I'm no expert but I think you might be dealing with two separate problems, the spots look like blackspot to me and as far as I know that won't make the buds droop. There have been several other posts recently about some bugs that cause bud drooping, I found several droopy buds on some of my roses and pinched them all off - I even saw the offending bug the other day with it's long nose (probuscus?) and was too chicken to squish it with my fingers.

If you just planted it it is normal for the buds and leaves to droop. It is shock. As for the purple spots.....that is a type of fungus, I would bet money. Anthracnose. Not deadly but needs to be treated.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fungal Diseases

Take it back for a healthier one. They guarantee their plants.

Looks like a combo of Anthracnose with rust. Check the back of the leaves for bright orange pustules.

We've had an unusually wet spring, so disease has got to be expected. You can keep it well-watered, let it defoliate, and it will bounce back and grow new foliage as soon as the weather warms up and dries out. A thick organic mulch on the soil around the plant (but kept a few inches away from the base of the plant) helps to preserve moisture and keep the root system cooler. As mulch breaks down, it also enriches the soil.

And yes garden centers will certainly sell you a diseased rose. Caveat emptor.

Just be aware, in California in rainy weather, a lot of roses get foliar disease.

I learned so much from each of you. I will try to treat the rose and if I fail, I'll take it back to Armstrong Gardens. Thank you everyone!

Hello,
I work with Julie Newmar on her garden, and she requested I tell you of our experience with Julie Newmar roses, and other roses. I think what you may have is downy mildew. On roses, leaves develop angular dark purple to black areas and may turn yellow and drop. This has been particularly unusual weather year -- rain in mid May, and still more to come? Downy mildew usually appears when it is cool and wet, especially if mid-day is warm or hot. I usually pull off the leaves which are affected, pruning a badly infected bush back. So far all of the roses have recovered well with this treatment.

We have three Julie Newmar roses in the garden of nearly 100 roses. This year we have not had any real problems with downy mildew, but it just might be luck or the sunny position, or both. Like others have suggested here, if you turn the leaf over you be able to tell easily if you have rust postules on the underside. You also may be able to see some of the developing mildew "down". The third major disease we sometimes find is powdery mildew, again prevalent with cool nights and warm days.

One additional problem sometimes is too much kindness for a new plant. If the soil is slower draining, overwatering can cause the buds and leaves to droop. Important to keep new roses moist but not too wet.

Armstrongs is a good outfit, so if there is a problem I am sure they will make it right.

All the best,

Brad Bontems

Thank you for all your advice. I checked the underside of the leaves and they clearly have orange pustules to indicate rust. My Ebb Tide rose next to it seems to have caught the purple spotting disease, so I removed the Julie Newmar. The Julie Newmar is now in bad condition and I have decided to take it back to Armstrong Garden.

The Julie Newmar rose has rust:
{{gwi:274695}}

I'm glad you've taken it back.

I agree that this looks like downy mildew, And this is just the sort of year when that fungal disease would arise. Here in our coastal area, we've flirted with it off and on for years.

The orange pustules indeed are rust.
Again, this year's weather conditions foster fungal disease, and we've seen rust where we normally do not. In the case of established plants that have not rusted in other years, I pick the leaves off and wait for a change in weather. But roses that rust on new foliage don't hang around here long, no matter WHO they're named for. :-(

Jeri in Coastal Ventura County