Rose Chat Notes
January 24th, 2000
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Tenrank moderated this chat.
This part of the discussion concerned Blackspot, a common and serious
problem for rose growers.
Tenrank sprays his roses with fungicide there are about 5 different kinds
on the market. You should get two different kinds and alternate them.
Blackspot can become immune to it if you use only one kind.
Tenranks favorite is funginex, then he buys another kind. He suggests
buying it at the discount stores in the fall when it is on clearance sale.
Tenrank: Spray Schedule depends on the weather. You need to spray
about every 2 weeks for Blackspot but as it gets hot and humid
you need to spray every week or 10 days. Blackspot spreads
rapidly in hot humid weather but slowly in cool dry weather.
I make my fungicide spraying conditions based on the weather
we are having.
Tenrank: It is important to soak the bushes and the ground around
them with lime sulfer dormant spray before preparing them for
winter. This will kill the spores that try to overwinter on them.
mars: Are there are roses that are less suseptible to Blackspot?
Tenrank: There are roses bushes that are less suseptible,but they
do not have as nice a bloom. The roses I like best are also liked
best by blackspot and worms.
mars: Does the spary you use help with the powdery mildew problem?
And how often do you spray your plants?
Tenrank: All of the rose fungicides help with powdery mildew.
VG : Is it important clear away the yellow / black leaves that
fall off of the plants?
Note: This questions seemed to have gone unanswered.
But, I did find some information in my Rodale Organic
book. Here is the information according to Rodale.
To control Blackspot, plant resistant cultivars, and desroy
all dropped leaves and prunings.
The book also suggests mulching to prevent dirt and spores
from being splashed up on the plants. Weekly copper or
sulfur sprays provide control.
Linde: The nearly wild rose is supposed to be very hardy and
resistant, it is a very plain, single petaled rose.
mars: Are some of the old fashioned roses hardier and have less
problems with Blackspot?
Tenrank: Some of the old fashioned roses will never get Blackspot
but are very suseptible to White Powdery Mildew. It will not
kill the bush, but it is very hard to get rid of and makes the
bush look bad.
mars: I have used Jerry Bakers recipe for powdery mildew and had
good luck with it, but it was on pumpkins.
Tenrank: I'm in upper Michigan where we do not have as much
of a problem with Blackspot, and the harsh winters kill off most
of the spores. It takes till August for new infection to start.
VG: I also heard that if you have Red Tipped Photona they can also get
Blackspot and spread it to roses in your yard.
Linde: Good air circulation makes a difference in roses too.
(Lots of agreement here.)
trxe: I grow mini roses. I buy them cheap, for about $1.00 after
valentines day when the are on sale. I keep them in and then
plant them in the ground in the spring.
VG : Do you grow them in pots or in the ground?
trxe: I keep them in the ground here in Minnasota.
Tenrank: I do not grow mini roses but may try some as they have
such beautiful little blooms.
mars: What can you tell us about general rose planting and care?
trxe: Tenrank covers his roses with dirt, tons of dirt!
Tenrank: I put about 6 to 10 # 2 shovel fulls of dirt on each bush
burying it. In the spring, I wait till the bush is sprouting
quite good before uncovering it.
I cut my roses down to about 30 inches in the fall before I
cover them with dirt, so the wind doesn't whip them around in
the winter. In the spring I cut off all of the winter kill, then they
are about 4 to 6 inches high.
VG: I usually prune my roses in late January or February while
dormant. (S.W. Virginia)
Linde: You don't use cones Tenrank?
Tenrank: Cones are bad for roses, they provide a place for the little
animals to spend the winter eating the rose bush and killing it.
Tenrank: I have 132 bushes and it takes over two tons of dirt to cover
them in the fall.
NightOwl: After seeing Tenrank and trxe's roses, I will have some of
both kinds this year. We will add either one large bed, or
three small ones.
VG: I am looking for a rose groundcover.
Tenrank: I am not into ground roses so I really don't know.
I only have hedge roses and Hybrid Tea Roses.
JimW: How and when do you prune?
Raven: I have a rose bush that grows up to my bedroom window, and
I like to see it there in the window. Do I have to cut it way back?
Tenrank: If your bushes do not get winter kill you can cut them back to
12 or 15 inches high.
