DanJohnston wrote in message
news

I have a recently purchased a standing rose in a pot which up until a
few days was ladden with buds, then suddenly it began to shed all of
the buds leaving black stalks in their place. The various potted plants
that we're near the rose also appear to be withering.

It has been suggested to me that there was some form of virus and I
should take the rose back to garden centre.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be much appreciated.

In anticipation

Dan


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DanJohnston

Hi Dan,

Before you rush back to the garden centre and complain, is it possible that
you are responsible for underwatering all these potted specimens? The first
thing a rose with drought stress would do is to shed all its buds, in order
to save itself. Similarly, other potted plants reliant on you for water
would shrivel, taking their leaf moisture back to their roots. If I were
you, I would check those pots for dryness and, probably, give them a good
soaking.

I hope your problem is as simple as this, because it's easily remedied.
Even in wet weather, many pots fail to receive sufficient rain, due to the
'umbrella' of foliage sheltering the soil and roots. In summer, pots
usually need watering daily.

Spider