Tuesday, November 10, 6:30 pm Sullivan Munce / Zionsville
IRS MEMBERS AND THEIR GUESTS are invited to a casual evening to end our year with good food and rose friends. (Dinner will be catered by Olive Garden.)
We will install our 2026 board and chat about protecting our roses in the winter. Bring your tips and your questions about winter rose care.
RSVP isn’t necessary but it sure is helpful in planning. If you are coming please let us know by sending a quick email HERE. Thank you!
OCTOBER MEETING
In October we welcomed Anita Clevenger from California for a program on OLD GARDEN ROSES: Beautiful Survivors for Modern Gardens. It was fascinating to hear the stories behind these beauties. These historical wonders are Anita’s passion and her talk was so informative and inspiring! IRS member, Dr. Malcolm Manners, has many of these roses growing in his garden and brought blooms to share! We were all pleasantly surprised that many of the old roses do rebloom.
Anita is a member of the Heritage Rose Foundation and she shared the amazing work they do. For more information about the Heritage Rose Foundation read on HERE. They have a fantastic newsletter so check that out too. Anita is the editor!
SHOW AND TELL
The room was filled with yummy food and wonderful rose friends! Several members brought roses from their garden for show and tell. That was tons of fun. So many different varieties! It was fun and helpful to learn about each variety and how they perform in our growing conditions! The warm September and October weather has our roses blooming more than usual and we are loving it.
Photos from the evening. Click on the thumbnails to expand the gallery…
We look forward to seeing you in November!
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” — Albert Camus
LOCATION: Garden of John and Donna Hefner! Open to all members and their guests. Directions will be provided in member email blast.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP
Bud Grafting is a plant propagation technique in which a bud from one rose is inserted into the stem of another plant using the T-bud method. For this process, we use multiflora rootstock and a healthy, young stem that has mature leaves and has recently finished flowering (a stem from a bloom that has recently faded).
🌹John Hefner and Mark Nolan will provide instructions for everyone on the specific technique of grafting.
🌹IRS will provide rootstock, grafting tape, tools and roses to graph.
🌹 If you plan to bring a rose cutting from home for grafting, please ensure the parent plant is watered thoroughly for at least two days before taking the cutting. This helps keep the stem well hydrated for grafting.
🌹 If you are bringing your own budding tools, make sure they are sterilized with alcohol.
SAYING NO TO BLACK SPOT… My Favorite Roses for Humid Conditions
Kimberley Dean, The Rose Geek
Without a doubt, Black Spot is one of the most frustrating challenges for rose growers, especially in warm, humid climates and Indiana is no exception! Join us VIA ZOOM from the comfort of your home on your laptop, mobile phone or tablet.
Kimberley grows more than 1600 roses without the use of chemicals in her garden, ROSE POINT, located on the Potomac River in hot, humid Zone 8a. Her extraordinary garden showcases disease-resistant rose varieties, companion plantings, great design elements and sustainable gardening practices. Rose Point also serves as a test site for new rose varieties.
Whether you’re a seasoned rosarian or just beginning your rose-growing journey, you don’t want to miss this inspirational and practical presentation.
Everyone is welcome. Please invite others to join you and share this event information on your social networks. (See social media ad image below.)
Here is the ad for this event… please share on your social sites!
Mark your calendar and make plans to join us via ZOOM. 📱💻
JULY MEETING…
In July our meeting was all about Blooms and Barbecue! This is an event that may become an annual favorite!
YOUR GARDEN…
While being careful of the heat wave, we hope you are having fun in your garden. We’d love to know what roses are emerging as your favorites so far this season. Tell us all about your favs and why you like them.
Editor Note: I am in love with Eustacia Vye. She is the perfect size David Austin for the front of the border. What a fantastic rebloomer she has proven to be! And the fragrance! Outstanding!
The weather is on the right track, and the gardens are getting ready for that first flush of bloom! There are many rosy events coming up, and we have an impressive list of fun activities for the summer. Make sure to mark your calendar so you don’t miss out on any of the fun.
JUNE GARDEN TOURS
JUNE 2 & 6
Woodson Library Heirloom Roses Talk & Tour Gary, IN Public Library Sponsored by Miller Garden Club Find additional information HERE.
SAT, JUNE 6 / 9:00 – 11:00 AM
Tea in the Rose Garden Hamilton County Master Gardeners Association The Hamilton County 4-H Fairgrounds, Rose Garden 2003 Pleasant Street, Noblesville, IN
You’re invited to enjoy tea and lemonade, accompanied by your choice of either scones or cookies, as you take a stroll through our beautiful rose garden, which features over a hundred stunning roses.
SAT, JUNE 6 / 10 AM – 3 PM Eagleson Meadows Garden Walk and Market Elizabeth and Bill Eagleson
Join us for our 4th annual garden walk and market! Admission is free, and there’s ample parking available. We recommend bringing along a wagon for convenience; just a heads-up that some vendors only accept cash. Additional details here.
SAT, JUNE 6 / 4 – 7 PM Jane Fleck’s Garden Tour
Rose Society Members and close friends only. (Address will be provided to those attending closer to event time.)
Having lived in Europe for many years, Jane has been deeply inspired by the beauty of French and English gardens.
From Jane… Our garden is a blend using formal French structured lines and the more whimsical, informal English cottage influence. Scattered throughout are roughly 50 rose bushes, peonies, lavender, hydrangeas and topiaries. Our grandchildren enjoy the fairy garden and sandbox in the newly defined Woodland Garden. The potager or vegetable garden, brings forth multiple berries, onions, potatoes, asparagus, rhubarb, etc. We anticipate grapes this year and look forward to enjoying fruit when the espaliered fruit trees are old enough.
