HelpfulGardener.com

Hello, everyone. I am a beginner rose grower and I have had my share of mishaps this spring and summer. Well, first off I purchased two rose trees from a nursery they are J&P Icberg, about four miniatures as well to go into hanging baskets and troughs. The miniatures are doing wonderfully, but my rose trees I will say had a rough time adapting to my overly loving care. They get the amount of sun that roses are supposed to get but now I am thinking they are getting too much sun........the tips of the leaves are turning brown. They are blooming crazily and are quite full as far as foliage. They are container plants as of now because my family and I are currently awaiting the finishing construction on our house. The only idea that comes to mind is to move them to a place where they are getting just a little less sun. I also know that it could be attributed to an accumulation of salt build up from fertilizing, which I remedied with flushing with a deep soaking about once a week. Could it be that I am not watering enough??? I am watering every 2-3 days and the brown tipped leaves started when the heat index in Houston stayed in the 90's or above and this is not including the humidity.

Roses can never get too much sun!!!
You may have gotten water on the leaves in the full sun, and the leaves got burnt, or you are lacking in a nutrient, which could very well be if they are in pots. Ongoing watering in pots causes leaching of the nutrients out of the bottom, leaving nothing in the soil.
Browning at the tips of leaves or a scorched looking leaf, usually means a hungry rose and it needs nutrients. You probably have a shortage of potassium or zinc or one of the micronutrients. Give them a good drink of compost tea and fish fertilizer and this should help.
You should also check the acidity of your soil. Roses prefer a PH balance of 6.0 to 6.5. If your soil is too alkaline, your rose will not be able to utilize the nutrients properly.
Roses are extremely heavy feeders, and require ongoing addition of nutrients. When you plant your roses, be sure to add lots of compost, manure, alfalfa meal, some epsom salt, bone meal, etc. to your soil. Also continue to mulch with these nutrients, and water with compost tea and fish fertilizer, and you should have glowing roses!
Hope this helps - let us know how they make out!
If you read a few of the other threads in this forum, and the organic forum, you can find out more about the nutrient needs of roses, and how to get them organically.
VAL (Grandpa's Rose)

Thank you very much for the insight.....I am off to Loews to get the alfalfa and the container to maket the compost tea in.......everything else I already have in my gardening supplies. I will let you know their condition after I have put the compost tea to work... Thanks again!!!!

No problem at all! Good Luck!
VAL (Grandpa's Rose)

Well, l made the compost tea and used measurements according to the package and compost tea instructions.......one of the trees is doing perfectly fine no side effects. On the other hand the smaller out of the two trees does this great impersonation of an ostrich hiding its head in the sand. It will look wilted during the day, the leaves buds and flowers will droop as if they are not getting enough water. Then during the night they will perk right back up from their hiding session. I know it is not my watering schedule, that is fine, but I am just curious is this how it will react if it is not used to the tea. I diluted it as per the instructions. Also on a good note, since I do have a container garden I hardly ever see worms or I see very few insects......happy to report I now have earthworms. As soon as you are able to give me a reply I will be sitting idly by my computer desperate and waiting for some ray of hope that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing......hahhaha.

Thank you, Val!!!!

Is it just the new shoots and buds that are wilting, or the whole thing?
How damp is the soil?
Hope you didn't get to tired of waiting by your computer!!
VAL (Grandpa's Rose)

It is the whole tree that is wilting.......it has been doing that ever since I put the compost tea on it.......actually this is the first day that it has not done that. So I might be out of the critical zone right now. Also I took about a five minute break every hour until I recieved an answer from someone .....hahahahah..... (just kidding). But truly I am hopeing that it was just the initial shock of the compost tea. The other tree is doing perfectly fine. The soil was damp yesterday and it still has enough moisture to last until tomorrow, I don't think it was too much moisture to make it wilt or not enough. The day that I made and distributed the compost tea was on a regular watering day. I gave about a gallon of water before I gave the compost tea, per tree.

