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Fri, Sep 12, 14 at 4:30
| First,I'm glad to see that you're back on the forum, Melissa;it's been a while since you posted. I guess that, like me, you've taken advantage of the nice summer we had to get a lot done in your garden....I know, I know, many people have complained bitterly about the weather this summer in Italy,and I am indeed sorry for the flooding incidents, but speaking selfishly,it's been great. I only had to water once, in the beginning of the summer,and i did not have to spend most of my time getting water,bringing it out to my land, putting it into the tanks, etc. I've had roses flowering basically all summer long; my spring flush was THE BEST EVER. I could go on, but let's keep it short and get to my question.The one real defect in my roses this year is defoliation,and I'm not at all sure it's all due to bspot.Fact is, this year the defoliating caterpillars of all sorts were really bad,and now, in September,I see my oldest Madame Solvay rose almost leafless (though still flowering!); likewise, my Harlekin,as well as a few others. Do you have defoliation issues with your roses, too, this year? I am wondering if some of them are just tired out; they didn't get much of a rest over the past winter,because it was so mild. Doubtless the soil of these roses needs work,too,but it just seems a bit odd, considering all the rain we've been blessed with...cheers, bart |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Bart, I am not in Italy but near Dayton Ohio. We have had a similar Summer with lots of lovely rain and I have noticed a similar phenomenon, roses almost denuded of leaves that have always held them well before, e.g., Katharina Zeimet. I also just noticed that the basil and spearmint, usually indestructible, have lost almost all leaves and the few stubs remaining have black curled edges. As to why, I am at as much of a loss to explain it as you are. Cath |
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- Posted by melissa_thefarm NItaly (My Page) on Fri, Sep 12, 14 at 14:39
| Bart, It's been a great summer, hasn't it? I'm glad you had a much easier time than usual this year. And I'm hoping all this growth will be lasting in its effects. My impression is that the plant-eating pests have been worse than usual this summer. Not just roses: some oaks suffered a good deal of foliage damage early in the season, and I had heavy damage to three box bushes, including my well-loved 'Graham Blandy', which may be dead. I've never known anything to attack box before, except the chronic damage from mites, I believe. The "argidi" are going strong now--I hate those little monsters: where are the birds?--but I don't recall unusually bad insect damage from anything else. There's more fungal disease than usual, which isn't surprising with so much rain, but the only significant sufferers are some of the Albas with rust. I haven't seen large-scale defoliation of the roses for any reason. I didn't post for a long while because DD and I were visiting family in Florida. We had a great time, but there really wasn't much to say about roses, in spite of plants of 'Louis Philippe' scattered around the little coastal town where we stayed. Naturally after almost two months without maintenance (I think DH did some mowing) and all that rain, the garden was the most complete jungle. DH and I have been domesticating it since my return. I could use a crew of twenty for a day, which I won't get, to clean it all up, but bits of it don't look bad. Melissa |
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| Bart, healthy roses don't get tired. Roses with a lot of China genes are naturally evergreen and ever-blooming. In subtropical and tropical climates a plant can grow and bloom year around for decades. What can exhaust a rose is repeated defoliation that causes it to spend all its stored energy refoliating. |
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