10 foot from the house wouldn't be too bad if you keep it from getting too large. As for the retaining wall the roots don't seem to be too much of a problem depending on what type wall. Have you checked with your extension agent or local Master Gardner or even a GOOD Local Nursery? You can take pictures not the plant with you and let them help with your problem. You could in the mean time spray it with milk and water in about 5 parts water, and 1 part milk. This does in some cases kill some molds but not all. But if it is a mold or what ever you need to get it under control as soon as possible.

Doesn't look all that bad. Old roots and leaves die. The potting mix is not some sort of pristine place. It teems with fungi and bacteria good and bad and as long as your growing conditions are favourable the plant will thrive. Where are you and what sort of temperatures, humidity and light is the plant getting and if you are in the north of USA will the plant get good conditions in winter?

rina I was answering the ? on a ficus. it is my opinion a thin layer of sand ON TOP about a 1/2in you still get airation you just do not have to water as often. You will have to experiment with how much water you give it cause it will be less and sand still compacts enough to kill the eggs (has to be coarse sand) .does not effect drainage if using right medium with good pots with alot of drainage holes it take alil longer to go threw the sand if you pouring water on top and get a more even watering to go threw the sand. But when i use organics and also making compost tea with the heat from the lights i got this problem.But I am activating the micro organisms with air pump to maximize the organics that im buying and using in media and teas so i go threw alot less fertilizers when i feed and when I water the roots are getting air h20 from the water.But this is how i got fungus gnats with the organics and the heat from my lights and how i cured my problem was with sand. I dont water every day or every other day cause in my soil i use coconut fiber,sand, and other media which retains some moisture and it gives it more time before I water again. I only feed once or twice a month and water in between depending on my plants When i have grown lilac trees using organics i had a good pearl white root zone.It also depends on what you are growing succulents most of them only get watered twice a month . Also some succlulents do prefer a sandy soil cactus is part of the succulent family what do they grow in?Also there are other succulents that prefer sandy soil too or peat or rock. Check further down in container gardening there is a thread called water release curve for growing media ingredent. But in the end it is what works best for you and what results you want to achieve and how much you want to experiment,research and read . This is what works good for me.

Hi Seeingreen, what you have looks like leaf scorch. It is where the rose leaf could not take up water fast enough and you have tissue death starting in the outer part of the leaf moving to the center. I am guessing that you are not watering often enough. That would also explain the why the blooms do not last. Root rot effects the whole leaf and not just a part of it, so I don't think that it is the problem. I would think that Epson salt could not last in a pot for a year, it is very water soluble and should have been flushed out a long time ago from normal watering.