22,153 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

Thanks Michael! I will look for the sawfly larvae

Here that would be Katydid. I've stood and watched one do that one early evening, after dark, with a flashlight in one of my hands and Felcos in the other. I wanted to see what was doing that. Then it got its head cut off.

Early evening, right after dark you can find them. They are easy to Felco.

Of course, your climate and pests are different...

I always prune in the spring too,but the bottom of all the canes are completely bare and way too tall will it help or hurt to prune in the fall??????

I don't think it will help to prune in the fall. I prune in spring when the rose is most energetic, as I think this maximizes blooming.

Andrea, at the time in spring when you would hard prune an HT is the time to thin out small canes on most Austins to open up the bush. For young plants like yours just snap off the old blooms when they are done and you will have done all you need to do. And don't worry, after you prune out the old canes the bush will grow new canes and fill back in but look nicer during the first main flush. I normally only cut back the main canes by a third unless they are old ones.

Andrea, at the time in spring when you would hard prune an HT is the time to thin out small canes on most Austins to open up the bush. For young plants like yours just snap off the old blooms when they are done and you will have done all you need to do. And don't worry, after you prune out the old canes the bush will grow new canes and fill back in but look nicer during the first main flush. I normally only cut back the main canes by a third unless they are old ones.

In Zone 6 (at least in my region in Kansas) , it is best if you put the graft at soil level or a couple inches below. If it is at soil level, just provide some winter cover to help protect it. Apply the winter mulch after freezing weather arrives.

Of course if you have a winter like we had this past year, protection probably is not needed at all. Warmest winter I remember in this region.

Burying the graft 1-2 inches is the usual winter protection, but no, at this point I wouldn't dig up the whole plant in order to plant it deeper. Give it some winter protection and in the spring, when it blooms, see what you have. If Dr. Huey is all you have left, well, that tells you what to do, doesn't it!

Kate

Thanks to all. Lots of good info. Pembroke

Florida has the issue with nematodes attacking the roots. Can anyone explain how that manifests itself? Do the canes blacken from top down?

Good comments by Lyn.

Looking back, I need to say that my comment about drainage-not-a-problem was over-stated. I grew up on the Florida Ridge, and I tend to forget that so many people live in what used to be pine flat-woods, where the water table can rise to near the surface during the rainy season or after a hurricane, even when the topsoil is sandy. But the symptoms described by the OP don't sound like water-logging to me.

I, too, have heard that aphids get rid of thrips. My sad tale is that I used to have tons of aphids,but no thrips; I started spraying (my main hope was to get rid of beetles). It did nothing to the beetles, got rid of aphids , and now I'm pretty sure I have thrips (regular kind),since some "invisible bug" chews up the blooms so badly! So my new thing is : do NOT spray against insects! and hopefully Nature will balance things out again,and the aphids will come back...a sadder but wiser bart

Some thrips have a problem with high summer temps. Chilli thrips do not. I know they're still active because they're heavily damaging knockout roses that are used in the landscape around my neighborhood and town, and occasionally attacking other plants that I'm not spraying (papaya, hawthorne, hardy hibiscus, jasmine).

As for the actual products I'm using, I've used many - and haven't seen a huge variation in performance. The ultrarefined mineral oils (summer horticultural oil) are by far the least phytotoxic. In any case, I use them at night *after* the leaves have had a chance to cool down. As long as the leaf surface temperature is cool to the touch, and won't rise significantly in the next couple of hours, I don't see leaf damage. I've also used "Organocide". Finally, I've mixed plant oils directly with a surfactant (either soap or a non-ionic surfactant, sold as spreader-sticker). I've used canola, sesame, neem, karanja, mustard, as well as these oils infused with insecticidal spices/herbs. If there was any difference, I didn't see it. When used at less than ideal conditions, I did see light phytotoxicity when using plant oils.

I've used both Safer Insecticidal Soap (potassium salts of fatty acids) and Murphy Oil Soap (potassium salts of fatty acids, plus an amine oxide surfactant). Both work. Safer is slightly more expensive and easier on plants. When used in optimal conditions (low leaf surface temperature), I haven't seen any phytotoxicity from either product on roses. I have not tried using dish soap.

Hi Donald,

"Shrubblers?" Can you use such expressions on a public forum? Of course gardeners are a rugged lot, so are probably hardened to it.

I'll let you know which form of unmentionables we settle on.

Pauline

I have Nahema and it is proving to be a bit of a miff in that the amount of dieback this winter was astonishing. It is also a very stiff rose which is not amenable to training. On the other hand, it has a wonderful fragrance and the silvery pink blooms are classically elegant, lasting well in a vase. Put it in your warmest spot (it really doesn't appreciate cold winds). Vancouver Island sounds as if it has a climate very comparable to England.

Absolutely.

I posted a picture of my Sharifa Asma's first spring flush a few months back. Big, beautiful, palm sized, amber and blush colored, intoxicatingly fragrant blooms.

The bloom that just opened on Sharifa today was a singlet, nearly white, and lacked fragrance.

The heat does awful things to roses...awful things.

Josh

Which is probably why here in the cooler zone 3 (close to the mountains), my roses' blooms can get huge! The colors are usually intense. So, I guess a shade net here would be a bad idea. :)
Carol

Another reason is that on a day like today, at the end of the day the roses have all crisped in the heat when, in the morning, they looked great.

My house is full of roses three seasons. I take them to friends and family. Seems as though they last longer when I cut them in the evening. It may be due to michaelg's sugar. Thanks, everyone.

This is a pic in 2008 planted in 2003. Its 6-7 feet tall and 7-8 feet wide now. I thought it would be a small shrub. Grafted on multiflora from pickering.

As you can see I have allot perennials growing. Now that its at the larger size there is no room for other things to grow. Its on the left of this pic...It blooms nonstop all summer.I'm not a big fan of fragrance. It has a slight smell I think.

These roses will be just fine. Next year will be a whole new group of fresh leaves and flowers and it will look like a whole new plant. It's going to look a little bare for a while but keep up the steady care and watch for new strong shoots from the base. I would spread some mulch around the base if you haven't done it already after raking up old fallen leaves. Cut off anything that's obviously dead and dry.

The tan spots that evolve into holes might be spot anthracnose disease. It is usually not too destructive. Blackspot spots are dark with fringed or notched margins. Blackspotted leaves will yellow and drop after, typically, two or three weeks. It is good practice to pick blackspotted leaves.