I'm new to roses and don't know what to do!

18 years ago

I really love roses, but have never grown them before. I was bought 2 'lots' a little while ago, one lot red, n one lot white (a lot being 4 plants in 1 pot) but i don't know what type of roses they are.

I've already lost 4 plants which isnt good, a white mould started covering the leaves and stems not long after they were bought for me, i thought i was over watering, so i stopped watering all the time, even though they had never really been sitting in water, but it didnt help, i cut off the really mouldy parts, so it would stop it spreading, and wiped off some of the leaves which wernt so badly effected, but it re-grew. The 4 remaining plants have lost most of their leaves, but there is new growth. Some of the leaves have yellow in them, while others have red, on the same plant!

I'm not sure what to do, any help would be appreciated!

Just as a extra thing.... if the plants have gone brown n all the leaves have dropped off, it dead, right?

Comments (8)

tjsangel
18 years ago
Hi Cayra! Welcome to the forums and the wonderful wacky world of roses. Dont fret, the 1st year is the toughest, and we all have to learn.

About the mold, this sounds like powdery mildew. Like a white dust over the leaves. This can easily be controlled with a good fungicide. Follow the directions on the bottle and it should clear up soon. It's hard to overwater roses, they love water. What zone are you in, and are you growing these outdoors? Roses are not houseplants. About the brown one, cut everything down and see if it regrows. If not it was underwatered and it's dead. Hope this helps, get back to us if you can with more info!

Jen
Cayra
Original Author
18 years ago
How much would a fungicide cost? can you recomend some?
I don't know what zone i'm in, i live in england...
I'm growing the roses in my room, but that shouldnt make any difference really, they get more sunlight in here, and they wont dry out in here which they would outside, as its very chalky soil.
I guess there is no harm in leaving the 'dead' plants in the pot to see if they re-grow, what sort of time scale would it be before they do regrow?
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The roots go a lot further down than an inch, and it doesn't look like that pop bottle has any drainage holes. I still suspect they are too wet most of the time, and probably are not getting enough sun as another poster noted. Lavender is originally from the Mediterranean region, along the coast. Yes, they manage to grow a lot of lavender in England - it is still a Mediterranean plant, however, that grows best in dry, chalky, poor soils. I think the Brits just tend to be better gardeners on average than the average 'merican, LOL! Plus they have lots of chalky coastline ... think the White Cliffs of Dover ... Lavender does NOT do well in soil that is moist all the time. If they are doing "better" since you started daily watering, I shudder to think how they were doing before, because those plants are not doing anything like "well", especially given that you started those plants way back in the spring. Here's a picture of a potted lavender that is doing well: Potted lavender advice Lavender needs 8 hours of sun a day, at least. Full sun in the garden is what they are talking about there. I don't think your plants are getting near that on your balcony. It will only be worse sitting near the window there in your kitchen (or where ever you plan to put them over winter). I understand that you are in an apartment and have VERY limited access to light and space for growing plants. Lavender is a very challenging plant (so is rosemary) for growing indoors. I've never had any luck growing either plant indoors myself. I'm not saying it can't be done; but it is a challenge. Your setup is not adequate to the task at this time. You're not getting nearly enough light; the soil mix in your pop bottles looks too heavy (lavender does better in a soil-less mix, in fact I think potted lavender may be a prime candidate for some version of Al's gritty mix). There are no drainage holes that I can see in that pop bottle and you are overwatering if the soil is never allowed to dry out. Lavender also like an alkaline soil. Adding some lime could help. ESPECIALLY if there is any peat moss at all in your soil mix, or if you are using pine fines as mulch or a soil amendment. So - alkaline soil, allow the soil to dry between waterings - not totally since these are first year plants but it shouldn't be wet or even damp all the time; and it loves the heat but dislikes humidity (hence it does pretty durn well in our dry near-desert conditions in N. Nevada). However at this point in time I hold out little hope for the survival of your plants over the winter, given their stunted condition now. I'm not trying to be discouraging; go ahead and try, you've come this far with them. But you need to repot them in a soil-less mix more suited to the plant and be prepared to supply extra heat and light, else they will not survive. Here is a discussion and fairly clear description of how to make Al's gritty mix. Personally I have found ALL the ingredients difficult to impossible to find. Turface, in particular, I have never been able to lay hands on - and though it is the virtually same stuff as certain types of cat litter or adsorbent, it isn't ALWAYS the same stuff. For instance, Napa Floor Dry has been touted as a replacement - but there are TWO KINDS and only one of them is suitable for this purpose. And I'm too tired to go dig up the links that tell you which is which. Also, having to screen and discard large portions of your ingredient isn't exactly lending itself to being affordable - let alone easy. That said - for this particular instance, I think gritty mix is your best bet - if you can only find the ingredients and get them properly screened and mixed.
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tjsangel
18 years ago
Hi,

Fungicides range in prices, splurge a little on a real good one. Bayer 3 in 1 works great, Rose Pride is an alternative. DO NOT use Immunox, it is worthless against blackspot, but might be ok for mildew. If you can, I'd really advise planting them outside in full sun. Minis are very hardy in winter. Indoors they are susceptible to spider mites, and dont get enough sun even from the strongest light indoors. It's just not the same. This is maybe why yours are struggling. You'll be amazed how much they take off in the garden. I'd wait a month to see if the rose comes back, but most likely it won't. If you have chalky soil, which is better than clay, amend with compost and peat moss. And fertilize starting in Spring-they make fertilizer for roses-and continue once a month until September. Good luck! :)

Jen
diane_nj 6b/7a
18 years ago
Cayra, as to fungicides, I'm not sure of what they might be called in England. The Royal National Rose Society has a help line, perhaps they can giveyou guidance. Here we use products that include the active ingrediants Mancozeb/manzate, propiconazole (in products called Banner Maxx, Infuse and Fertilome Systemic here in the states) and tebuconazole (found here in Bayer Advanced Rose and Shrub Disease Control).

Growing inside isn't recommended. Even though you think there is enough sunlight in your room, it isn't. And as Jen mentioned, the spider mites are difficult to get rid of once they take hold.

Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: Royal National Rose Society Help Line
Cayra
Original Author
18 years ago
The only space i'm allowed to grow any plants in the garden doesnt get much sunlight at all, its in shade 98% of the time. I do grow other 'outdoor' plants in my room, with success.

I know it may be a stupid question, but what are spider mites?
diane_nj 6b/7a
18 years ago
Spider mites are little insects that suck the life out of a plant. They are small, look like pepper grains, and spin little webs on the undersides of the leaves. Sometimes insecticidal soap will help. Sometimes.
Cayra
Original Author
18 years ago
Never heard of spider mites before, i'll keep an eye out for them, how do they get onto your plants?
tandaina
18 years ago
Spider mites have been teh #1 killer for indoor minis for me. They're horrible. Who knows how they get in, they're too tiny to protect against. The best solution I've found is to take the rose to the sink once a week and blast the undersides of the leaves iwth a strong spray of water (pretty easy if your sink has a wand attachment, or the shower would work I suppose.) That seems to be the only way to keep them under control.

However I have almost no success with them inside. They might live but they never rebloom for me. Hopefully you have better luck. If you can grow them outside in nice big pots in the sun that also works well.

I'm new to roses and don't know what to do!

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Cayra
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I'm new to roses and don't know what to do!

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