All your hard work put into cultivating your roses can be destroyed easily by fungus or rose diseases if you are not careful during the cold months. As roses become more frail in the cold, they will also be more susceptible to fungi when it becomes warm again.
Although they might not get infected in winter, they are weaker and can fall prey to diseases that abound due to the humidity of the warmer seasons. So, your roses could still be afflicted with fungus although you have done all you could.
You will probably find some common types of illnesses associated with your roses:
Powdery Mildew
Powdery mildew is a fungus. As its name suggests, a white powder is produced along the stems as well as on both sides of the leaves. If you neglect to see to the mildew, the rose will not mature fully as the leaves will drop off.
Rust
Rust on roses looks just like rust on metal will. It is seen on the underside of the leaves and it contaminates other plants.
Blackspot
Hybrid teas are completely resistant to blackspot, but other roses have been known to get it. If there are circular black spots on the leaves of the plant that are 1/16 to ½ inch in diameter, you might have the disease. Take action on the disease immediately before it has the chance to ruin the plant's foliage.
Rose Mosaic
Unlike most of the rose diseases that are fungi, the Rose Mosaic disease is a virus. The symptoms of this disease are similar to what you would expect from the name with discolored mosaic patterns of yellow and green.
The only way to stop this from spreading throughout your garden is to remove the plant entirely. You must also clear all clippings and leaves of the diseased plant to make sure it doesn't contaminate other plants. If the disease cannot be contained by yourself, seek professional aid and get commercial solutions that can help.
How can you avoid giving your plants these diseases? There are a few things you can do. Always water the soil around the rose and not the rose itself. Do take care not to let dead leaves pile up underneath, so clear the beds of roses often. Cut the diseased blooms right away and throw them in your trash can. Prune regularly. Close all cuts in the plant with Elmer's glue. Giving your rose nutrients often will make them stronger and less susceptible to diseases.
And you should know that you can opt to grow disease-resistant roses if possible to prevent the problems from arising. If you grown plants that are resistant to diseases and fungus, there is less threat of promoting threats to your plants.
About the Author
Moses Wright loves to work in his garden. He started this site to help fellow rose gardening enthusiast. You can find more free resources on rose gardening on his site: http://www.homelyfamily.com/roses.htm
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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