Question
It is a Hybrid Tea Rose (Crimson Glory)  We live on a corner lot and all the rose bushes are on the outside of the fence facing the street.  They are not close to the street though.  I purchased all of my roses this year.  Do you think next year it will look better?  I will check again for bugs.  I treat them with Bayer 2-in-1 Systemic Rose & Flower Care Granules.  Is there something better that I can purchase for my roses to feed and protect them?  This rose is the second one.  It is not near the end of the row.  We haven't sprayed any weed killer around it.  Although it has been raining a good bit here lately.  But would this cause one to droop and not the others?  Thank you so much for your information.




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Followup To
Question -
I have 6 rose bushes.  On one of them the rose bud and flowers sag extremely bad.  What could this problem be?  It is the only one that is doing this.  The are all planted on one side of my fence.  Thank you.
Answer -
Hi Priscilla-

Well, it would help if I knew the name of the rose, and the type of rose (Hybrid tea, florabunda etc), because there are some older garden roses (tea roses) in which it is normal for the roses and buds to be "nodding."  But, if you know that this is a modern rose (hybridized after 1920) I doubt that it is a older garden rose.  Lets look at drainage.  Is this rose dug deeper into the ground than the other roses - is it getting adequate drainage? Also - is this rose planted close to a spot in which there was a chemical grass or weed killer applied?  Is it possible the neighbors on the other side of the fence used some kind of chemical or vegetation killer next to the fence close to the rose? Did you examine the rose up close - are there thrips or other insects that may be sucking the juice out of the stem/buds causing the roses and buds to droop?  If so - then you need to buy a rose insect killer and spray the rose good (you can buy this at Walmart or Lowes etc).
There are just a few modern roses I know of that have curved stems - is this rose different from the other five planted next to the fence?  If you kept the tag for the rose and know the name of it - please send me another email.
Too much or too little water can cause flower/bud droop.  Does this rose get less water than the other roses for some reason (is it planted at the end of the line of roses where the sprinkler doesn't reach) etc.  Is this rose closer to the street where people walking their dogs or stray dogs might be marking their territory on this rose?

I have a line of 12 roses planted between my house and the neighbor.  The one rose at the end has flowers and buds that droop.  It is planted close to the outermost branches of a very large tree (the tree has an extensive root system that soaks up water like a sponge).  There are also water gobbling bushes planted next to it.  I also planted it recently and it is not as well established as the other roses next to it that have had another 1-2 years to develop an extensive root system of their own (the root system of the rose that droops is not well developed, and all these things contribute to the rose needing more water than all the roses planted next to it).  So, I put the sprinkler on real low and leave it on this one rose.  The next day the flowers and buds stand at attention!!! Water did the trick!!

I hope this helps.  If you know the name of the rose please email me back and I can provide more information.

Thanks,

Carlene
aka "The Flower Lady"


Answer
Hi Priscilla-

Thankyou for the additional information.  This is an older hybrid tea - dating back to 1935.  I have read that Crimson Glory does have "weak necks."  If I were you, I would give them a good mulching of cow manure - that should strengthen them and add to their vigor.  The necks of the roses should get stiffer on the 2nd one also.  But, I do not use Systemic fertilizers because I heard that it can weaken the root system.  I would recommend Osmocote or a granulated time release fertilizer (2 times a year) and once a month (at least) miracle grow.  Then if possible - every winter and summer - use cow manure as a mulching material (especially the older hybrid teas love manure).  If you don't like manure, then use fish emulsion.  It is good to use organic fertilizers with the artifical ones (not at the same time but through the course of the year).  Of course your roses will do better next year.  It is very hard to say why the second rose in the line is doing poorly.  All I can say is that in my back yard I have about 30 roses.  This year I planted ten new ones back there.  Two of them died.  One was Honor the other was Gold Medal, and generally have good disease resistance.  I then one day saw that my dogs had picked those two roses to use when taking a wee-wee.  I scolded my dogs - but it was too late.  The dogs "fertilizer" had already killed the rose bushes. Concentrated animal urine plus hot weather equals disaster. I wonder if one of the dogs that walks by the fence is using that one rose to mark its territory?  Who knows.  Sometimes, very rarely for me, roses die for no reason.  I remember once I had St. Patrick in a large container, but the heat of summer, and not enough watering (not every day) and I went outside and it was withered and dead.  Some people consider roses to be expensive annuals.  I do not.  But, sometimes, roses die or do badly for no known reason.  If that happens, I just replace them.  If you take good care of your roses - they should thrive, except maybe 5% of the time.  Nothing is perfect in this world. To me, the beauty of the rose makes my effort worthwhile.  I hope I helped you.  Please try the cow manure for fertilizer and see if that helps.  Also try the "two knuckle" rule - if you stick your finger in the soil around the rose - up to two knuckles and it feels dry - then you know it is time to water.  Too much or not enough water can cause problems - and maybe that rose for some reason needs more water than the others, even though they are the same rose.

Thanks,

Carlene