September in the Master Gardeners' Rose Cycle chart (https://napamg.ucanr.edu/files/254549.pdf) has us continuing deadheading and cleaning out any suckers that grow up from the root ball. They generally do not produce any blooms, but they deplete precious nutrients and water from the established bush. The fresh mulch you added last June will be paying back its cost right now.

We had a tremendous amount of heat in July and August.  Many of our bushes suffered greatly from heat stress. Leaves turned brown, looked wilted and/or just fell off to preserve the moisture in the bush. Extra watering or, better yet, more frequent watering to keep the root ball moist is like CPR.

Leaves will also turn yellow from the heat or be susceptible to black spots.  Pick those off the branches and off the surrounding ground to reduce the fungus from spreading. Remember to sterilize your pruners after each bush to reduce the spread of the black spots. Note: We are not totally past severely hot days this summer; protect your roses.  Even putting a cover/shade or umbrella over them during the hottest part of the day will save them from the worst part of the heat.

You may also see aphids now. For the majority of cases, just using a high pressure hose spray will wash off those soft bodied pests. Do it every couple of days until the problem is reduced greatly or cleared. Also, make sure your irrigation systems is working correctly so that your plants receive proper moisture.

                                                 Rose of the Month:   Angel Face

Rosa 'Angel Face' is a floribunda rose. It has a wonderful mauve color that is from it's 'Lavender Pinocchio' x 'Sterling Silver' parents. It has been around for about 70 years. It produces clusters of 3-4” blossoms with a sweet and lemony fragrance. The established bush will have almost continuous displays of blossoms through most of the growing year. This rose has been a prize winner but it starts out slowly, so you may have to wait a year or more for the fully vigorous displays. It is located in two places, one near the NW fence as well as half way up the the north pathway of the garden.

Remember when pruning: Toss plant debris into your city compost bin and not your own compost pile. The Napa City compost center produces higher temperatures to destroy the spores while your backyard pile will not do so. When it comes time to add mulch, consider getting it from the Napa recycling center.

 If you have questions about the Fuller Park Rose Garden and the Master Gardeners (MGs) who maintain the rose garden, we are usually in the garden the first Sunday and third Thursday of each month between 10:00 and 12:00, weather permitting.

You can also go to our Master Gardner website: napamg.ucanr.edu for more details. 

Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143.  Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.