A rose by any other name would be.....yellowed and sickly? Help!

[Beekissed]

Hey, you all! I can't seem to grow roses, tried twice and have failed. Both times, different places, different soils, different types of roses......both planted, watered, fertilized with natural compost with a good pH...both of their leaves started turning yellow, brown spots, started dying.

What in the world is going on with these roses? They are big, healthy specimens when planted and turn bad within a week or so.

Any idea what the primary problem could be? I'm not so bad growing other plants but roses seem to illude me......

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Beekissed

Try growing an "Old- fashioned rose grown on it's own roots -- most modern roses are grafted & they don't stand up to warm conditions too well. I wish I could send you one of the ones I've grown from cuttings. Try to find a small nursery that specialises in this kind of rose -- I bet 'Reinbeau' on here would know of some; PM her.

Hope this helps! Don't lose heart! :rose :rose :rose :rose :rose




:rose Hattie :rose

 

[Rosalind]

What kind of roses exactly? Some are more persnickety than others. Some are also susceptible to a kind of bug that is darn near invisible until you have an infestation so bad that they are actually breeding on the roses, and then you can see their itty-bitty stringy cocoons, so it looks like they are dying of something else when in fact it's bugs. Yellow & brown spots could also be rose rust.

If you're really stuck and having serious problems, there are some roses that are fairly resistant critters: the rugosas are almost impossible to kill, highly resistant to everything. And a preventative spray of neem oil in the spring is also helpful.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

What Rosalind says backs up my point as rugosas are grown on their own roots in my experience. They are great but don't have the variety of colours that we sometimes want. I think they make wonderful hedging plants with all their little thorns.


:rose Hattie :rose

 

[Greensage45]

This may sound sort of silly, but clearly you are trying too hard. It really sounds like you are over-fertilizing. If you added natural compost and also fertilizer you may be burning the roots.

I would have only dug a hole a bit bigger than the rootball and added only just a bit of supplemental soil change. If it were clay I would lean more towards a bit of peat and sand. If it were sandy I would lean a bit more organic (to hold moisture); just enough to change only a few inches around the rootball. The rose will reach through the new pocket of soil and encounter the earth as it normally is. This is the soil the plant will have to deal with over the rest of its lifetime in that particular spot. Then I would have added a bit of mulch on top to keep moisture retention and weed control. I would not of fertilized until the bush is clearly set ( I would say no less than 30 days, even stretching beyond that since this is a new planting).

Typically the soil as it stands should have enough nutrient and minerals to keep a bush alive and healthy without supplementation. After a season it is slowly exhausted and then a regular bi-annual treatment would be in order, and thinking how rich the soil must be in WV I would even go as far to say that once a year fertilization would be adequate for a healthy specimen.

If you are hoping to save this bush you can pull it from the ground and set the rootball in a bucket of water and wash out the excess, then set it back into the ground without the supplements. If it is a specific spot you are hoping to establish this bush then I would recommend a pot for the rest of the summer until fall. The initial burn will be unsightly but after it crisps up and you see how far the branches die back you can prune it way back and the regrowth will overcome the unsightliness in a few months. You might still lose the bush which would be a shame, but from what it sounds like if the bush remains where it is it will perish anyways.

Flush the spot where you planted it well and often to wash away any excess fertilizers while you are deciding what to do; especially if you are going to plant there again.

Wishing you luck.

Let us know how things progress. You might even throw a pack of seeds in the spot for the remainder of the season to wear off anything that could have harmed the rose.

Ron

 

[Beekissed]

This a climbing rose called "Stairway to Heaven". I didn't use fertilizer in addition to compost...just well-composted manure, some egg shells and we have had a goodly amount of rain lately. I was hoping this was the reason....to much rain and shocked root system. My last rose, years ago, seemed to always have some kind of blight and died a lingering death.

I know nothing about roses but would really like to get a propagation off of some of the locally grown roses if I can find a kind soul with one. Locally, there is a very pretty, baby pink climber that is stunning and delicately blossomed but I don't know anyone personally who has them....I just see them alot.