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Something is wrong with my roses -- need advice

13 years ago

Hi Everyone,

I'm in Los Angeles and my roses are just blooming. I've been growing these roses for years and I've never seen such malformed buds this early in the season. The petals are all mottled with dark brown spots and the whole bloom looks badly misshapen and kind of deformed. The first blooms are always so healthy and gorgeous, but not this year. Even my Sheila's Perfume, which is usually bullet proof in terms of disease and insect infestation, is succumbing. It seems to be affecting the hybrid teas and florabundas. 8 bushes are showing these signs. OGRs seem OK.

I'm wondering if it's the weather -- we've had A LOT of heavy rain the past few weeks. Maybe that is causing it? Or is it thrips or something else? Usually I get what I assume are thrips in just a few of my lighter colored roses, but it's generally much later in the season. I don't spray at all and would really rather not start now, but I am so disheartened by the damage, that I would consider it. I mean, why go to the trouble of growing roses if you can't enjoy the blooms? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have pictures, but don't know how to post them to this site.

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Comments (5)

hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
13 years ago
Same thing here...it's the March rain. More rain just as buds were developing and new foliage appearing. Bad timing for the roses, but we do need rain.

Probably the first flush will have some damage, but the second flush will be more impressive because of all the rain. It's part of gardening, we must grin and bear it and remember drought and watering restrictions would be worse!
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zack_lau z6 CT ARS Consulting Rosarian
13 years ago
Sounds like rain damage--serious New England rose exhibitors will cover their roses with bloom protectors two or three weeks before the show to protect the buds from rain. Works great on roses that burn, like Dublin. Not so hot on roses like Gemini, which need sun on the blooms to achieve proper color.
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Roses don't grow well indoors, as mike_rivers said. These roses are intended to be more like a cut flower--they bloom and then you throw them out. Now, that's not what we usually do with them, but that's the idea behind plants like this. They are green house grown very quckly to a small uniform size, fed heavily to make them bloom, and then sold at the supermarket or big box store as gifts. It's not that you are doing anything wrong, its that they have had absolutely perfect controlled temperature, humidity, lighting, water, fertilizer, and pesticides to make them look perfect. Now they are in the real world and they are having to deal with it for the first time in their little lives. You can plant them in a pot outdoors (there are often 4-6 individual plants in the single container) or in the ground. They won't survive indoors. They may or may not be good in the garden--some are very good, others are terrible.
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Those combo Bayer products aren't very efficient. You'd do better with a "real" fertilizer, and something else for fungal disease. OTOH, I believe that the best way to avoid fungal problems with roses is to plant roses that are not much troubled by fungal disease where you grow them. Gardening knowledge is really, really, local. I know there are folks in your area on the Antiques rose forum -- I bet there are some here, as well. They could give you the most accurate advice. Like Michael, I can't see enough of the symptoms to diagnose the disease. Blackspot is uncommon in my area -- but those speckles look awfully small for that. If you have access to a flatbed scanner, put a leaf in the scanner, and scan it, and we can get a really good look at it.
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Thats what I've got. Everything looks fine through the summer and fall and into the winter, and then it seems to start when the plants are greening up in the spring. Big black blots on the stems, with everything dead above it. I've gone out in early May and spent a couple of days pruning out the dead stuff, leaving what looks good. Dip the pruners in alcohol and generally pretend I know what I'm doing re disease control with roses. Three weeks later, I have to go back and do it again, and then I've got some huge rose bush with one stalk or something coming up, so I whack that off to even the plant out. Anywho, even the 8 or so I thought were complete toast this year, and I cut everything off, are now showing decent new growth. But the days of 5 foot high monster roses that go from one year to the next are over. Linda Campbell seems more resistant than most. As does the climber, Zephren droghen (sp)
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Gorgeous pictures everyone and you've gotten great advice from people closer to your zone. Just a heads-up that you want to be a bit careful where you buy your Reine des Violettes, since there are two versions of the rose circulating other that name. I started with "Not Reine des Violettes", which is both thorny and a once-bloomer - so Ingrid gets the satisfaction of being right even in her temporary "error". The color is lovely and it climbs, and it has the peppery foliage smell, but no rebloom ever on mine. I have now ordered the real RdV from Burlington, who I trust to know that she has the real one, and it's thornless and should be a repeat bloomer. I'm sure other people would have the real one, but do ask if repeat bloom matters to you. Cynthia
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petaloid
13 years ago
I live in your area and feel your pain. The bad weather has brought lots of spots on the leaves, botrytis fungus messing up the buds, short stems and blind shoots.

It looks like the worst is over, and we have hopes that the second flush of blooms will be better.
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danyoni
Original Author
13 years ago
Thank you everyone! I guess it hasn't rained so much this late in the season since I've been growing my roses. I feel much better -- would rather have it be due to rain than insects. Now that I know what it is, I will just wait for the next flush, as you say. And there are still plenty of buds that have yet to open, so there's hope for this round yet!
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cla226_aol_com
13 years ago
My roses are gorgeous this year, but the ends of the petals curl. What causes this> Please help in Florida,,.
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