Rose Help Please..

16 years ago

Hello,

Last spring/summer was my first experience with gardening...I love it...however, I don't have as much time as I would like - busy with young kids and job. But, nevertheless, am giving it a shot and the kids enjoy it as well. Doing this organically as well.

I have a few questions as we get started this spring. I am in NC (zone 7) and I'm not sure if it is time to get out there and do things yet, but wanted to start planning.

Here we go! :)

KNOCKOUTS

1. When should I begin fertilizing?

2. Should I remove all the brown / miscolored leaves?

3. Should I do any pruning?

CARPET ROSES

These little ones developed black spot really bad last summer and I had a hard time stopping it. I tried homemade organic mixture but I think it was too little, too late. I found an organic spray at the store...but after I got it home and read the label (if you develope breathing problems get help...) I didn't use it and took it back . I don't know if I did the right thing, but I ended up doing a lot of pruning.

Right now they are leafless...but I noticed new growth starting. I also noticed that the stems seem to be a bit spotty too, which I think means the whole plant has black spot.

There is a chance I can take the plants back and they will replace them. If I do it early, I can apply the black spot protection early. Here are my questions?

1. Try and get replacements?

2. Try to nurse the existing plants?

3. If I do that, should I cut them all the way back? (they are pretty small to begin with.

4. When should I begin fertilizing?

5. What is the best way to control black spot?

We also have japanese beattles bad. Is there a good/safe reppelant?

We have a lot of humidity and last year, a lot of rain.

Thanks so much for your help. I REALLY appreciate it!!

-Jennifer

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Comment (1)

diane_nj 6b/7a
16 years ago
Knock Outs
1. Depends on what you are using as fertilizer. More info, please.
2. They will fall off by themselves eventually. Remove if you have the time, otherwise, let them be.
3. Prune if there are any dead canes and if you want to shape the plant.

Carpet Roses
The Carpet roses vary widely in their disease resistance.
1. If they are not blackspot resistant, the replacements won't be either. And yes, if the leaves have blackspot, the canes have blackspot. Blackspot can overwinter on the plant. If you want to stay organic, I would try some other plant.
2. You can, but they would have to be treated for blackspot. You would want to start treatment early, right after you prune.
3. I would only prune out any dead canes and do some shaping.
4. See #1 under "Knock Out"
5. I don't have an answer if you want to stay organic. In areas where blackspot is a problem, I don't think any of the organic products work well. The only one I don't know a lot about is Serenade. The best way is to only grow disease resistant roses.

Japanese Beetles: Organically, hand picking and drowning them in soapy water is what is usually done. You can also try applying Mikly Spore to your lawn. This will attack the grubs. It will take a couple of years to be fully effective (depending on the number of Japanese Beetle grubs are present), but you should see a reduction. Or, just let them be.
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