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Nearly Wild roses are Nearly Dead!

14 years ago

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for some advice on some newly planted bare-root roses here on Long Island NY. This year I just got excited about roses for the first time and planted 23 bushes! All were purchased from HomeDepot or Costco. All look great to my eye except the two "Nearly Wild" pictured below. Is this the dreaded powdery mildew I've been reading about?

Should I make one of those recipes to fight the mildew? It's a young bush that has only in the ground a couple weeks, so I'm afraid I might kill it while trying to save it.

Also, now that I'm worried about these bushes, I remembered that I mixed in a few rotten leaves from a rain gutter into the potting soil. (It seemed like a good idea at the time!) Could a few gutter leaves poison the soil? I can replace the soil if necessary.

Thanks so much!

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Comments (6)

michaelg
14 years ago
Yes, that's probably powdery mildew. It's not really dreaded on the East Coast because it spreads only under very particular weather conditions.

A modern systemic fungicide such as Bayer Rose and Flower Disease Control (containing only tebuconazole, at Lowe's) will probably not harm your young plants. It is also very good for blackspot when that develops.

Organic remedies can be quite effective for PM, but sulfur and Cornell Mixture (see FAQ of Organic Rose Forum) can burn foliage.

Or you can just give the foliage a hard spray of water and wait for the weather to change.
greenhaven
14 years ago
I understand, too, that many times young roses will have some susceptibility to diseases that they will eventually grow out of as the grow big and develop some immune system. Have fun with your roses, they are an addiction! Remember to bring in some blooms to color and perfume your home. Mine have just started blooming for the year but I still brought in a cutting of Angel Face...it is intoxicating to smell, even from several feet away.
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Comments (5)
I always feel bad when I read how other folks have picked up great roses or have a great selection in their hardware stores - my Home Depot and Lowe's never seem to get much in the way of roses anymore. Did rescue an Abe Darby from the clearance rack at Lowe's a while ago (potted) and very happy with it. This year had better luck at Costco with their $20 2-rose boxes of Jackson and Perkins - which included pink double KO's if you are looking for disease-resistance. Good luck with your roses, I am a lazy sprayer myself, mostly because I don't like mixing the stuff, and I try to use organic products - my summers are always bad I'd have to spray every 3 days to really keep down the blackspot.
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I planted four Nearly Wild this spring as well and I have noticed a similar thing. They are very happy, a lot of new growth but in a fuller rather than higher shape. I was wondering how tip hardy these were going to be in zone 5 because if they need to be pruned back much each spring, I am guessing these will stay short if they continue to grow in this way.
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Comments (10)
Yeah, just prune down those branches as close to the new growth as you can. I've had to do that to a lot of my roses as I'm pruning late this year (too much rain and too many roses and not enough free time). Next spring try to prune earlier since it's easier to see where to prune before the roses start growing. As Michealg noticed, you'll want to give those roses a bit more grass-free room and some mulch. If you don't, the grass will migrate into the center of the rose and it's darn hard to pull out once it gets in there.
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Comments (6)
Florence, if you remember when I planted those I was just starting to garden, and I didn't know one rose from another. I got on the Rose Forum and Rosebud pointed me to the Nearly Wild, Betty Prior, and B. R. Cant. I still have all those he suggested and they are great roses. Randy, we have cut the Nearly Wild roses back to about eighteen inches tall and they come back beautifully. This spring, DH was late and they didn't get trimmed or you would be able to see the bird bath hidden in the center of the main circle. They are easily controlled with a hedge trimmer and never bat an eye when they get a hair cut.
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ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
14 years ago
Spraying the roses with a water hose is the easiest and most earth-friendly way to control the problem. And yes, they often do grow out of it.
eeekk
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks for the replies! I'll try your suggestions and let you know what happens.

Anyone with thoughts on whether rain gutter leaves is an ok organic material to add to soil?
michaelg
14 years ago
Rain gutter "compost" should be OK. I throw mine on the garden.
eeekk
Original Author
14 years ago
Whew! Thanks!

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