GREEN THUMB GIVES CHURCH ROSES T.L.C.

Edna Rogers talks about the roses at First Presbyterian Church like many people discuss their children.

It's no wonder she feels such affinity for the plants -- Rogers spends more time with them than many people do their closest friends. At least once every seven to 10 days, she picks up her spray bottle to carefully squirt fungicide one bed at a time.

There also is the pruning, fertilizing and weeding, and at least three other people help out with that. But Rogers is the person morning motorists along Broadway and Spanish streets associate with the beautiful red and white bushes.

Twelve years ago, when she moved here from St. Louis and joined the church, the corner lot was filled with brick buildings. When the church bought the lot, it razed the buildings. A committee decided to turn the land into a garden.

"I wasn't on that committee, so I don't know why they picked roses, but I'm sure glad they did," Rogers said. "They take more work than anything else we have in there, though."

Carol Miller, chairwoman of the church's property committee, said the roses were chosen to go with the Vision 2000 "City of Roses" theme.

Church members planted the bushes in the spring of 1991, and Rogers and another woman were picked for the fungicide crew. Rogers finally persuaded her companion, who lived far away, to let her do the job alone because she lived nearby.

Rogers won't say how old she is, but she admitted to attending the State Teachers College with Rush Limbaugh Jr., Dr. Fred Rawlins and John Blue, which would make her 80-ish.

Beginning at about 8 a.m., she gets out in her thick blue jeans to protect her from the thorns, a long-sleeved shirt to prevent sunburn, and rubbers to protect her shoes from the dew. Rogers carries the spray in a bright yellow unit.

"A lot of people come by and tell me how nice it is of me to spray for the city," she said, "but I'm not spraying for the city. They just think that because the courthouse is up the hill."

A natural green thumb, it seems Rogers knows everything about tending the Presbyterian roses and has tips for the novice gardener.

First, roses must be planted in the right kind of soil. The lot next to the church had a lot of clay, so workers added peat moss before planting to make it suitable.

Roses must be fertilized at regular intervals and watered frequently in the daytime -- "Don't put 'em to bed wet," Rogers advised.

Every seven to 10 days they should be sprayed with fungicide, and rose owners should switch brands every so often because some diseases get accustomed to the poison.

Finally, roses must be pruned every fall and spring. Rogers sees herself doing the spraying and pruning for years to come.

"The spraying has to be done on a definite schedule," she said. "I don't think it would work to pass that job around."