Rose Fever - More Addicting Than Scarlet Fever. The Benefits of Rainwater

Chrysler Imperial was developed by
Dr. Walter Lammerts, Creationist.

"This timeless classic is a perfect example of what a hybrid tea should be - high centered, velvety, strongly scented and with a great repeat. The large, shapely, dark red blooms are held on long stems clothed with dark matte-green leaves. While happiest in hot temperatures, it doesn't disappoint wherever it calls home. A proven performer with fragrance to die for. 1953" Edmunds Roses

Wikipedia:

This variety was bred and publicly debuted by Dr. Walter E. Lammerts of Descanso Gardens, La Cañada Flintridge, California, USA in 1952. Its stock parents 'Charlotte Armstrong' (cerise pink) and 'Mirandy' (dark oxblood red) are both 'All American Rose Selections'-roses (awarded in 1940 and 1945).

The elegantly tapered buds open into high-centered blossoms with a diameter of about 11 – 13 cm (5 inches) and can have up to 45-50 petals (which is a high number for a hybrid tea rose) with a rich, deep, velvety red color. The cultivar flushes in a chronological blooming pattern throughout its local season, starting in late spring until fall. The long-stemmed rose flowers are long lasting and showy and make excellent cut flowers.

The rose bush reaches 75 to 200 cm (30 to 72 inches) height, and a diameter of 60 to 120 cm (24 to 48 inches). The shrub has an upright form with very thorny canes and semi-glossy dark green foliage. It is not a cold hardy rose (USDA zone 6b through 9b) and needs good sun exposure. Without good air circulation it is susceptible to mildew and blackspot, particularly in cool climates.^[1][2]

Dave's Garden:

Shade-tolerant

Resistant to black spot

Resistant to mildew

Avoid chemical sprays

Stems are very thorny

Scarlet Fever is the nickname for clergy who are always running for bishop, District President, or Synod President. One ALC Lutheran moved to another district so he could be elected bishop - and he was, so pompous he seemed to come from a Hollywood satire movie.

Rose Fever is that healthy disorder that drives people to raise roses. I was enjoying the benefits today. I had eight transplants and two new roses that needed some attention, plus some pruning work to be done.

One fallacy is the idea of stirring stuff into the soil when the earthworm does that for us - with the help of many other creatures. I put mushroom compost or cow compost on top of the soil, around the new roses, so the creatures can pull it down and mix it with clay, the most productive soil of all. For several roses I also added newspapers on the bare soil and compost, plus shredded wood on top.

When all the new roses are done - some are arriving - they will all have Jackson Mulch - newspapers plus shredded wood. The tomato garden will have cardboard plus shredded wood.

We have had drying winds, which are deterred by Jackson Mulch and the added layer of autumn leaves. But I wanted to make sure the bushes were well watered and bathed. The main roses were watered and showered first. 

In the backyard I poured rainwater from the barrel on each rose bush. The task was pleasant, dipping out the water and pouring it on each bush.

Absence of Salt and Chemicals

The municipal water supply is treated with chemicals such as chlorine and fluoride in an attempt to control bacterial contamination. These chemicals are harmful to plants. Homeowners who have water softener systems are adding additional salts to their irrigation water. Rainwater is free of these chemicals.

Adding Nitrogen

Rainwater that falls during thunderstorms provides additional nitrogen to the soil, which helps high-nitrogen-consuming plants such as corn grow more rapidly. When lightning discharges during a storm, it converts nitrogen in the atmosphere into a form that is usable by plants.

Click here for -->The Magical Properties of Rainwater

Absent Stored Rainwater:

Water stored in a barrel will give up chlorine gas and other elements, make the water much friendlier to the plants. I would give stored tapwater several days to age before using it.

Queen Elizabeth, by Lammerts

Tomorrow, favorite plants will also get rainwater (backyard). Ultimately I will collect rainwater and keep it where it is closest to plants, backyard and front. And yes, I will dump out the rainwater before the mosquitoes turn it into a breeding ground.


Pruning Is No Chore
I enjoy pruning because it gives me the chance to look at each plant and search for dead wood and broken branches. Some get a little frost-bitten at this time of year. Water and nutrients do not pass through diseased and dead wood, so pruning cures that and wakes up the plant to grow more.

Cutting roses for neighbors, friends, and doctors is enjoyable, because everyone loves to have them. They also enjoy the fragrant varieties, which fill the home or office with perfume:

• Mr. Lincoln
• Double Delight
• Chrysler Imperial
• Falling in Love
• Veterans Honor

Ways To Prune
Cutting flowers is good for the roses, because the bush wants to set seed and become dormant. Creating bouquets keeps the plants healthy.

