On 29/6/04 11:08, in article , "Jim White"
wrote:

Good morning, all.
Earlier this year I planted a stunning yellow rose which seems to have been
doing really well.
It's in a container, in a John Innes compost with coarse garden sand.
Ther first flush of flowers were six in number, good blooms, lovely colour
and wonderful scent.
There are now more than a dozen buds ready to come into bloom and I've
followed the feeding instructions on the Bio rose food I bought.
The Problem... This morning I picked up from the soil and off the plant a
handfull of leaves, with the stalks, that just fall off the plant when
touched.
The leaves are mottled, going yellow, not looking well at all, but with
little or no physical damage. Have I heard of leaf drop, or is it something
else? What is the problem with the rose, is it serious and shpuld I do
something about ti?
Many thanks

I think it's just that many (most?) roses aren't happy in containers, unless
they're patio roses. First, they are really greedy feeders and I don't
think get enough nutrients, despite feeding and secondly, they can't get a
good enough root spread and thirdly, they probably get water-logged, just to
top it all off. The other thing to check for is that they aren't rocked
about in the wind. I'm told that roses particularly dislike not being
firmly into the soil - and again containers don't allow for that.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds after garden to email me)