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ROSE CARE FOR OCTOBER
by Nanette Londeree, Master Rosarian
by Nanette Londeree, Master Rosarian
I love fall. It’s like spring all over again - comfortable daytime temperatures (for people and plants) with crisp, clear evenings; the sun hanging lower in the sky creating softer shadows, and the promise of the season’s first rain. Rose plants are bigger than their springtime counterparts, producing armloads of richly colored blooms. Though other parts of the garden are a bit worse for wear from scorching temperatures and low humidity, roses seem to shrug it off and put out loads of new growth. What’s not to love?
Maybe it’s that lurking around the corner are the dreaded thugs that come with our much needed rainfall and heavy evening dew. You may already see evidence of dabs of white powdery mildew on tender new growth. It favors warm days and cool nights with no moisture on the leaves. That’s the exact opposite of blackspot and rust, the villainous fungal diseases that spread rapidly with free moisture – as little as 6 – 8 hours with water on the leaves can produce symptoms. To limit the spread of the last two, make sure to water early in the day so that leaves have lots of time to dry off. Pick up fallen leaves and dispose of them, and if you’re up for spraying, neem oil can reduce the extent of these diseases.
If you’re seeing yellowing leaves dropping like crazy from the bottom of the plant upward, don’t be too alarmed. The leaves closest to the ground are the oldest, so are normally the first to go. A more rapid drop may be in response to high daytime temperatures and low humidity like those we had in late August and early September. To slow the progress of the season down, remember to keep the plants well watered if Mother Nature doesn’t do it for you.
With the flood of catalogs hitting our mailboxes, it’s not too early to begin planning for next season. Terrific, disease resistant roses are being introduced by hybridizers each year, so there’s no need to keep any under-performing disease-magnets. Be ruthless – if the plant has been in the ground for at least three years and isn’t what you’d hoped for, give it the shovel treatment and prepare the soil for a new addition.
A YEAR OF ROSE CARE:
January
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Last Modified: 10/27/08