If it is the whole bush, usually it is related to watering somehow, either too much or too little. However, from what you describe, that sounds okay. Roses need alot of water, but do not like to sit with wet feet either.
If it was just the shoots and buds wilting then you were probably lacking a nutrient, and it would stay wilted all the time.
I think you are probably right, and that it just had a bit of a shake up. Not sure what would have shocked it about compost tea though!?!?!?
Let me know how you make out with them!
I know how it feels when you want an answer right away to your problem, and you feel like you want to sit right there so they will answer faster - like they have esp or something!
VAL (Grandpa's Rose)

I truly thank you so very much Val for all of the help. It means a lot to be able to recieve information and help without having to travel from nursery to nursery and then getting either the same information or just a weird look from people that just choose to not help a new gardener. I used to work with my grandmother all the time in her garden and I just started mine last year this is my first year with roses and I appreciate all of the tips and insight. It is just lovely to have someone to turn to when you are in need of advice about a sensitive plant........ahahah.....are they always this tempermental???? (just kidding) But thank you very much.

Not a problem!
I too, learned to garden alongside my grandparent (grandpa's rose), and have continued many of his hints and techniques, as well as learning a few new ones along the way. He was a northern rosarian for sixty years, and I have been growing them for about 15. I also have many other gardens as well.
No need to feel silly when starting with a new thing, or even having problems with an old thing - we are always learning!
Roses have a bad reputation of being difficult to care for, when in fact, they are like any other plant, if you give them what they need, they will glow for you!
As Opa (our organic specialist) says, it all starts with the soil! Keep adding your nutrients and building your soil, and you will have a healthy strong plant that will be able to withstand all the pesky problems!
Good Luck, and remember to stop and smell your roses too!

Howdy Partner!

I'm just up the road from you in Montgomery, Texas. Good to see some else in Texas grows roses

I usually cut off the deformed growth, wheather if it is dieased or wilting so other parts of the plant can focus on producing new growth. I have 5 tree roses, well 4 tree roses, and 1 mangled tree rose on the mend. (See previous post) I watch my cobminations of what I feed them to get them to do different things.

Best of Luck-
Kevin

My Tree Roses: Princess Diana, Simply Marviolus, Baby's Blanket, Mister Linclon, Queen Elizabeth.

Howdy neighbor!!!! I have seen some of your prior posts and I have tried to see some of the issues you were discussing on those posts, but when I went to your site I could not find where the links for the pictures you were talking about were. I know it does seem rare to have someone that is within proximity to your home (ahhahahha) even right up the freeway. Yeah, I think I would have mangled these two trees if I had not paid attention to what they were saying to me early on when I first purchased them. Like a beginner I sought out everything chemical that would help me with my roses.........wow did I ever pay the price early this spring. I used miracle grow rose food. OH MY GOSH!!!!!! I used it per instructions correct dilution down to the milimeter of water my roses were getting (hahahhaahha). Well, lets put it this way every last leaf that was on them said, "GOODBYE!!" I was horrified when I saw the leaves turning yellow and just falling right off of them.......I laugh now because they bounced back with vengance. But at that present moment I was devestated, thinking to myself that I was the world's worst person (gardener) that ever lived. After a week I saw that new shoots were developing on the bare canes. I am just grateful that they did not call it quits completely......this was about late March this disaster happened. After that close brush with plant death I vowed never to use chemicals ever again on any of my plants... Any time that you are around send me a yell. I promise to yell back.........talk to you later and have a lovely evening.

This is a website administered by a rose growing fellow Texan:
froebuck.hom.texas.net

You may find a few tips here or be able to direct a question to the site.
Friends who have moved to Texas say its a unique(maddening?) area to garden in.

I smell water issues here; all the wilting and perking up and wilting...

Look over those containers and make sure there is enough soil to support the tree; I am often amused at how little soil is asked to support container plants (until they start dying and then it's just not funny)...

You have great support here from Val and Guest and Kev and I might even pop in on occasion, so stay tuned and let us know how we can help...

It's what we do...

