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Old 23-04-2004, 03:10 PM
Grubber
 
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Default rose bush problems

"escapee" wrote in message
news
It sounds like blackspot. However, I should warn you, roses are not for
black
thumbs! They are very fussy, require maintenance and need to heavily

fertilized
in order to product UNLESS you bought antique roses, then you may have

good
success. The mini's are usually on their own rootstock and perform very

well,
but please be certain you have problems before you start spraying

pesticides.

Herbicides are very dangerous chemicals, unless you used Neem Oil, then

it's a
lot less toxic.



I think your general assessment is too pessimistic. I have about 25
different roses that are hardly pampered, and they are mostly in glorious
bloom right now. I have probably planted ten others that croaked in the
first year, but my approach is a survival of the fittest method. If they
can't survive without pampering, I don't want them. They are all planted in
slightly improved soil with lots of sun and given a good layer of mulch.
They are watered in the heat of the summer. I fertilize sometimes, but not
every year. I deadhead, but only prune the roses when they get too big.

That said, I agree that own root antique roses will do much better in the
long run. I have a grafted yellow rose that I got from Home Depot for $10 a
few years ago that is amazing, and a grafted Marilyn Monroe from It's a
Jungle that is impressive for just having been planted in the fall, but I've
had lots of grafted roses that looked healthy for months and then croaked.
Many of the own root antiques look kind of weak for a couple of years, but
then they come on with a vengeance. I have a Buff Beauty that easily has a
thousand roses on it right now, although it only has a few roses the rest of
the year.

Few of these are show quality roses, and there is some blackspot, but it's
enough of a show that people stop and get out of their cars to look.