Preventing Common Rose Diseases
Just like people, roses are susceptible to disease. Many rose problems are relatively easy to take care of, but it is always better to stop them all together rather than having to cure them later. Here are some of the ways that you can prevent diseases from reaching your roses.
- The easiest way to prevent diseases from attacking your roses is to buy roses that are low maintenance like shrubs and landscape roses.
- Planting your roses properly in areas that have a lot of sun (at least 6 hours in the morning), air circulation and good compost for faster draining can prevent many problems later.
- Keeping different types of flowers and plants in with your roses will help to provide your roses with a better and more balanced ecosystem to live in.
- Fertilize your plants in the proper manner. Roses need their food too!
- Watering your roses correctly and in the morning is a good way to keep fungal diseases from hitting your roses.
- A two inch layer of mulch at the base of each rose plant is a good way to keep soil born diseases at bay.
It seems that even with the best prevention techniques and caring for your roses, you cannot always stop rose disease and problems from affecting your roses. For all the problems your roses can encounter, there are just as many solutions. All it takes is a little bit of TLC and the right techniques. Here are some of those techniques to help your roses look their best.
How to treat common rose problems
- Aphids and Spider Mites
- Aphids are a greenish brown insect that suck the juices from roses and can eventually cause your roses to dry out. One effective treatment is to simply blast your roses with soapy water.
- Black Spots
Black spots are a fungal rose disease that causes the canes to turn black or brown in spots on the foliage. To remedy this, simply prune the affected areas and throw out the clippings. Do not water the head to prevent this from happening again. Note black spots on leaves of image.- Canker
- A canker is another fungal rose disease that causes the canes to turn black or brown. All you have to do is prune the canes just below the canker in the early spring.
- Midge
- A midge is a tiny maggot that causes the buds to blacken from the damage. Prune the affected area.
- Rust
- Rust is a rose disease that creates an orange powder in the center of the rose. It is caused by wet and calm winter weather. Putting in some spider mites can help with this because they hate the water. You should consult your local garden center about the best insecticide to use to get rid of the spider mites. Once you have chosen the insecticide, spray every 7-10 days until it is under control.
- Powder Mildew
- You can put an end to powder mildew by making a mixture of 1 gallon of water, 2 TBSP of baking soda and 1 TBSP of Murphy’s Oil Soap. Spray over the roses in the morning every two weeks until the overall temperature reaches 80 degrees.
