my new rose bush...

10 years ago

Hi everyone,

I have just moved house and have inherited a rose bush. I'm really keen to look after it as well as I can, but never having a garden before I need some advice please!

I've done a bit of research and I'm not sure what's wrong with the plant. Some of the leaves look like they might have mildew, some look like they've become lunch and some look kind of like blackspot but I'm not so sure. See below a few different examples:

The main stem branches into two, and one is a much darker brown wood, with a white coating. I started to cut into this and the inside is green (I thought it was dead). Should I prune this whole thing back? (the left hand side of the image is where the majority of the bush stems from, the stem growing straight up looks as though the dying part is reaching towards the top flowers)

I read to cut off any affected leaves is the best thing to do, and you can see by the pics that I've now only got about 2% of the foliage left! I have however got lots of flowers that seem healthy (apart from they shed their petals at the slightest touch- is this normal?)

Any advice would be great- the internet is full so of information that I don't really know where to begin.

For all who are wondering- here's the rose in it's present state!

Thanks in advance everyone!

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Comments (5)

jerijen
10 years ago
Jessica, it would be helpful to know where you are located. And is the rose REALLY growing in a tiny open square between paving stones? Does it receive any direct sunlight??? How is it watered?

Jeri
Lynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country
10 years ago
One looks fairly easy to identify. I believe what you are seeing on the leaf of the second image is black spot. It is a fungal disease. In my very dry climate we do not see much of it at all. At a previous home I had over 100+ rose bushes so maintaining the health of all bushes was extremely important as an issue with one rose could spread to others, and as a result, I did minimal spraying using neem oil and insecticidal soaps etc. Now, I have about 12 bushes and just keep more of a watchful eye, am more careful of the conditions, like air circulation and things like that. I hose off aphids and mites with a forceful spray of water. The garden is easier to watch, maintain, and potential replacement costs if something horrible happened would be lower, so I use nothing and am all organic now. If you have a good nursery with people who actually know their product and horticulture, you can take the leaves and photos; they can usually tell you exactly what is going on and what needs to be done. Their recommendations should be specific for your area.
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mzstitch
10 years ago
I'm concerned you took that many leaves off your plant all at once, as now the plant will not get the energy it needs from the sun. It does look like you may possibly have had some black spot. When my roses get blackspot though, it doesn't normally travel up a vein like you have so not sure if that is blackspot or not. As for the other leaves it could have just had some damage from a spray which it likely would have recovered on its own leaves intact. I recently sprayed a new rose plant and the leaves discolored like I may have burnt them with the spray. I just kept the plant well watered and it recovered nicely on its own.
the_morden_man
10 years ago
The leaves show some minor early infection of blackspot. They also have some whitefly damage and it looks like a rose slug larvae may also have been chewing on some of the leaves. None of it terribly serious.

You should have just left the foilage on the plant as even damaged leaves still provide energy to the rose. It will shed them itself when the leaf is no longer viable.
socks
10 years ago
Those are really pretty flowers. Some rose bushes hold their flowers longer than others, and this one may be just a bush that lets its flowers go pretty quick after they open.

The only thing to do now is wait and see how it does after losing so many leaves. I think it will come back, but keep an eye on it for new growth. Keep it watered, how much depends on whether it is in direct sun or not and your daily temps. Roses do best in direct sun.

Not sure about that wire holding it up. If it's an important wire, you might want to get a narrow trellis to support the bush and get it away from the wire.

Good luck.

my new rose bush...

Comments (5)

jerijen

Lynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country

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the_morden_man

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