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vinosecco

Replanted potted rose turns leaves yellow

8 years ago

Hello,
I'm a new rose gardener, bought a few potted roses from the local garden store. The rose in question is a hybrid tea called Gina Lollobrigida, which after replanting into a bigger pot turns bottom leaves into yellow. I think its underwatering (because that happened to the plant once I just bought it before I really got watering levels up). But I REALLY water it heavily, so I'm scared it is more likely to be overwatering?.. I´m not in the USA, but I suspect I'm in zone 10 or 11 (we have no winter and no rain at all, the lowest night temprature of the year is 60 degrees).
Sorry if I provide too much detail, I don't know what is important and what is not. So I bought this rose potted with 4 stems and 4 buds on them 3 weeks ago, all bloomed nicely, I deadheaded them (at 45 degrees 1/5 inch above the first 5-leaves leaf) and replanted the rose from its 2 gallon pot to a 15 gallon pot (used universal soil mix, also adding slow-release fertelizer in it in the amount of 1/3 of a dose recommened on the package as I was scared to "burn the roots" as the plant is new). The rose is placed on a sunny tiled terrace raised from the floor by 4 inches (both to allow better drainage and to prevent the sun-heated tiles from warming the pot from the bottom). To improve the drainage I also placed at the bottom of the pot about 1 inch level of volcanic chipped stones (also from the garden store). The PH meter of the soil shows 6,4; the light level is 10 for 7 hours a day. As for watering, I think that's where the problem lies.
For watering while in a small pot I used 2 automatic water balls (about 1/4 of a gallon of water in total volume), changing them twice a day. So the rose was consuming about 1/2 gallon a day. The soil water meter was showing 10+ (meaning "overwatered", basically), but if I let it lower to 8 ("well watered") the bottom leaves would start drooping. That was in a small pot. So now in the big pot I hosed it down slowly until seeing the water coming out from drainage holes the night I replanted it and left 2 balls for watering for the day. In the evening both balls were empty, and the water meter showed 8, the bottom leaves wen droopy and from bright-green to green-yellow. I hosed down again in the evening, and today in the morning another time (this time the water stayed in the water balls during the night, I left them for the day as well). But the leaves still look yellowish (a Little bit less droopy tan the first day, but still yellow). The leaf turns all yellow, not just the veins.
My questions are:
1) Does it look like underwatering to you as well, despite what the water meter says?
2) How much water (approx) needs a potted rose in a very hot climate?
3) Is it ok I water daily or even twice a day?
4) If the drainage is good, I cannot really kill my rose with overwatering, right?..
5) I had to cover the pot with metal chicken net to protect the soil from my dogs (they like digging soil out of the pots). The net is about 2 inch from the soil, with good cut-out space for the rose itself. Can it still be causing problems to the plant?..

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