My rose bushes are blooming beautifully. But the leaves are starting to turn almost white. They get white speckles on them until there are so many almost the whole leaf is white. I'll post a picture as soon as I can figure out how to do it on my new computer.
Who knows about roses?
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Daughter of a collector of old fashioned roses 
How well pruned are your roses? They benefit from fairly good ventilation (hence the fairly standard method of pruning inward growing stems by thirds) and can get mildew on the leaves if not well ventilated. This is white. Could this be a possibilty?
How well pruned are your roses? They benefit from fairly good ventilation (hence the fairly standard method of pruning inward growing stems by thirds) and can get mildew on the leaves if not well ventilated. This is white. Could this be a possibilty?
babetoo
Chef Extraordinaire
looks like spider mites to me. i have aphids once in a while. use a spray that will kill both.
babe
babe
MexicoKaren
Head Chef
I used to have over a hundred rose bushes in my yard when I lived in the Northwest. Needless to say, they became a constant preoccupation. This looks like leaf mold to me, and unfortunately, the only way to get rid of it is with chemicals. Believe me, I tried to "go organic" with my roses, but if you want to grow hybrid tea roses, you cannot do it (at least in the NW) without chemicals. Ask at Home Depot or Loews...I used to buy a systemic fertilizer that also contained a pesticide that you could sprinkle around the bottom the bush. But it probably also needs a spray. That is a lovely rose, BTW. Too hot for them here in Mexico....
quicksilver
Washing Up
It sounded like mildew, so check this site out, B'sgirl
HTML:
http://allexperts.com/q/Roses-732/white-leaves-established-rose.htm
Constance
Master Chef
It's powdery mildew, kinda like black spot, but not. It's caused by high humidity. Not to worry...just spray it with a fungicide that's labeled for roses.
Even if your rose completely defoliates, do not despair. Just feed it and don't let it dry out too much, and it will come right out of it.
One way to help avoid fungus is to water your roses in the morning, and try to keep the water off the foliage. This holds true for most plants.
If the evening is the only time you have a chance to water, however, just try to keep the water off the foliage.
Note: If it has red spider mites, the leaves will dry up and fall off. You will need a magnifying glass to see the tiny red dots under the leaves, but when you start seeing spider webs around the dead leaves, you'll know for sure what you have.
Destroy the plant right away...burning is best...and spray the surrounding plants with insecticidal soap.
Even if your rose completely defoliates, do not despair. Just feed it and don't let it dry out too much, and it will come right out of it.
One way to help avoid fungus is to water your roses in the morning, and try to keep the water off the foliage. This holds true for most plants.
If the evening is the only time you have a chance to water, however, just try to keep the water off the foliage.
Note: If it has red spider mites, the leaves will dry up and fall off. You will need a magnifying glass to see the tiny red dots under the leaves, but when you start seeing spider webs around the dead leaves, you'll know for sure what you have.
Destroy the plant right away...burning is best...and spray the surrounding plants with insecticidal soap.
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Uh-oh. I am definitely seeing some webs on dead leaves down below the bush. I also found one in a curled up leaf still on the bush and small dots that just may be spider mites (I didn't look with a magnifying glass though). Does that really mean I need to destroy my most beautiful rose bush?!? And my strawberries right in front of it have the same problem with the leaves. Do I need to get rid of them? What about the strawberries on them, are they safe to eat?
Yesterday I bought an expensive fungicide/pesticide/plant food combo and I also have a fungicide/insecticide spray. Would those help with mites or is it a lost cause?
Yesterday I bought an expensive fungicide/pesticide/plant food combo and I also have a fungicide/insecticide spray. Would those help with mites or is it a lost cause?
quicksilver
Washing Up
With living things, I tend to try simple first, then if necessary get alittle more agressive.
What I would first do is fill a spray bottle with room temp water (you don't want to shock your plant) and put in about 2 tbps. of dishwashing (not dishwasher) liquid and spray the plant(s), making sure you spray under the leaves, first removing those dead, creapy looking ones. Then I would sprinkle some boric acid (borate) around the base of the plant.
Keep watering like Constance said, but I wouldn't be watering every day. Maybe 2-3 days.
These deseases/fungus/mildew/bugs don't happen overnight, so give it a little bit of time. Make note of new leaf activity. The old, bad ones aren't going to recover, so forget about them. I would remove them, just to remove the problem from new growth.
It's gonna look like a Charlie Brown thing, but you have beautiful flowers, and that's what it's all about.
Take all those fancy things you bought back. Get some rose food or bone/blood meal or manure )the non-stinky kind) or fish emulsion, and rose dust.
If your plant is healthy to begin with, it is less likely to be suseptible to desease.
Sort of like us. Why do some of us get sick being around sick people, and some of us don't. Good food-nutrition, rest, less stress, etc. That's how to look at your plants.
What kind of rose is it? Do you only have 1 plant?
A companion to roses is Garlic! Believe it or not.
What I would first do is fill a spray bottle with room temp water (you don't want to shock your plant) and put in about 2 tbps. of dishwashing (not dishwasher) liquid and spray the plant(s), making sure you spray under the leaves, first removing those dead, creapy looking ones. Then I would sprinkle some boric acid (borate) around the base of the plant.
Keep watering like Constance said, but I wouldn't be watering every day. Maybe 2-3 days.
These deseases/fungus/mildew/bugs don't happen overnight, so give it a little bit of time. Make note of new leaf activity. The old, bad ones aren't going to recover, so forget about them. I would remove them, just to remove the problem from new growth.
It's gonna look like a Charlie Brown thing, but you have beautiful flowers, and that's what it's all about.
Take all those fancy things you bought back. Get some rose food or bone/blood meal or manure )the non-stinky kind) or fish emulsion, and rose dust.
If your plant is healthy to begin with, it is less likely to be suseptible to desease.
Sort of like us. Why do some of us get sick being around sick people, and some of us don't. Good food-nutrition, rest, less stress, etc. That's how to look at your plants.
What kind of rose is it? Do you only have 1 plant?
A companion to roses is Garlic! Believe it or not.
MexicoKaren
Head Chef
Marigolds are also a good companion to roses - keeps the aphids down.
quicksilver
Washing Up
B'sgirl, what became of your roses?
What did you wind up doing?
What did you wind up doing?
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.
quicksilver
Washing Up
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.
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.
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quicksilver
Washing Up
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!
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.
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
Master Chef
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........
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?
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?Attachments
expatgirl
Master Chef
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........