Tenrank: I use dirt from my vegetable garden to cover my roses for
winter, that way I am using good dirt, and do not get bad dirt mixed
in with my good dirt in my rose garden.
Raven: I dug up a climber, and transplanted it within a couple of hours
It is dead looking, do you think it will make it?
It is still green at the bottom, I watered it and put horse dried
horse manure on it. I also put Osmocote on it.
mars: I have an old fashioned shrub rose that I planted last year and
it is getting a very long center shoot, should I cut it way back?
Tenrank: My shrub roses are very tough and I cut them back every
spring.
Linde: What do you do about fertilizing ?
Tenrank: I fertilize my roses 3 times each summer. First of June,
Then again around June 20th and again about the first of
August. I use Scotts rose food which I get Kmart in the fall
when they are trying to get rid of it.
Tenrank: I never fertilize too close to the end of summer because
you do not want to encourage new growth before the fall frosts
start to set in.
VG: If you fertilize in June, do you think about 6 weeks earlier for this
area (Virgina zone 7) would be about right?
Linde: What about fertilizing with compost.
Tenrank: I use compost on everything. I spread compost on the ground
after I uncover them in the spring.
Linde: I never have enough compost.
Raven: Is the best way to make compost with a barrel composter that
you turn?
VG: I have tried those Raven, and they work much better than the
open compost bins.
Linde: I have 2 4'x4' wire bins. I put all my kitchen scraps and
shredded leaves in it.
Tenrank: I have 3 compost bins, and a big pile of leaves back in the
woods rotting all winter.
mars: I keep 4, 4'x4' bins going with compost. Mine are made from
pallets. Kitchen scapes, garden trash, leaves and chicken
coop cleanings, and horse manure go in mine.
Tenrank: I have a chipper shreader and everything goes into the
compost pile or the compost bin. I built my bins out of cedar.
Linde: I don't have a chipper shreder, but I use a mulching mower to
chop up my leaves.
mars: I do the same thing Linde. I mow my leaves in the fall with the
bagger push mower.
We all discussed the benefits of compost to our gardens.
Tenrank: I lay my climbing rose on the ground and cover it with mounds
of leaves about 4 feet deep in the fall. By Spring it is about 4
inches.
Raven: What are the steps in making compost?
VG: Green and brown layers Raven, but you also need to keep the pile
moist.
mars: I have compost information from Rodale on a disk. I will send it
to you if you would like. Anyone wanting this information
Email me , make the subject Compost Info Request.
Raven: I have a rose bush planted close to my house, should it be
moved?
Linde: I had some roses next to a wall, and I found out they need good
circulation of air.
Raven: Mine bloomed like mad though.
VG: I have a rose that is supposed to be a red climber, but now it is
more of a wild fragrant rose. Pruning is confusing me.
I've pruned in winter and it didn't do anything, and have not
pruned at all and it was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.
Should I prune after it has bloomed, and if so, how much?
Tenrank: The bad thing about planting roses next to a building is you
get too much hot and cold in the spring when the sun gets warmer,
then it freezes at night. That severe temperature change over the
course of several weeks will kill rose bushes. That doesn't happen
when roses are farther from the building in the rose garden.
Raven: I usually prune in the spring before the sap comes up into the
plant. And that big rose did great.
mars: When you cut a rose from a bush, how far down on the stem
should you cut it to encourage new blooms?
Tenrank: Cut blooms down to the the first 5 leaf stem.
VG: I am unsure of how much and when to prune.
Tenrank: Apparently that bush does not like to be pruned VG, do what
the bush likes.
Tenrank: Cut off all spent blooms as soon as they loose their petals.
Linde: Dead heading seems to encourage new blooms.
Tenrank: I always deadhead my bushes. Sometimes I do it when the
bloom looses it's first few petals. I have a hedgerose that is self-
cleaning so I don't have to deadhead it.
Linde: Is there a way to reseach and find out what kind of a rose I have
if I do not know the name of it.
Tenrank: You could show me a picture, but will have to tell me about
the plant and the growing habits. It will be fun to try to figure it
out.
Linde: They are young plants.
Closing Comment from Tenrank: I find roses do better in a raised
garden than in a garden at ground level. You can control the
moisture better in a raised garden.
We are going to try to do a rose chat once a month.
Next rose chat will be Feb. 29th 2000
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