You've got some kind of fungal disease that might be associated with your mulch. Melons don't really need to be mulched.. They look pretty sickly, so I'd spray with a good fungicide ASAP and hope for the best.

What zone are you in? If you are reaching forties already (like we have in 5a,)you probably have a freezing winter. You should wait until Spring comes before doing any major pruning back. It is a good thing when rose canes survive winter! :o) In Spring you will want to prune or remove broken, diseased or damaged canes. For winter protection, the big thing will be protecting the graft union of any grafted roses you have. A nice, big shovelful of mulch over the crown should be suficient if your graft unions are buried. I have some baby roses that are still very small. The potted ones will go in my unheated garage with bags of leaves for insulation. The outdoor ones will get similiar protection, just because they are so small. The Big Boys will sink or swim on their own merit, in my yard.

Hi Brute! I have two 35-40 foot lychees with thousands of buds. Sounds good, right? Every year I am full of hope when I see all the little fruits. However, the squirrels live in them and slowly but surely eat every last fruit (yes, thousands), over the months they take to ripen. In the five years we've lived here, we've been able to harvest no more than maybe a couple dozen a year- on a good year. That's the sad truth- at least in my yard. Grrrrr.... Anna

Tiny green bug eating my mango houseplant leaves? I saw some of my young mango houseplants leaves' with some sharp markings like they have been eaten. sometimes i see under a leaf a tiny green bug that somehow looks like a tiny skinny grasshopper and is fast moving. I do not think it is an aphid as it usually one per plant and is skinny. A mango looks strong with big lush leaves for 6 weeks but a couple of leaves are damaged and some of the new leaf look to abort. wonder if that green bug is the cause. and what i can do... I live in Brooklyn NY stefano