"alwynne mackie" wrote in message
...
When roses are accidentally hit with Zero or Roundup, they usually show
the
effects in the parts less affected, by turning the leaves a little stumpy
and curled. If there had been spot spraying of a herbicide you would
expect
to find this on the branches adjacent to the ones dying back.
It could be a soil fungus such as armillaria, which affects any root
coming
into contact with the fungus in the soil (usually on old affected roots of
trees, shrubs or other plants long since dead). This would account for the
partial die back. Have you noticed any toadstools growing in tight
clusters,
and sandy in colour? They are seasonal, according to area - basically
whenever the mushroom season is for you.
I hope this helps.
Cheers,
Alwynne

Thanks for the advice.
We haven't done any spot spraying recently so I can count that out.
Just yesterday on the actual golf course(fairways and such)
mushrooms/toadstools have popped up overnight, but there weren't any in the
garden, so I guess I can count that out too. Also, these roses were put
there from the day the garden was built, so no other plants were there
before, except for natural bush. Not sure where the soil for the garden was
imported from though.

On Thursday we gave all the roses a prune over, in the hope to encourage new
growth and allow airflow through them.
One thing we are sure of, is that ALL of the dead bits were from branches
that had layered themselves in the soil. Not one dead bit was from the main
trunk and had grown up. ie, all deadbits had touched the soil. So possibly
it was the theory that leaves and petals had fallen on them, causing rot. Or
as someone else at work mentioned, the layered bits put out roots (only
shallow), and they failed to get any water. In the garden overall the first
2 or 3 inches of mulch and soil did not hold any moisture, but deep down it
had moisture.

So now only time will tell, see what happens now.

Thanks very much for the advice. I've kept your reply for future reference.

Bye now


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