Scott

Found out the problem with my Iceberg's!!!!
I was giving them everything that they needed to grow over this entire spring/summer except the one of the main keys to roses. NOT ENOUGH ROOM TO GROW!!! The curious bug was just getting to me and I checked to see how the roots looked so......I took one out of the container and to my horror it was rootbound. I checked the other one and the same issue was present. I thought they would be okay in the nursery containers by the time my new home would be finished......OH, MY was "I" wrong. Went out today and purchased containers two times the size of the containers that they were in until I can put them into the ground. I feel awful. I always repot my plants as soon as I buy them I just figured since they were in those that they would be okay......."WRONG". Well, I am hoping that they like their new home. I am even thinking about keeping them in the containers until next spring even after we move into our home. I just feel like they might go into shock by having so much room and then with out two weeks of winter that we have....ahahhaha...... Well, I just want to store them in the garage instead of them being outside in the cold. I think I owe them a gentle winter since they had a rough summer. All I can do now is wait...... OH, and it was the smallest out of the two that would always show sensitivity before the stronger. I should have been paying close attention to that one to find out what the culprit was. Does anyone know how long standards are in those containers that are from the nursery???

Sure (work at a large container nursery as we speak). Those were potted first thing this year (or very late last); but the growth we put on plants iin a nursery setting would astound most home gardeners (we are professionals afterall... )

Scott

Well, we sure missed the boat on that one!!!! I guess I assumed you had them in larger pots - didn't even ask - sorry about that!
Container grown roses have sometimes already been in their pots for up to a year (maybe longer). They are not meant to stay in these pots, but rather to give enough growth to make an easier transplant, and to be able to see the quality of the bush.
If you do leave your roses in their wonderful new pots for the winter, be sure that they do not freeze, but stay cool enough to have a bit of a rest. You shouldn't water them as much - just enough get them through, not make them grow.
I am sure that they are going to flourish for you now in their new homes!!
Enjoy them!
VAL (Grandpa's Rose)

Another case solved!

HG

Whew!

VAL

Very silly!! Thanks again....I will keep you posted with news about them. Another not so major issue is that my miniatures seem to be confused. When I purchased them they were already blooming and the colors were purple and pale pink. Well, the pink is now red (very pretty) and the purple seems to be pale pink. I don't know if it is the compost tea but if it is I don't mind the color change. It was just weird to see the new buds come in a different color. And thanks again everyone.

No problem really! That's what the forum's all about!
Is it just the buds that appear to have changed color, or have you actually had new bloom open with changed color?
VAL

They have new blooms with the different color. The canes are coming from the same canes that had the pink blooms.....isn't that (Quirky??)

Some roses have blooms that seem to change color as they age - red fading to pink, etc. This may be the case with yours. I have just answered a post regarding color for a couple of other rose growers that you may want to read titled "manipulating color" from Kevinshcoppe.

If we can change our minds, why can't they?......
VAL

Kevin and Dyvonne ~ Have you visited the Texas A&M Horticulture site? The Helpful Gardener Site is a wealth of general information that should serve as a starting point - gardeners from an area other than the poster should always refine that information to your locale.

Having two close gardening friends- transferred to Texas- who lost everything they planted for the first two years, I happened on to this site via the suggestion of a very remarkable woman who turned all of her Mid-west 40 acres into a bird sanctuary and winters on the Texas gulf to aid that area with saving its wild habitat for migrating birds.

Using google - type in - Texas A&M "horticulture". The first link will take you into the webpage. Open pages until you locate a link on gulf coast gardening - which has a rose link - read the article by Eddie C. titled something like "Am I crazy trying to grow roses"- can't remember his last name. We discovered roses in that part of Texas need to be planted with the bud union above ground, to see a photo click on the TV answer link. Under the floriculture heading -maybe- is a link 'ask the answer man' if you can't find the rose info you need.

A last note - when you google and get the first page of links look for one called 'My Garden' - loads of info. This site along with TA&M helped the Texas transplants move their gardening skills beyond being a carryout for every passing insect. There is a link on the TA&M site with info for beginning or new to the area gardeners.

Thanks very much Guest, I will get right to the research. My tree roses do seem to be benefiting from their new containers...... !! Not one new leaf has brown tips......YEAH!!