1. Pruning shapes the roses so that crowded canes are trimmed out.
2. Fading flowers do not beautify the plant, so pruning them brings on new growth.
3. KnockOut roses need to be pruned severely several times a season to take advantage of their abundant blooms and healthy growth.

Veterans Honor.

The Plan and Budget for Thy Strong Word

Thy Strong Word is being proof-read for the change to Amazon-Kindle-Create Space.

The final version will have fewer typos, more clarity, and a much better price, paperback only.

Here is the budget. Anyone who contributes will get free books.

Research and materials for our stealthy UOJ researcher - $150.
Proofing the English-only edition                                    -   $400.
Ten free books for various editors, reviewers.                  -  $100

TOTAL                                                                                  $650

Information about PayPal is here.

Approximate schedule - one month away.

Next Lulu book to move - Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant

Creation Gardening is being finished as a new book for Amazon-Kindle-Create Space. The approximate schedule is the end of summer, to allow for photographs from the Jackson Rose Farm.

After that - The Lost Dutchman's Goldmine: Luther and the Word. The initial plan is to make this a low-cost booklet, like Making Disciples, but who knows. It may be larger or just spawn more booklets like Making Disciples. Shorter projects are easier to manage.

Pruning and John 15 - From Creation Gardening

Pruning and John 15

          One of the best known passages in the Gospels is also a lesson about pruning roses. When we understand pruning, John 15 is more vivid. The believer will find it impossible to separate Creation from this simple act that improves, protects, and renews roses and similar plants.

John 15 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

This beautiful I AM sermon reminds us that the Son of God spoke as the Angel of the Lord addressing Moses from the Burning Bush (Exodus 3). The attributes of the Savior are taught in the I AM sermons. Like many other passages in the New Testament, Jesus teaches about Creation as the Creating Word.

2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Grapes are like roses. They need the old growth to be cut away, to spur growth and fruiting. Once the branch has produced fruit, it must be cut to keep the plant in production. Otherwise, the plant senses its work done and stops producing. Taking away and purging are two words used for the same one in the original text – cleansing.

3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.

The use of “clean” makes more sense when we realize the word for pruning used above is “cleanse.” We are cleansed by the Gospel, through repentance and forgiveness, to become more fruitful.

4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.

The relationship we have with the Savior is two-fold. We abide in Him through the Means of Grace, the Word and Sacraments, and He abides in us the same way. We cannot be productive for the Kingdom unless we remain attached to the True Vine through the invisible Word of preaching and teaching, the Visible Word of the Sacraments. Grapes do not grow apart from a vine. Roses do not grow when separated from the rose bush.

5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

This verse repeats and emphasizes the concept that the Christian Church consists of the branches growing from – and never apart from – the True Vine. Those who abide in the Savior through worship, study, prayer, and the Sacraments are especially productive. Without those basics of the Faith, nothing can be done that is worthwhile.

6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.

When someone no longer abides in Christ, his lot is no different from the unproductive branch. This is brief look at Final Judgment, warning people against the effects of abandoning the Gospel, as so many have, especially in the leadership and teaching positions of the established denominations.

7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

In contrast, remaining with the True Vine, through the Means of Grace, guarantees that our prayers will be answered. By being productive as believers we glorify the Father and the Son and remain true disciples, students of the Gospel.

Thus Pruning Roses

          Nothing makes the new rose gardener more squeamish than pruning roses, but that is what the plants want and need. A relative had two old roses bushes that no longer flowered. I said, “These need extensive pruning. John 15. Cut the dead wood and cut the roses once they have bloomed.”

She resisted, so I suggested a long shopping trip with my wife Chris. When they came back, both bushes were severely and properly pruned. She cried. I said, “Give them two weeks and water them generously. Mulch them with grass clippings to.” We received a phone call two weeks later. She was bawling again. “Those rose bushes are completely filled with blooms.” I have told many people what I repeated to her, “Keep following John 15. Cut away all dead wood. Cut off the roses that are spent. Cut diseased, damaged, or crossing branches. Water and mulch.”

I take long walks with our dog Sassy, and the one thing I see most is the unpruned rose or crepe myrtle bush. If gardeners pick peas, or beans, or tomatoes, they know the plant will flower, offer up pollen to bees, and produce again. The beans or peas left on the vines will become mature seeds. The pods will dry up, and the vines will go into retirement. And yet, people fail to see the same thing happening on roses, which grow flowers to have them fertilized and produce hips, or seed pods. At the end of the season we want roses to go dormant for the winter. During the growing season we want them pruned all the time to produce even more growth on top and root extensions below.