Michael I was planning on doing the concentration conversions this afternoon, but as you see other posts received my attention. The Hagan group use 0.04 gm. 0.08, and 0.16 per liter (which can be thought of as per 1000 gm. Bayer recommends 1.5 tablespoons of the concentrate added to 256 tablespoons of water (1 gallon). 2.9 % concentrate is 2.9 gm tebuconazole per 100 grams of solution. 1.5 tablespoons of the concentrate were added to 256 tablespoons of water (1 gallon). This is a dilution factor of about .0058. So now one has about 0.18 grams in 1000 gms of solution. I made several approximations in the calculation. I feel that we can say that the Hagan group top concentration is probably within round off error of the Bayer recommended concentration. We do not have to make the conversion from grams per liter to ppm as the Gachomo Thesis has done it for us ("In previous studies Hagan et al (1991) had shown that weekly sprays of tebuconazole at the rates of 20, 40 and 80 ppm ....." ) , we see that the Gachomo group (by using a concentration of 100ppm) used a concentration 1,25 higher than the Hagan group.

From your initial description of the issues your plants are facing, I was leaning towards thinking your plants were having a root rot issue. I still sort of lean that way, but not as much as I was in the beginning. Root rot is very common on heavy, slow-draining clay and you have fast-draining sandy soil where it is much less common. The specific root rot I had in mind often progresses in a linear manner. For example, if it hits a row of shrubs, you'll see it move from one to another in a linear manner. However, in field crops it also progresses in a circular manner. However, you're in OKC and it is more common in the southern OK counties, and not so much in OKC, I think. If you did find the stringy growth I described in the root zones of dead plants, or observed a white spore mat on the soil surface near those plants, though, I'd go back to my original feeling that it sounds a lot like cotton root rot, which I just happen to have battled here in our heavy red clay. One question that would help rule out cotton root rot is this: when the leaves die, do they cling to the plant or do they drop? Cotton root rot can affect plants very suddenly, it affects over 2000 known species, it is very fast-acting (i.e. quick to kill plants), it moves in a linear or, in crops, in a circular fashion, and it is common in clay soil. So, it might not be your problem, but a similar root rot might be. Keep in mind, there's the disease type of root rot caused by specific fungal diseaes and there's the physiological kind of root rot caused by plants standing in water/wet soil until their roots literally rot and die. The folks at Horn's seemed to lean towards the physiological form of root rot when they expressed their opinion that your plants are being overwatered. You're the one who has to decide if they are right. I still think it is very hard for fast-draining sandy soil to stay wet enough to root rots. One way to figure out if the plants are dying because they are too wet is to dig up a dead plant and look at the roots. Do they look healthy and alive or dead? Since you have sandy soil, I think root knot nematodes could be an issue, but I don't have a lot of experience with them. If you have root knot nematodes, you'll see knots, galls or swellings on the roots of an affected plant that has died. You can google and find a photo of roots with root knot nematode damage. I am inclined to think you need to take a three-pronged approach. 1.) Feed your plants if they haven't been fed in the last couple of weeks. Fast-draining sandy soil that is being heavily watered may not be providing the plants with enough nutrition, and plants that are "hungry" or underfed are more vulnerable to diseases and to heat stress. 2.) Spray with a fungicide on a regular schedule as the fungicide labels direct. Watch to see if your plants improve. 3.) Treat for insects in whatever way you're comfortable using, but I am not convinced they are the issue. And then there is the watering issue. You want your plants to be in moist soil, and you want it to be as uniformly moist as possible. It is better to keep it somewhat moist at all times than to alternate between very dry and very wet because both those extremes stress plants. And, if it were the heavy April/early May rains that were the issue, I would have thought the plants would have showed symptoms long before the heat wave arrived last week. As long as you water with a sprinkler system, your plants are going to be more vulnerable to fungal diseases, so a regular preventative spraying program of fungicide during the growing system probably would be a good idea. You didn't mention if your beds are mulched, but if they aren't, they need to be. Mulching helps keep fungal spores in the soil from being carried up onto the plants by water splashing up when the sprinkler system is in use. I am a little worried about the roses. Look at the undersides of the leaves. Do you see spider mites? Both the fine webbing and the discolored leaves sound like spider mite damage. Look at the photos in the link below and see if they resemble your roses. The ones in the linked photos may be further along with the mites than yours are, but your plants still ought to look similar if it is mites. I don't really know what the answer is as far as plant death. I think it is still likely to be a fungal disease, but without seeing the plants can't rule root knot nematodes in or out, or anything else for that matter. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Spider Mites on Roses

Yo Ken, if your still around your up on this one. Far as Composites go I am with the Larry/whoever We are for the most part. Composites are really no longer using recycled material because there is just not enough of it so most of the raw stuff is virgin,the energy used to make composite is an enviro no no, when its time to remove the project composite is not real big on bio degrade its tricky to burn shreading it would be silly. Bottom line composites are not so enviro freindly. Info like that might suggest its not all that good to clean it either, with anything. I dont agree>> composites will out last Ipe, left to go silver/gray Ipe is as close to no maintance as a person can get. With the softer composites like Choice/MoistureShield even trex= tjunk I have found a coat or two of TWP 116 seals up the decking,locks in the color and keeps mold,mildew,stains from causing major problems. Of course not needing to do this is the reason the Wallet goes for composite in the first place. I my own self dont like composites at all for the reasons stated in several posts here and on other sites. Welcome aboard Larry!!! Sorry I dident understand your intent at the begining . John

I love roses, but I also love other garden plants. And sometimes I think it's funny that we so easily accept that it's ok to grow roses which require chemical intervention, when we wouldn't think the same about an azalea, or a maple, or a salvia, etc. I know there are some people who pride themselves on their perfect Kentucky bluegrass lawn, and accept all that grass's finicky attitudes. But I also know a lot of people who just want a lawn, and choose things like fescue because it's tougher. In the end, either way you have grass to enjoy. It's all about how much fuss you're willing to endure to get it. But how many here would plant a tree, or another flowering shrub, or a perennial, that performed horribly in your area unless regularly sprayed with chemicals, rather than simply choose a healthier version? If you were choosing fruiting trees for a backyard orchard, would you pick an apple tree which required as much spraying as your roses, or would you go for something more disease-resistant in your area? How about when choosing vegetables to grow in the garden -- do you go for the finicky tomatoes, or the healthier ones? Of course, as I've said elsewhere, if part of your rose-growing hobby is exhibiting, that's another story. Just wondering about choices -- no judgment here. :-) ~Christopher