Sick Roses

[jimtx]

Ok .......... got a problem with some of my one year old rosebushes (OGR) .... have been outside since the last frost. Did fine all Spring and then we hit the 100 deg. days. Now 3 bushes look like they are suffering from the heat and drying up .......and dying. They have plenty of water and 3 inches of mulch. Have wondered about shading them some ... they are full sun.

Any ideas appreciated .. they are really nice roses.

Jim

[Ann B.]

Jim,

I have a neighbor with a couple of Grandiflora's that are having the same problem. He sent over for my help, so today, I went over to examine the problem. And he is right, they look AWFUL when normally they are gorgeous...

One of them is identical to one his wife gave me about 10 years ago. Mine is lush, full of green leaves, no black spot, and absolutely loaded with huge rose hips. It's the yellow one that I posted about this spring.

The following is what I have observed to be the problem with my neighbor's and what I have advised that I do to assist.

There is a lot of dead wood that needs to be removed. Some appears dead, yet there is a tiny bit of new growth, and even some of the new growth is producing buds.

I suggested that we prune the plant considerably, even removing some of the sickly branches with new buds. I noticed that one had a dead spot, sort of a hole in the side of the older portion of the cane. That one will definitely go....

I will also give these poor rose bushes some systematic rose fertilizer. They definitely need a boost. I used to feed them regularly since his wife died, but I must admit I have not done that much this year.

There is no sign of aphids or black spot or any kind of fungus, but this much I can tell you. Until a year or so ago, this particular rose was shaded during the morning and late afternoon from sun, but the pecan tree was cut down.

Mine that is so very healthy and lush is directly under the dappled shade of one of my larger pecan trees. It is also completely shaded during the middle of the day by the eave of my home and gets no direct sun in the afternoon.

Now, you must understand that I planted this one in the partially shaded location knowing that it would only get a few hours of direct sun and the rest dappled shade. I researched it, and research told me it would do fine under these circumstances.

I vote to put a wide rimmed bowl of water near the base to help provide some humidity, and shade it during the middle of the day if you can.

I think your roses are suffering from heat, but I cannot be sure. Can you tell me the specific name of the variety and give me some idea as to how long it has had to establish roots? That may help...

Is there any way that you could possibly provide these roses with a fine mist during the hottest and dryest portion of the day?

Jim, I have the opposite problem... Too much humidity, and too much rain, and mine are not showing any stress... But then again, my temperatures are not getting above 90 degrees for very long.

Tell me more...

[jimtx]

Have no idea on the name .. these are the ones that I sent the pictures of sometime back. They were cuttings last fall and as I said they did very well in the spring .... beautiful blooms. However, they don't have much growth and I have cut the rest of the blooms off to encourage new growth.

That's about all I can tell u

Jim

[Ann B.]

Jim,

My only thoughts are to try to keep them cut back for now to reduce transpiration from the leaves. Feed them occasionally and keep them watered. If you can, feed them something that will encourage root growth. They are still young, and they need more roots to sustain the stress.

Be sure to remove any seed pods that are forming which requires more energy from the mother plant.

They will probably bounce back with sudden growth this fall, but for now, I would concentrate on letting those roots grow really strong and deeply into the soil.

All of my repeat blooming old roses put on a show in the spring and early fall, but they do not do much showing off during the summer months.