SO it would seem I was able to diagnose and correct the issue, all without benefit of a ten gallon hat or boots...

Scott

I guess some rose problems are the same, no matter what region you live in!
I have always believed if you have the basics, then fine tuning to your situation is all that's required. I don't think anyone can know all there is to know about every region - even the specialists!
It is always good to get as much information as you can, and we never stop learning - that is for sure!!!

Glad to hear that your icebergs are starting to pick up! So we helped them eventually!
VAL

I have to giveGuest a nod here; getting regionally specific info is NEVER a bad idea. Most of my knowledge is New England (with a smattering of UK, Tuscon, and San Fran), and some is general, but there are some questions best answered by a local expert...

Scott

Reading the original thread post one will find the poster stated (1) they were new to rose growing and (2) had a problem with tree roses, currently in containers, that would eventually be going into the ground.

Previous posters dealt with the container portion - The Texas A&M post dealt with suggestions for the "new to roses" and "later in ground" portion. I always inform new gardeners (or gardeners new to a specific plant) that general information serves as a lead and needs refining to their locale.

You're right on there! Thanks.
You'll notice the original question was "were her iceberg roses getting too much sun?" - I think that was answered.
Definitely there is alot to learn even if you are not new to gardening of any type, and we encourage all to learn as much as they can from everywhere available to them. Information is invaluable!
Thanks for your helpful pointers!
VAL

You are, as always, correct.

Thanks for your contribution; we are always happy to have knowledgeable opinion, and yours always is...

Scott

(STATUS CHECK) The two iceberg trees are doing wonderfully. The benefits of the new containers and the compost tea have brought on new shoots and it is fuller than it was before the transition. Blooming is about the same, there was never a problem with that. Blooms galore before and after transition. Also the concern of brown leaf tips is a distant and hopefully non exsistent memory. All of my other roses are doing wonderfully (miniatures). Thanks to all and I will keep everyone posted, but not to the point of annoyance.

No that's our job...

HG

Glad to hear all is well with your roses! It is never an annoyance to hear back how things are doing later on. It's great to know that things worked out! Enjoy them!
VAL

Well, Someone mentioned about TAMU Ag website, that is a good website. I tend to lean on the local master gardeners for advice and tips.

Is there anyone here that is apart of the Master Gardener's Org? Just wondering, there is a lot of good information being spread here...

I teach a few MG courses here in Connecticut...

I find them to be a committed and knowledgeable bunch that do trade a lot of info...

Scott

Alway's wanted to be a master gardener........hmmm. Then life got in the way!!!
But I still garden my heart out!
VAL

Well, I guess you can call me a cheater.......ahhahhaa..........when my family and I moved into our new home I found a few articles that were very intresting as far as plants and growing them in containers. Well, I found out that there are some people that bury their roses/plants container and all in the ground to allow for easy removal just incase there is a flood or storm to come through. I planted my roses in the ground with new roomy containers and they did wonderfully...therefor when I heard the news about the hurricane headed straight for the Houston/Galveston area.....out they came...hahha......here are a couple of pictures of my iceberg tree roses.......and they are loving the new organic way of growing..... Thanks again.....to all that helped this past summer.......I greatly appreciate it.


[url=https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/dyvonnetxgal/rosetreepic93005.jpg][img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/dyvonnetxgal/th_rosetreepic93005.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/dyvonnetxgal/treerosepic.jpg][img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/dyvonnetxgal/th_treerosepic.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/dyvonnetxgal/treerosepic2.jpg][img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/dyvonnetxgal/th_treerosepic2.jpg[/img][/url]

I don't think I would call you a cheater, I think I would call you Lucky!! Something was looking out for you when you decided to keep your roses in pots! Good for you! I am glad they made it through everything alright.
It's interesting that you write this today, because I just posted a new winter care article today, and it refers to growing roses in pots and planting them in the garden!!! How's that for ESP?
Your roses look very healthy and happy, and I am glad we could help you! Drop in again!
VAL

Happy to see them looking so good...