Meeting at 8 a.m. in the E.M. Mills Memorial Rose Garden, the Syracuse Rose Society took only a few minutes to socialize before diving into the hundreds of flower beds scattered around the garden.

The Syracuse Rose Society volunteers meet Wednesday mornings, April to November. At one of the last meetings of the season, small teams recently tied up rose bushes to prepare the grounds for winter. When they spotted a weed, they ripped up a handful from the earth.

Pam Dooling, president of the rose society, held up the roots of a rose bush to show her counterparts what she had found.

“Right there is crown gall,” she said, pointing to a fungus which had wrapped itself around the base of the plant. “Whenever we find one of these, we have to sterilize all of our tools and everything, because it spreads.”

Dooling, a consulting rosarian, is able to distinguish climbers from shrubs, hybrid teas from Knockouts and grandifloras from floribundas — she knows nearly everything there is to know about the more than 300 types of roses in the garden.

Her role as president is multifaceted, though, and requires more than just an expansive knowledge of flowers.

“Just like any other group,” she said, “the president is the one that has to take care of the problems and successes.”

On problem days, it’s the spread of bindweed and crown gall and the organization’s finances.

Last week, when a struggling gardener reached out looking for assistance with their personal garden, Dooling hit the road. She drove to Oswego to examine the garden herself. There, she determined the gardener had planted his roses too deeply in the soil, and helped him correct the issue.

The Syracuse Rose Society is preparing some of plants for winter, but many of the rose bushes were originally planted in Canada and would survive the Syracuse winter without much special care. Molly Gibbs | Photo Editor

Before she left, Dooling recruited the man to become a member of the rose society. It was a successful endeavor.

When Dooling became president of the organization, her goal was to increase membership by 20 percent. Starting with 160 members, the organization today hosts nearly 200 active members. Despite the number not being as close to the society’s peak of 300 members, it’s good enough for Dooling.

“It ain’t bad,” she said.

But new memberships aren’t everything to the rose society. Many current members have been involved for more than a decade and provide the type of expertise necessary to maintain such an expansive rose garden.

Jim Wagner, an 18-year member and consulting rosarian, is responsible for more than half of the articles published on the society’s website. He’s an expert on seasonal care, and like Dooling, keeps track of exactly what’s happening in the garden and how to prepare the garden for the future.

Looking at mostly bloomless rose bushes, Wagner explained that a midge infestation had caused major damage to the garden this autumn. The small, fly-like insects had lain eggs all over the bushes, effectively killing the flowers. During this time of year, he said, the garden is usually full of blooming roses. The midges prevented that from happening, but the winterization process will roll on.

In mid-September, the rose society began plucking the petals from the bushes. This process, which Wagner calls “pulling petals,” prevents the plants from growing any more flowers this year. He said it signals to the roses that winter is coming and is soon followed with the bushes being tied up and covered in burlap — but not every breed requires this level of care and keeping.

Many bushes in the rose garden were originally planted and wintered-over in Canada, Dooling said. Because they survived the Canadian winter, they’re capable of surviving the Syracuse winter, she added.

As the years go by and many members approach their 70s and 80s, they continue their hard work. Even though it has become harder or even impossible, for some members to dig through flower beds and lug bags of soil around, the society shows up every Wednesday without fail.

Miranda Hine, a board member on the Thornden Park Association, said the members’ dedication has helped create the park’s main attraction, giving a reason for locals to explore the grounds.

“The same group of people have maintained it for a hundred years,” she said. “They are the reason we have a rose garden.”

Published on October 29, 2018 at 2:01 am