What's wrong with my roses?

2 years ago

last modified: 2 years ago

I purchased and planted these roses in January this year. I've noticed some issues with them but haven't been able to find a solid answer in my Google searching. I'm hoping people with more experience might be able to help me figure out what's going on. I live in Southern AZ zone 9b. Planted the roses in a mix of existing soil and Kelloggs GroMulch. Didn't apply any fertilizer until I saw new growth and then just Alaska fish fertilizer every other week. They've had two applications so far. I water in the mornings or evenings if it gets too late. When I water in the mornings I make sure to thoroughly spray the foliage to help prevent aphids and other bugs, but I won't spray the foliage if I water at night. I tried using the heavy volume Foggit nozzle but it was just too forceful and ended up causing the leaves to be forced against the stems and the thorns punched holes in them. First 2 pics are of my Moonlight Magic which has put on a lot of new growth. 3rd pic is my Heirloom which has been struggling but wasn't very strong when I bought it. Last 3 pics are of my Chrysler Imperial which has put on new foliage but hasn't grown any taller. I noticed some tiny green bugs in my Moonlight last night so I sprayed it with Captain Jack's Insecticidal Soap and picked off a few tiny bugs this morning. I forgot to take pics before I picked them off. *Edit - It posted the 3rd and 4th pics out of order. 4th pic is the Heirloom.*

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Comments (5)

Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
2 years ago
This might be rose Mosaic Virus. Just keep taking care of your plants. In hot climates this is usually not a serious problem.
charles kidder
2 years ago
I 2nd Mosaic virus. I think there's more than that going on, but that's part of it. They don't look all that bad to me.
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nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
2 years ago
The tiny green bugs are probably aphids and the stream of water or squishing them off will take care of them. Doing as little as possible chemically encourages the good bugs to come in and take care of the bad bugs and you have a supportive environment for the rose with a minimum of effort.

The tips of the bloom in the first picture are just a bit crispy but being Arizona I suspect that's business as usual with the heat. Some shade in the hottest part of the day can help, and other AZ folks might chime in with ideas if you need them.

All in all you're doing fine! Rose Mosaic Virus isn't anything you did or the rose gets from the environment. It's just something that many grafted roses have that make the leaves discolored. In my cold climate it can weaken it a bit for winter survival, but even here we just grin and bear it. Mostly it doesn't interfere with the rose, and it doesn't spread from rose to rose. Sometimes it'll go dormant and you won't notice it for a while.

Cynthia
Diane Brakefield
2 years ago
It looks like three things are affecting your roses, including the mosaic virus for sure, though I regard that as a cosmetic problem. The bud ends in the first several photos look like thrips' damage,, perhaps, but the photos are a bit blurry. As Sheila said, keep taking good care of your plants. The ground looks really dry. Cut back on the spraying. Aphids can be easily removed with a spray of water. I've found Captain Jack's to be worthless. Just my opinion, but at the time, years ago, I was trying it for thrips. I found that just ignoring the blasted thrips works just as well, since they seem to affect only three of my roses. Diane
Green Leaves
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
From the petals, I think I saw some signs of thrips activity. Please inspect the new leaves as well. If the tips dried up before turn into new leaves, or the new leaves are twisted, and exhibit small marks, it's possible that thrips are also involved.