Problems with Roses and Disease

Roses are such a joy to have in a garden and produce an abundance of gorgeous flowering fragrant blooms each season. But they sure are a nuisance to care for…

We planted Drift Roses in our garden a couple years back. Drift Roses are a smaller version of Knockout Roses and usually only grow two of three feet wide and a couple feet tall at most.

They are also supposed to have a better disease resistance than some other rose varieties. But I am really struggling with my Drift Roses this year. A few weeks back, I wrote about The Best Time to Deadhead Drift Roses to Encourage Repeat Blooming. Our roses were beginning to re bloom after the first wave and I was optimistic for their continued success…but things have gone downhill and I haven’t seen the abundance of repeat blooms I normally do 🙁

The Three Most Common Diseases for Roses

Roses are prone to three types of disease; Black Spot, Powdery Mildew, and Rust.

My Drift Roses have picked up some sort of disease that is leaving spots and holes on the leaves.

I haven’t been fully able to identify the problem or disease. It doesn’t look like black spot, because well the spots aren’t black.

It also doesn’t look like powdery mildew, which is a fungus and produces a white powdery substance on the leaves, stems or buds.

I don’t think it’s Rust, which causes orange spots on stems and leaves.

I’m not able to quite identify the disease or the type of fungus. I’m hoping you can help me figure what’s going on with my roses. Another thought I had – maybe some form of bug or caterpillar has attacked the bushes?

My overall hunch is that the holes are caused by some type of fungus. We had a rather chilly Spring with a fair amount of rain. It didn’t get really hot until mid to late June and it is very humid in our region.

I am thinking that since these roses are so low to the ground, perhaps the moisture and draining of the plant beds has not be sufficient?

We are having heavy thunderstorms too during these very hot months and over watering can increase the chance of disease and produce spots on the leaves.

I have also noticed the blooms are not as abundant as last year  – is this because the plants are diseased? I don’t know.

What to do If Your Roses Get a Disease

My first plan of attack is to cut off the leaves with spots and holes. It’s important to remove the diseased leaves and branches to keep the fungus from spreading to the rest of the plant. It’s also important to disinfect the shears you use to prune the stems so as not to spread the disease. I purchased these shears years back and love them! I use them for everything..arranging flowers in a vase, pruning roses, and bringing blooms indoors.

Then I will spray the roses with this oil that I purchased to protect my sensitive boxwoods during the winter months. The oil will not cure the disease will help treat insects.

Next, I am going to spray a systemic product to control insects, disease, and fertilize the rose bushes. I have never used a three in one product like this, as it was not needed but desperate times call for desperate measures!

I will report back to you if it works but in the meantime if you know what could be causing these issues, please drop me a line.

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Denise

XO

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