I got this same thing on a sweet cherry tree and end up chopping it down, of course it is growing out of the side of the trunk, I decided I will let it live and see if I can treat it so the avoid that nasty soot. I noticed I have alot of lady bugs on my roses and they eat those suckers. My crapes last year got black spot. I guess crapes and roses are strongly related?? I am trying a garlic, water and milk mixture to fight the fungus and bugs (I am guessing they hate the taste of garlic since they never touch any of my garlic plants. When I spray the leaves of my roses it seems to deter the bugs not sure just yet just experimenting. japanesse beetles dont' seem to be a problem, one year they showed themselves but didn't last long and didn't do much damage to anything. some people just use a strong spray of the hose to get rid of the aphids they can't climb back up once they are knocked off. I have alot of acrage and birds galore I am sure they eat the bugs and that is why I seldom have a problem with them, yet. RR

As long as it's growing and blooming normally, don't worry about it. It's probably just maturing and beginning its normal peeling. But if you see any lesions under the peeled area -- sunken areas, dark color, moisture, etc. -- then you can start to worry.

I have failed at pictures thus far.. I work a full time job, and also run my own business so this post hasn't gotten much attention lately! We did have a cool spell for about a week and I noticed that the leaves started looking healthy again, despite my having forgotten to hand water. It looks like this is basically transplant shock that is only appearing when the higher temps come around which makes sense seeing it is a more stressful environment. I think all in all, I should just leave the thing alone and let the roots re-establish themselves. I was surprised since it really isn't that hot, but it looks like 80's and the plant is happy, 90's and the plant gets cranky. All that being said, the wood isn't dying back, and the leaves have stopped dropping so I think it will manage to survive. I will top dress next year to try and give the soil a bit more nutrient density and otherwise just see how things go! Didn't want to leave this post hanging. Thanks again for all the comments.

"Ive used bifen XTS, peppermintsoap and oil and malathion over the last 6 - 8 weeks." "every fungus treatment i threw at it" "my 3rd application of malathion" ""I always spray bifen xts around my house foundation" "Is the white flies whats laying the aphid eggs on the leaves?" Do you not see a pattern here? I've gardened in two climates for 40 years and haven't yet used nearly as many chemicals as you have listed above in one single thread- it's just not necessary. Not intending to be mean here but there are people whose "go to" reaction to anything is "Oh, gotta spray something!" It's a knee jerk urge to act that would be FAR better served by doing some research to identify the pest- are they white flies or are they winged aphids? You need to know. By doing all this excessive spraying you are running off the predator insects that Mother Nature handed you on a silver platter. They are out there- stop spraying stuff so they can move in and do their thing. Stop tossing chemicals around and call your local cooperative extension agent. Send them photos via email or take some leaves in for inspection- I've even had them come to my property to help ID a problem. Find them by googling "your state+**county**+cooperative extension." They are experts on your LOCAL issues. IT's FREE. Also- it's October. It's done. Clean up all your leaf litter and stop buying jugs of crap.