Who knows about roses?

[quicksilver]

B'sgirl, what became of your roses?
What did you wind up doing?

[B'sgirl]

Unfortunately I haven't had time to do anything yet. I think I'll follow your advice though and start simple. I'm going to pick up some borax at the store today. I just hope the strawberries next to it are okay because I'm getting such a large harvest this year. I hope the rose bush makes it through too because I planted 3 bushes last year and this one did the best by far. It is the biggest and has the most blooms on it. I'm not sure what kind it is, I'd have to go find the tag for it. I'll let you know once I find out though.

[lulu]

Honestly, we've never lost one through mildew. Wehave a little black spot and black fly this year, a pain because we keep things organic, but you know, e'll sort it.

I'm sure yours will be fine!

[quicksilver]

I agree. Your rose flowers look beautiful, so I know things are salvagable. But even if you don't have time to do all the fixing, get those leaves off the plant, as they are draining energy from the plant and could potentially be spreading mildew to rest of plant.

[B'sgirl]

Well I followed your advice with the borax and the dish soap, quicksilver. I'm going out of town this weekend so we'll see how the bush is doing when I get pack. I actually sprayed part of the bush with Wonder Cleaner because a salesperson mentioned that it could "suffocate" ants. I already had some from the year before and she was trying to sell me more (I didn't buy more) and I figured I'd try it since it's organic. So what is it about borax and dish soap that is supposed to help? Uh-oh, I just re-read your post. Is borax the same as boric acid? If not, I may have just killed my bush.

[quicksilver]

Originally Posted by B'sgirl

Well I followed your advice with the borax and the dish soap, quicksilver. I'm going out of town this weekend so we'll see how the bush is doing when I get pack. I actually sprayed part of the bush with Wonder Cleaner because a salesperson mentioned that it could "suffocate" ants. I already had some from the year before and she was trying to sell me more (I didn't buy more) and I figured I'd try it since it's organic. So what is it about borax and dish soap that is supposed to help? Uh-oh, I just re-read your post. Is borax the same as boric acid? If not, I may have just killed my bush.

I hope you also followed my advice and removed all the bad leaves before you did anything.
I don't know what WONDER CLEANER is, but if it suffocated the ants, I hope it doesn't suffocate the pores of the plant.
Borax and boric acid are different. Borax is a compound of boric acid and I think - boron? Boric acid is sodium borate - not a compound. So you should be ok. So you'll have CLEAN DEAD ants!
I don't know why either soap or boric acid work, other than they do, without damaging the plant.
But thinking about it, injesting soap what happens? It tears your insides out. (Appt. with the bathroom bowl!) And acid, well....

Enjoy your weekend away.
I expect a full report when you get back - No, not about the roses,
the weekend! Ha, ha.
Just kidding!

[B'sgirl]

Well, I'll tell you about both. :-)

The rose leaves are browning and not looking so good, as are the petals. I didn't remove the bad leaves first. Because I am obviously forgetful, unobservant, and an amateur. I was actually extremely short on time which didn't help matters. I didn't see a difference with the leaves that got sprayed with different things. I don't think Wonder Cleaner can clog leaf pores, but it's possible. I think the bush may make it though. I guess tomorrow I should remove the bad leaves.

I had a great weekend though. I went to my in-laws house and got a break from my kids. We went to a parade and watched a few fireworks. It was pretty relaxing.

[expatgirl]

Sure sounds like powdery mildew to me, too..........the leaves provide nutrients to the roses so do treat them as quickly as possible......make sure that you are not watering them in the evenings........that's when the spores are the highest.......water early in the mornings and keep the water off the leaves if possible..........you need a good fungicide............oh, do I ever know what you're going thru........

[B'sgirl]

Well, I cleared off the dead/dying leaves, which was nearly all of them. I started doing the watering there in the morning, and made sure the water doesn't hit the leaves. I don't know if it's going to make it though--I think it may be too late. Here are some pictures if anyone can help. Most are of the strawberries but they are planted right in front of this rose bush and have the same problem. They start off white, like the first picture after "Charlie Brown", then start dying like the later ones. I found the webs pictured underneath the rose bush and strawberries. Could these be from spider mites?

[expatgirl]

You've done the right thing is gathering up all the leaves that have fallen off.......they are loaded with spores that can then travel to other plants.....I wonder too if they might not be a little low on iron.......the bright green veins on white leaves usually indicates this problem..........you can buy iron in liquid form and add water to it..........is this the season for strawberries there? It surely isn't in TX.........but you're way up there in Utah..........it's just weird to see snapdragons and petunias blooming in KZ now........they'd long be decomposing in a TX mulch pile by now....good luck with your strawberries, B'sgirl..........your beds look like they need some good mulching as well......just an observation........