JUNE MEETING
TUES, JUNE 9 / 6:30 PM EST Sullivan Munce Cultural Center 225 W Hawthorne St, Zionsville, IN
FLOWER ARRANGING WORKSHOP DESIGNER: Mitch Reed
We are making table arrangements for a nursing home with oasis material. Our plan is to have each attendee make an arrangement to donate and an arrangement to keep. Please share this information with others you think would enjoy!
WHAT TO BRING:
Snips
Greenery with thin, strong stems.
Flowers
NOTE: Society will provide…
Oasis material
Containers
Floral wire
🌹 Suggested donation to offset supplies is $10 per person.
In celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, the Sullivan Munce Cultural Center is proud to present a special and expanded Gardens of Zionsville Tour, a two-day celebration of horticulture, art, history, and community.
Join us as Claude Graves who heads the ARS “Save the Rambers Initiative” shows photographs of the Ramblers in bloom at the American Rose Center in Shreveport, LA.
Join us as Ping Lim Director of Ornamental Plant Research, Altman Plants, Whose lifelong mission is to create stunning roses that can be grown by anyone, anywhere, without harmful chemicals.
The intent behind True Bloom Roses is to combine the best traits of hybrid tea roses with disease-resistant shrub roses. The roses are bred to thrive in all climates for easy care and excellent disease resistance while maintaining the beauty of a traditional rose flower — bigger, continuously blooming flowers featuring multiple layers of petals and fragrance with the healthy, vigorous, compact growth habit of a plant that grows on its own roots. Ping will discuss his journey Making History of Roses.
Our team so enjoyed participating in the area spring garden events! We had the opportunity to meet so many wonderful gardeners, answer questions and sell beautiful roses.
🌹 If you have questions about roses we’d love to help. Contact us HERE.
🌹 If you are considering joining our society, it is easy to do so. Check out the information HERE.
The Indianapolis Rose Sale for 2026 is open and ready to take orders. We have a wonderful diverse selection this year that includes hard to find classics, older David Austins, local favorites, some new introductions, and many award winners. Several were highlighted in our January fragrance presentation (Zoom) by Carolyn Elgar. (The recording of Carolyn’s fabulous program on Fragrance in Roses is now on our Members Only page.)
We have something for everyone from the wonderful, hardy and diverse varieties from Proven Winners, including their vigorous climbing 2026 Rose of the Year, Rise Up Lilac Days, to Will Radler’s new Enchanted Meadow, blooming with a touch of lime in its blooms and a lovely lime fragrance, to the brand new Martha Stewart hybrid tea rose launched as Rogers Gardens’ Rose of the year for 2025.
Last year we quickly sold out of our climbing roses so we have a strong list for you this year!
Grab a warm beverage and take a wander through the list on these wintry days and imagine a few in your garden this summer. You will be happy you did. As always reach out with any questions and email your favorites to reserve for our April pickup. I look forward to seeing what you love.
Kim Chmielewski / IRS ROSE SALE CHAIR (Contact HERE)
PROGRAM: ALL ABOUT ROSE HIPS SPEAKERS: John and Donna Hefner
John and Donna will share about rose hips, their purpose, and interesting little known uses. John and Donna will also discuss how roses are hybridized.
BOOK AND PLANT SWAP
BOOKS: Have some extra books or gardening magazines laying around. Bring them and get them back into circulation. And, you’ll have a chance to maybe pick up something that will be just right for you!
PLANTS… Have you heard the term Pass Along Plants? If you are from the South, the chances are great that this is a very familiar term to you!
If you are looking for something new or have an over-achiever that is taking up too much space … this is the event for you.
Bring your plants to “pass along” to another garden! Please label and have in a container. NOTE: Your container could be something as simple as a grocery bag as long as it can be transported safely.
If this is new to you and you are wondering what plants you could bring, here are a few ideas of plants that “pass along’ well: Salvia, Iris, Hostas, Daylilies, Catmint, Phlox, Sedum, groundcovers and so many more.
NOTE: You do not have to bring a book or a plant to take some home!
GRAB A FRIEND Our meetings are open to the public, so grab a friend and join us.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Take a look at upcoming events for our society… HERE.
JOIN OR RENEW TODAY!
Membership in the Indianapolis Rose Society is open to anyone interested in roses.
We have members who are just starting to learn about roses and members who grow from one rose to those who grow 400 roses and are excellent at mentoring.
⭐️ Once you are a member… you will receive regular updates that include…
🌹Society news
🌹Upcoming programs
🌹Invitations to private garden tours
🌹Access to past recorded programs via our “Members Only” Section
🌹How to purchase our fertilizer
🌹Discounts on roses through our annual rose sale
🌹Automatic inclusion in the IL IN Rose District events
🌹And, you will learn ways you can jump in and get involved!
LOOKING FOR TIPS ON GROWING ROSES IN INDIANA? Check out article by our members, HERE.
HERE ARE SOME IMAGES FROM SUMMER EVENTS…
IRS 8/12/2025IRS 8/12/2025
DID YOU KNOW?
Last year our society turned 75!
In 2024, the Indianapolis Rose Society celebrated its seventy-fifth year of providing rose educational meetings, garden tours and rose shows to its membership and citizens residing in central Indiana.
At a celebration hosted by Jim and Trudy Struck, several of our past presidents were able to attend.
Whether you are a long time member or brand new, we look forward to seeing you on Tues, Oct 14 / 6:30 pm when we’ll talk about the fascinating subject of Rose Hips! Dont’ miss it!
“In the garden, Autumn is, indeed the crowning glory of the year, bringing us the fruition of months of thought and care and toil.” -Rose G. Kingsley
