Hmmmmm . . . No particular mildew problems here, along the Ventura County Coast.
Are these new roses? Or roses that you have grown for years and years? Generally speaking, if a formerly-resistant rose suddenly starts to mildew, I assume it has some other over-riding health issue.

Jeri

Six year old roses. All have been dug up and planted in 15 gallon cans waiting for new landscaping. Perhaps it is just stress. The ones I am concerned about have been recently transplanted (March of last year). White rose named Fabulous. They have never had mildew in the six years I have had them. Never had to be sprayed. I thought it was just a strange year, but now that I hear from a Ventura coast person it must be my garden. Bummer.

What roses have you found to be best in your Ventura garden? Thanks for taking the time to answer my question!
TR

TR, if you've dug 'em up, and they're sitting in pots, they're likely stressed, and that's your answer. When they are back in the ground, and well established, they should regain their accustomed help. :-)

What does well for us?
After 20 years of experimentation, my answer is easy:
Tea Roses, China Rose, and Noisette Roses grow here, for the most part, with no disease problems, and lots of vigor, in our no-spray garden.
Polyanthas for the most part are great here.
Few of the Austins do all that well.

Before I bore everyone here stiff, You are welcome to contact me directly for specific local information. I will be here for two more days, then we will go on the road for a couple of weeks (hopefully with intermittent internet access along the way).

Jeri, in Camarillo, CA

Yes, this has indeed been one of the worst years for powdery mildew in my So. Calif. garden. I live in coastal Santa Barbara, about 1.5 miles (as the crow flies) from the beach. For example, for the past month, I have PM on usually rock-solid clean roses like Hot Cocoa. Hot Cocoa is one of my "never ever gets anything" roses. I have several other similar always clean roses with some PM. You are correct in observing that there has been less fog this summer, although it was an overall pretty cool summer and fall. Rust is encouraged by rain and shade, and since we got pretty much no rain this year, the rust is minimal. Roses transplanted to 15 gallon containers seven months ago, and properly cared for aren't stressed. It's all about the weather.

hey guys...

my Falstaff is showing signs of powdery mildew and bud blast.

I've tried the 1 part milk with 8 parts of water treatment, but that just makes the leaves shrivel up - worser than before. I ended up pulling out all the affected leaves.

Falstaff is such a beautiful rose but I just don't know what to do next. Now, my Jude the Obscure is showing signs of mildew because it's situated close to Falstaff. Someone help me out here please.

Mildew, bud blast and thrips are a pain in the neck.

Falstaff:

{{gwi:335728}}

{{gwi:335729}}

Susan,

I live on the ocean side of Campanil Hills (Santa Barbara). You are probably the perfect person to talk to. What roses do best for you? I will be putting in two rose gardens in the next year. I want perfect form, no disease, and lots of rebloom. Ha! I know there is no such thing. I have been testing roses for years. I started with 65 and am down to about 30. Only ten fit the perfect bill. I would love to know what you have luck with.

Jimmy,

Your falstaf is beautiful. I have never tried it because of mildew. What is bud blast? I wish I could help, but I am having the same problem. I guess we have to spray. I hate to do it. It kills my wonderful bees and makes me feel poisoned. My dog won't even go outside after spraying, the smell freaks her out. Good luck to you.
Tinyrose

Thanks Tinyrose,

Bud blast - I'm not sure whether that's the correct term to use but I was referring to a bud that fails to open fully and later rot away. This experience can be very frustrating if you have 1st year roses with 3 buds waiting to open but only 1 bud made it.

I don't spray my roses too because my roses are grown in self - watering pots that have a drainage hole at the side, and birds like to take a sip of water inside of that hole. Don't want to poison wild life.

So, Tinyrose do you use organic sprays? If so, does the spray cause leaves to shrivel up?

Is it true that powdery mildew will go away in Summer time?

Tinyrose,

I am curious to find out the names of your 10 perfect roses. Please do tell!

- HershiGrl

>> I want perfect form, no disease, and lots of rebloom.

*** It all depends upon what you consider to be "perfect form."

Jeri

Hi HershiGrl,

Since you live on the coast I would love to know your top ten also.

My all time best, never has disease and cranks out flowers all year long
GOLDEN CELEBRATION

Rose Rhapsody - Fragrant Cloud is the parent
Gertrude Jekyll - I seem to be the only one who has no problem with this rose
Pink Traviata (no scent, but also no disease)
Peter Mayle
Paul Bocuse - beautiful color, no disease, never without a flower
Princess Alexandra - no longer available in the US. I had to send for it from Canada. Never a spot of disease. It sat in my pot ghetto for a year, without sun, and still produced flowers without disease.
Secret
Queen of Sweden- two years old and performing like a champ
The Pilgram
Jean Giono I love the flowers, but it does mildew, and doesn't have a scent

I am trying out a bunch of new roses this year, but need to give them a few years for evaluation!

Let me know about yours! Thanks

Tinyrose, where did you get the mistaken impression that spraying for mildew is going to kill bees? LOL. I spray and I never have a shortage of bees. There is no reason that spraying for fungus/mildew should kill your bees.

Hi Patricia43,

I guess I got the impression that spraying killed bees because everytime I sprayed the bees disappeard for a couple days. Perhaps it was the kind of fungicide I used. Orthenex, I believe. If bees are buzzing around your roses and you spray them, I just assumed it would kill them. I am sure time of day makes a difference. The bees aren't out early morning and they go home around sunset. I am at the mercy of my gardeners schedule though.

You really have me thinking and I am going to do some more research. Thanks for the information.
Tinyrose

Orthenex is a combination fungicide AND insecticide. The insecticide part is why your bees stayed away after spraying.

For control of powdery mildew, may I recommend Eco-ERASE -- a hort oil?
It is actually jojoba oil.
ERASE will coat the mildew and basically kill it.
There will be some remaining damage, but you will have ended the outbreak.
Just one caution:
Do not use ERASE, or any hort oil, if the temperature is going to be much over 75 deg.
In hot weather, oiled foliage will sunburn, so mildew will be a moot point.
We use ERASE for a brief period in the spring, when the air is consistently damp and cool enough to
fuel mildew outbreaks.
After that, well-hydrated plants of naturally resistant cultivars do not seem much troubled here by mildew.

Jeri

Hi Diane,

Yes, I used Orthenex when I had both mildew and rose slug, thrips etc. Honestly I was just wondering if this year was worse for mildew than other years. I am glad to know that fungicide doesn't harm bees though. I need them to polinate my orchard. Thank you to all who have posted!
Tinyrose

Jeri -

"There will be some remaining damage, but you will have ended the outbreak. "

Does that mean the damages already been done to the leaves would be irreversible? I've used the milk-with-water treatment on the affected leaves, and I noticed the affected leaves just shriveled up - so is that normal? In this case, should I leave it as it is or pull them out?

thanks

Damage done is done. The leaves will still be "crinkled" or somewhat discolored, but the fungal spores will be smothered.
I would not remove the leaves myself. They will still function for photosynthesis, after all. And many leaves are needed to make blooms.
The trick is to observe the roses closely enough that you spot the outbreak early. Then very little foliage will be damaged.

Jeri

Thanks Tinyrose.

I would be willing to recommend any of these roses to a new rose grower:

Secret
Givenchy
Black Magic
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Abracadabra (older J&P version)
Ingrid Bergman
Gypsy Carnival
Midnight Blue
Eden
Perfect Moment
Lovers Lane

(Oops, that's 11.)

I also recommend Gemini to new rose growers, although I don't personally grow it because I don't like the color.

- HershiGrl