22,153 Garden Web Discussions | Roses


I've seen Hoplia Beetles and Fuller Rose Weevils here but in the forty-five years I've lived in and around Los Angeles, never have I encountered a Japanese Beetle. Thank heavens! Fortunately, both of the former are fairly cyclical. Some years I seen virtually none, others they are obviously present, but never to the extent Japanese Beetles are elsewhere in the country. I don't do anything about them other than to squash them by fingers. Kim

It sounds like the wrong plant in the wrong place. Harison's Yellow is at its best given a lot of space to spread out and make a good clump. It's nature is to be leggy and spread out, and mass makes it look better.
It is extremely unlikely that you will kill it by hard pruning. However, it won't bloom next year.

It sounds like a once blooming rose. They only bloom on old wood. Usually those are pruned only AFTER they have bloomed out for the current season. However, if it hasn't bloomed yet and you don't see any buds forming on it yet it may not bloom this season so pruning it now should be fine. It could be that this past winter killed off the year old wood that would have bloomed this season. It was a very nasty winter.
Take out any dead wood and cut it down to the height you want then leave it alone to grow back new wood that should bloom next year. Yes, keep it watered and fertilize it. If you have any pictures from last years bloom post them and maybe we can ID it for you.



Well I now have some good size blooms coming along, as shown in the pictures below. But I also have another question, what could be causing the yellow leaves on the plant?
I know over/under watering could be happening although I know it is not under watering. And also I read it could be because of light not getting to those leaves due to the leaves at the top of the bush.
I know the rose is doing well due to all of the new blooms and growth going on, just not near the bottom.
Thanks
Pictures:
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http://oi61.tinypic.com/vr3p1l.jpg
http://oi61.tinypic.com/vy5k6f.jpg
http://oi59.tinypic.com/2a62kcj.jpg


Buford,
Huey will do well enough in acidic clay, but my real concern is that it is not very suitable to colder climates. It will typically decline rapidly or die off altogether in 3 years up here. I can't really say how Huey performs in US zone 6b long term as I have no experience in such a scenario, but I do know that multiflora will not have any cold related issues and would probably be better suited overall when you add acidic clay into the mix.

Thank you Frances for the detailed instructions on planting bands. I just ordered two bands from Rouge Valley for delivery next week.
If I understand correctly, I will pot these bands up into one gallon containers, keep them watered and fertilized, and set them outdoors in a sunny location until October. Then bury the potted plants in my garden, mulch the first several inches, and leave them through winter. Come spring I can dig up them up, remove the pot, and transplant into their final location.
I also have a home in central NJ, so I'll plant one there and one here at my Virginia home.
Tom

You are very welcome, Tom! Your understanding is correct. As I said, I have used this approach for many years and never lost a little rose yet! I hope it'll all work out as well for you. Please send us an update in spring. If you are inclined to take pictures, I'd love to see photos of your Old Ports next year!
All best,
Frances

Roseseek, there WAS a diesel vehicle idling by the bush this week!!! I suppose if the leaves are sticky, they can pick up the exhaust.
There was a vinca bush near the roses that was horribly infested with...what, aphids, white flies? When I yanked it I noticed stuff flying in the air, gnats or dusty stuff, not sure. Left a greasy mark on the pavement it had grown over. I sprayed the rose bush with water which didn't do much unless I rubbed the wet leaf between my fingers. It's on the old growth, not the newer growth. We'll see how it goes now that the vinca is gone.
Thanks everyone.

It's been a bad year for white fly here, too. Getting rid of the vinca should help relieve the water stress caused by the competition and eliminate their habitiat. I would turn on the hose to a trickle and wash all the yuck off the rose foliage. It will rehydrate the rose and help prevent the diesel from destroying those leaves. If you put down your fertilizer before you wash the foliage, you can kill two birds with the same stone...cleaning the foliage and watering in the food. Good luck! I'm glad it appears it was something simple. Kim

Zack is right, that's the good Doctor and if you don't take him out, right down to below the ground, he will eventually take over and destroy your rose.
Follow the cane(s) down to the ground and then dig the soil off of them and find out where they connect to the roots. At that point you want to RIP OFF the canes. Yank down and away HARD. Don't just cut them back because they will just grow right back again. You need to destroy the growth node so it will not send up another shoot.


Your 2nd noid reminds me of The Generous Gardener.
Here is a link that might be useful: The Generous Gardener at HMF


I know that fragrance is important to gardeners, but keep in mind that the two weakest genes in the roses are the deep red and the fragrance one. Pirouette does have a "rose smell" but it isn't strong. So if you breed a beautiful deep, velvety red with a Damask fragrance, you will have a shrub that will cause you more problems then say a pink one. Papa Meilland is a good example. The old father desperately wanted to breed a top red rose and when he was dying, his son went into the fields to try and find any flower that would make his father think it was a good one. He picked a bloom from a sad looking shrub with lots of BS on it but had a perfect flower on it. He took it in and showed it to his father who got excited because he said it was perfect. What shall you call the rose he asked his son, and his son replied Papa Meilland.




With my space constraints if I did that I'd never be able to plant another rose! I reuse holes all the time. I've never noticed any problem in doing so. I reuse pots and potting soils too. Same thing...no problems.
I reuse holes too... I figure if one rose grew well so would another one...