Hi, Gail,

you're right: I am in Germany. We had plenty of rain in early August,
but very dry weather ever since.
There is a huge old weeping willow nearby, but the rose-bushes are just
as old and there has been peaceful coexistence all the time.
I think you are right about having the soil tested. We'll see.
Thanks for your advice.

Joachim


Gail Futoran schrieb:

wrote in message
ups.com...
I got a few very old rose-bushes in my garden. As in most years,the
roses had bloomed gorgeously, now for the second time.
What has been worrying me for a few weeks now is that the bushes have
been massively losing their lower leaves; they turn a dirty brown and
fall off. I couldn't detect any bugs or mildew. What other desease
could have befallen them?
Thanks for advice.

Yoyo

Where are you? I"m guessing Germany but
that doesn't tell me much about what your
temperatures and rain have been like.

Where I am (near San Antonio TX USA
Zone 8) we've had high heat, low rain all summer.
I've lost several roses whose leaves just turned
brown. They were probably weak from other
diseases (unknown) since other roses in the
same beds are fine.

Of course, too *much* rain can have the same
effect if for some reason the soil isn't draining
properly.

Are there trees nearby? Perhaps tree roots are
interfering with the rose roots. Trees will win
every time. If all your roses are having this
problem, it could be a problem with the soil.
Do you have a local nursery that can do a soil
test for you?

A good site for disease/pest identification is
Baldo's:
http://members.tripod.com/buggyrose/

Gail