I had garden plants do this when I watered with my stale rain water. I get tree frogs that fall into the barrels and it gets stinky. Then who knows what's growing in the water. How did you make your tea and how long do you let it sit? does your water drain from your hole? your tree could have wet feet. worms like organic material so they might just stay in your mushroom compost. Worms are good. I have lots of organic compost, and wood chips. I toped that last fall with a thick layer of brown leaves. Now the soil stays wet below and its full of bugs and worms. My cherry trees are really healthy. I feed my trees tomato fertilizers. They are nice and green.

Can you ask your neighbors if they have any secrets to their rose success? Chances are, if you have clay soil, you might need to add some amendments. Clay soil can have lots of nutients, but it's like cement in the summer and slimy in the winter. Aged horse manure, added to the soil before you plant, really helps the roses...fertilizer and makes it easier for the soil to accept and retain water :) As Jeri said, it would help to know where you live and what kind of soil you have. Also, how often are you watering?

I had the same problem. Lacy leaves, no visible critters. Then I discovered that rose slugs start out really, really tiny! I have only 8 rosebushes so I have been able to keep them under control by doing a close 5 minute inspection every day or two. Look for a fresh looking hole, with no browning, and run your fingers under the underside of the leaves. Often you will feel the satisfying squish of tiny slug --or if they have been chomping a while-- the even more satisfying squish of a big one. I've also discovered that you can catch them before they start chomping if you look for folded leaves, or leaves that look like they have been glued together. Often these are nests for larva. Can you tell I like squishing 'em?

Crepuscule would be a much larger plant than the shrub form of Lady Hillingdon. The one at the SJHRG, as a climber, is immense; I had a free-standing Crepuscule that was approx. 7-8' tall and 9-10' wide after 6 or 7 years in the ground, at which point I lost it to oak root fungus. The edges of the blooms would crisp on hot days, but there were always a bunch of new blooms opening, so it looked reasonably good even in heat waves. A touch of mildew in the spring, maybe, but very clean foliage overall. It's a wonderful rose. Alliance Franco-Russe held prime real estate here for over 6 years but literally never, during that entire time, was without severe mildew, even in late summer when even the roses most prone to it usually shake it off, if only briefly. It's now gone and I don't miss it. Lux, your Etoile de Lyon doesn't get the "brown ruff"? The Australian tea book notes that it happens for EdL, too. Here both EdL and Souvenir de Pierre Notting get it (EdL worse than SdPN, actually), but usually only during their first flush and maybe late, late in the fall. I have attributed it to the conditions being both damp and cool then, not heat, because flushes later in the summer on both generally have very little browning of the outer petals (even with dew in the morning) and produce the best flowers. (photos of them below were taken this morning). I wasn't all that impressed with Souvenir de Pierre Notting, either, until this year. The bush has finally filled in well and the flushes have gone from desultory and meager to substantial. I haven't been treating it any differently -- I think it's just reached a level of maturity that allows better blooms. My Celine Forestier is definitely yellow. In the photo taken this morning (below) there's a slight pinkish cast that happens later in the season; the first flush is generally pure pale yellow and flowers 5" across that look like pom-poms (later-season flowers smaller). Ingrid, I'm curious to know what color was yours? Souvenir de Pierre Notting: Etoile de Lyon: Celine Forestier: