'm sorry, there's no listing. Is the spelling correct?"

Caller: "Well it used to be called the Bargoed Fish Bar but the "B" fell off".

Another Miracle.

A priest was speeding down a motoway when he was stopped by the police. The officer smelled alcohol on his breath, and then saw the empty wine bottle on the floor of the car.  "Sir", he demanded, "Have you been drinking?"  "Just water," says the priest.  "Then why," said the officer, "do I smell wine?"

The priest thought rapidly. "Good Lord!" he cried. "He's done it again!"

Green milkbottle tops wanted.

If you use semi skimmed milk from supermarkets would you save the green tops and give them to

Jill Palmer or Janet Newton. A disabled gentleman has been told if he can save his weight in green tops he will be given a wheelchair for free.  Lets hope he is on the slim side!!