QuestionQUESTION: I live in an apartment and this beautiful rose bush was already here when we moved in but I have adopted it as my own. This years spring bloom, the leaves look dry, dead or burnt looking and it's the lower half. they don't look like they have been eaten by anything. This is the first year this has happened. What could it be? Please help me save my baby.
ANSWER: I would cut the rose back by about a third and this will activate it into putting out new growth which will be healthy. Also I wonder how long the rose has been in that soil in the container. Roses can use up all the nutrients in the soil if they have been in it for a long time. For this summer just prune it back a little, sprinkle some slow release fertilizer, such as Osmocote 14-14-14, around the base of the bush and water it daily to keep the soil damp but not soaking wet. Now in the fall take it out of the pot, get a bag of potting soil and replant the rose and you will see the rose grow much better.
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QUESTION: The rose bush is in the ground not a container. I it is a huge rose bush and I did find some caterpillar looking bugs are those the slug things? I can send you a picture. Please let me know if you would like one.
Actually I live in a 4 plex so I have a piece of the yard.
Thank you for your response and time to answer my questions.
AnswerSorry about that but growing in the ground will make it easier to treat the rose and care for it. But it all depends where you garden but if you don't get a nasty , cold winter, I would cut out all dead canes plus any that are thinner than a pencil. Then I would prune it back by a third, you can still use the Osmocote or any rose fertilizer around the bush and just make sure it gets well watered, especially if the weather gets hot. However if your winters are really cold, then wait until next spring and follow the instructions I gave you. Sometimes even buying a bag of potting soil and putting that around the rose gives it better soil than the one it is growing in.
