Two climber rose plants in need of good advice... with pics.

[lava_angel_17]

Hi everyone,
I have two rose plants, both are climbers. The 1st one I've had for around 3 years and the problem I have is that I have leaves some that have turned brown on the edges and curled upwards. Just this week I fed it Miracle-grow pour and feed, ready to use plant food. Could it be I gave it too much?? If yes what should I do?? Also I don't prune it and there is a dead branch that I didn't cut off as it's supporting a branch. What should I do???

[img]https://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n164/lava_angel_17/PA120362.jpg[/img][img]https://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n164/lava_angel_17/PA120363.jpg[/img]





The 2nd one I've had for around 15 months, It has the dead flower buds that have turned biggish and orange in colour. Also same leave problem... Should I trim and if yes please give me some simple tips. It currently has 2 yellow flowers out.
[img]https://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n164/lava_angel_17/PA120364.jpg[/img][img]https://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n164/lava_angel_17/PA120365.jpg[/img]


Both are in pots in my balcony where they get plenty of morning sun around 4 hrs and It's a very nice bright spot even when the sun moves. I live in Malta and the temp is around 22c.

Please give me some much needed advice as I love plants and I'm scared of killing them.

Thanks for your time.

[Zenun]

Hi lava_angel_17,
While all forms of roses can be grown in pots there are some that like to have a little more space than others. Hybrid tea and Floribundas types need to have at least 60cm height and width. I can't really judge what size your pots are from your pictures, but if they are fairly small then I would re pot them into something a little larger.

The type of potting mix is also important. It may cost you more but a good quality potting mix makes a lot of difference to the growth of your plant. Using garden soil is one of the common causes of failure in potted plants. You mentioned you've had one of the roses for 3 years. Roses in pots should have their soil changed every 3 years, as salt residue left over from fertilizers can build up over time.

Feeding your roses is important too. I feed mine Sudden Impact For Roses. They love the stuff! So do my gardenia's I give them a dose every couple of months.

Potted plants dry out twice as fast compared to plants planted in the ground. So you will need to water once or even twice daily in hot weather. Nurseries water up to 4 times a day! But don't water their leaves just apply at the base of the rose. Watering the leaves can cause diseases like black spot. Adding some mulch (not too close to the stem) will also help to retain moisture.

Roses generally like to have no less than 6 hours of full sun a day. The advantage of having them in pots is you can move them around

With regards to pruning your roses - if they have dead branches they need to be taken off. But don't prune climbing roses to hard like you can with standard roses because they don't like it light pruning is all that is needed about once a year.

So if the pot size, potting mix, amount of sunshine, fertilizer and sufficient watering doesn't improve your plants, I don't know what will

Good luck! I hope their condition improves