22,153 Garden Web Discussions | Roses

Sabine, I live in a hot, dry area in San Diego County and have noticed that, with the little rain we've had, many of my roses are suffering, in spite of watering every second day. The other day I dug down into the dirt around some of the roses and discovered that, although the top was moist, one or two inches down there was no moisture at all. What I'm doing now is putting the hose to each plant with just a trickle of water coming out and leaving it there until I can see that there's moisture further down when I check with a trowel. Have a look at the soil around your roses; you might be having the same problem. Other than that I can't imagine what could be causing the dieoff. If it is a lack of water I would also put mulch around the roses, if you haven't done so already, to keep the sun from sucking up all the moisture.
Ingrid

Thanks Ingrid,
This rose is so old and established I never really had an issue with water, I just recently started to let the area soak. The part that concerns me is that it is the only rose in my garden that is behaving this way. I think I am going to take soil and tissue samples in to get tested

I keep my mulch 4-6" away from the rose stems (in z4 my bud union is buried) & I try to put on 2-3" at a time. You say that your mulch is "fine", most info I've seen recommends something courser like wood chips to allow rain/water to run thru. I use wood chips that I can get "free for the hauling" at a site run by my city gov't where they haul their tree trimmings. I am a big advocate of using local mulch like this rather than buying it, think "mulch locally" just like you frequently hear "eat locally". Below is a link to some good articles to read on mulching.
Here is a link that might be useful: Hort. Myths



Most of my buds hadn't opened, but I did spray it inside a couple -- didn't notice any negatives.
There is some information on bioworks website related to small volume applications which calls for about 1 tbsp/gallon. Plus they are very responsive to consumer calls/questions.
The thrips here have been virulent for about the last 4 years with no end in sight. I'm convinced the bastards have decided to make Maumelle, Arkansas their permanent HQ.
I did the Orthene treatments. And yes Orthene will kill them, but my residual results have been far superior with BontaniGard. With Orthene, I only felt like it was effective for 24 hours. Plus the Orthene just smells so awful. Botanigard is odorless. If you have roses that are blooming, the last thing you should want is the sour death stench of Orthene (or the additive mercaptan which supposedly makes it smell so bad). I'm not saying this product is for everyone, but for me it's a dream come true. The image of lifeless thrips in a bloom is beautiful!
The fungicide timing is tricky, but with a little scheduling it's not bad. Bioworks has a list on their website of compatible fungicides and the time intervals for application. I'm thinking of going with Cleary's 3336 and alternate with Mancozeb or Banner Max (is it best to mix in a contact fungicide every couple of weeks or alternate between 2 systemics?)

Please don't take this personally or feel insulted, but I did indeed get a pop-up while trying to access that link. .I'm not trying to start a war over this, but I'm also not saying anything that isn't the case. I should say that it is privacy settings, not security settings - my error.
This is the pop-up:
:
"This website uses the digital subscription service Press+ to manage access to its content. In order to bypass the message you are reading and access our site, we need you to enable your third-party cookies or switch to a different browser. This will enable Press+ to store small bits of information in your browser that enable the site to function properly.
(followed by technical geeky stuff )"
Please let me also say that I do appreciate the links to articles in your other posts..
This post was edited by nickl on Sat, Jun 15, 13 at 9:25


Pictures would really help a great deal. Both of the blooms and of the foilage of the apparent non-Iceberg variety.
Also, climbing Iceberg is not really a great choice for our climate and zone. It isn't hardy enough to be a true climber each year and since it is also somewhat BS prone, this tends to weaken the plant going into the following year. The shrub version of Iceberg does just fine here however and has enough vigour to regrow each year despite the BS.

Hi Diane,
I just went outside to take some photos and sure enough..the closed rose had opened up a bit since a few hours ago and is looking more like her sister. I've uploaded the photos here.
They...look the same....she says sheepishly:(
Well, that's a good thing! Problem solved!
Thank you for your kind response;)
Mira



This one is also advertised on Amazon:
Black Dragon Rose Seeds Bush Flower Seeds
its very obviously a scam. but alot of people actually buy them!


Looking good DNTQuilter! :)
-----------------------------------
sunflowersrus222,
We have a large calendar hanging in which I write down the days it rains, when I fertilize or whatever...
Keeps me on track... lol
We have had so much rain that I only have had to
handwater my newly planted baby Heirloom Roses once since May 15th...


Thanks, Tammy!
dsd, love your patio pot garden! That's sort of what I was trying to do with mine, decorate the edges of the patio, but yours is much prettier!
I think my oldest potted one is Folklore at 7 years. You do have to occasionally root prune them and repot them. For me I can go a round 4 or 5 years before I have to do that but for you, with your much longer growing season, that may be only 2 or 3 years. It's usually pretty easy to tell when they need to be repotted. When you water them the water will immediately start running out the bottom of the pot because there's little soil left to hold it. I pull the root ball out of the pot, cut it back by about half and then repot with fresh soil...or find a bigger pot, lol!
I'm always hunting for pots and pick them up when ever I come across a good deal and just stash them until needed. End of season sales at places like Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes or Big Lots are good places to get them cheap. Also check your local hardware stores. I've gotten some good deals at Costco too.
I start out the spring with a slow release granular fertilizer scratched in. Then at least once a month with some liquid spray or drench fertilizer and organics, like fish emulsion. Watering depends a lot on the weather but I have a moisture meter and I use it! It help save me a ton of money on my watering bill because before I just watered about every third day because I didn't know if they really needed it or not.
A 3 gallon pot is pretty small and a full size rose will out grow it in a season. A mini might last a few of years. A lot depends on the rose itself and how vigorous it is. Most of my pots are at least 15 gallons and I have a collection of 20/25 gallon ones for those permanently potted HTs..
For years I used Lowes Stay Green potting soil because it was the cheapest. I recently switched over to the Miracle Grow Moisture Control because we found it at a great price at Costco. As long as it's a good quality potting soil it doesn't matter which brand but I do try to stay away from the ones with fertilizer in them. I want to have control of when and what they get.
I hope I got all your questions, lol!
Yes, displaced, one of my beds is along the street and people regularly help them selves to blooms. I don't mind usually but when they do it the day before my rose shows I freak out! I've put signs up telling people to ask and I'd be happy to cut some for them but it did no good so now I pot the show roses.
Frenchcuffs, yes and no. Usually it's whatever ones give me a decent bloom to cut show week, lol! I'm still working on my HT collection and haven't done very well with those. But I have won mini queen a couple of times, once with Robin Alonso and once with Snow Ruby so I'd say those were my favorites! My show Is Saturday and SR has a very promising bud coming!






I grow rugosas and would still prune if it were mine. They don't seem to mind when they are pruned.
Have an idea in your head of what the final goal of the pruning is going to be. Old and dead wood should be removed at the base. It is possible that is all that should be done. If the rose is getting too big for the space, then do some cutting back. Some rugosas have attractive, fountain shapes, and can lose that is they are butchered, which is why having a goal is important.