Problems with my roses - any help appreciated

silverbeetle · 17 June 2017 at 4:07PM

I am a new gardener and have built up a collection of David Austin roses. They were looking lush and green and were covered in buds until we had the stormy weather a few weeks ago. Now they are a disaster - leaves turning an orange colour, yellow leaves, blackspot covering the leaves, buds dying and going really powdery, any buds which do bloom are really small.

I have cut off the affected leaves and the powdery buds. Now the bushes look scalped.

How can I help these roses and bring them back to their former glory? I am so upset about this and would really appreciate any advice. I need any solutions to be pet friendly as I have a dog.

Many thanks

Jojo_the_Tightfisted · 17 June 2017 at 9:53PM

They'll recover over time. Just make sure you burn or otherwise dispose of the cuttings to keep the spores from continuing the infection. And I'd possibly water them well with some compost tea if I were inclined to take an active role with non food plants.

And when you prune them, make sure they're a nice open shape to maximise airflow.

Somebody else can advise about antifungals, as chemicals aren't my area.

tootallulah · 18 June 2017 at 8:30AM

My neighbour looks after my roses, he waters them with Epsom salts to help them grow! I have no idea why it works but it does. Sounds like you are doing the right thing, nurse them through and they will come again next year if not this.

TheGardener · 18 June 2017 at 10:15AM

Where you planted the new roses - was it a bed that had previously had roses in it? I was taught that you should never plant new roses in an old rose bed. There may be a build up of pests and diseases that affect roses in the soil.

Clear and burn the yellow and spotted leaves and make sure any newly planted roses don't dry out in this hot weather.

Roses are greedy feeders - well rotted manure or a mulch of homemade compost will help feed and retain moisture. Roses also struggle on thin, sandy soil so if your soil is like that, beef it up a bit with the above.

Farway · 18 June 2017 at 3:49PM

Try some liquid fertiliser, something like Maxicrop complete, with all the trace elements

Feed as per bottle, normally twice a month until Autumn

silverbeetle · 18 June 2017 at 4:59PM

Thank you for the replies, much appreciated.

My roses are in containers planted mostly planted last year in John Innes no 3 compost.

I have been feeding them with tomato feed. I hope this is ok. I will have a look for Maxicrop. I have been watering them daily in this hot weather.
I will try the Epsom salts - any idea how much to use?

Sorry if this is a daft question but can I overfeed them and would this damage them?

I have been throwing the diseased leaves away.

Fingers crossed they will recover to their former glory

System · 19 June 2017 at 9:11AM

Sorry to hijack the thread slightly but i seem to be having a similar issue with black spot. I was looking at spraying them with an anti fungal spray but do i also remove the leaves with black spot or leave them on?

sheramber · 19 June 2017 at 3:07PM

Feed with a specific rose food rather than a general one.

Use systemic rose fungicide. I use Rose Clear and have dogs. I just make sure the dogs are not around the roses until the spray has dried.

Yellowing leaves can be a sign of lack of water or lack of feed. An underfed rose will be more prone to disease.

Always remove the affected leaves and do not compost them. Dispose of them or burn them.

Spray around the roots of the rose as well as spores fall onto the ground and then get blown onto the plant again.

Misslayed · 23 June 2017 at 12:16PM

I also use Roseclear, have done for years, it works a treat.

Problems with my roses - any help appreciated

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