GARDEN FANATIC:Roses require work before beauty

“Beauty...is like the perfume of a rose: you can smell it and that is all.” -- W. Somerset Maugham

The delicate shapes and colors of roses are unique among flowers of the world. For this reason, many believe they are frail and readily predisposed to pest and disease. This is simply not so. Roses are no more susceptible to garden problems than most other flowering shrubs.

Roses are tolerant, hardy plants, but a constant application of pesticides won’t make a healthier plant.

Roses require the basics of sunlight, well prepared soil, water and fertilizer. Your mission (if you choose to accept it) is control, not elimination, of pest and disease.

Your rose questions to the Plant Man for the second week of May included:

Q. My rose is growing great leaves but I haven’t seen a flower yet.

A. Some rose varieties will concentrate their energies into growth the first year and flower little, especially if they have received heavy dosages of nitrogen. If your rose is a once-blooming variety it will not bloom the first year. Climbers are also not likely to bloom their first year.

Q. How do I get rid of the aphids on my roses?

A. The tender new growth and flowers of your roses are desirable targets for aphids. These soft-bodied insects are easy to control by using horticultural oil or an insecticidal soap product.

Q. Is it OK to plant roses in pots?

A. Smaller roses that remain under three feet tall may be planted in 18-inch pots. Larger roses and climbers should be planted in 20- to 28-inch pots.

Q. My rose leaves look like my grandmother’s old doilies, just like lacework. What’s up?

A. Lacework holes in rose leaves are classic rose slug damage. Spray infested plants with either Orthene or Orthonex for immediate control. Or you may also control the pest with aforementioned horticultural oil.

Q. My climbing roses never bloom although I prune them every spring.

A. Climbing roses bloom on old wood, rather than new growth, so I recommend only stripping leaves at pruning time.

Q. What’s causing my rose leaves to wilt?

A. A number of different fungi may cut off the flow of nutrients and water throughout the stem, causing the leaves to wilt or yellow. They enter through a wound caused by the thorns or at a cut stem. Prune out infected canes and spray a fungicide containing chlorothalonil at 14-day intervals until control is achieved.

Q. I’m still getting mildew on my roses. Can I spray as needed?

A. Controlling mildew during warm, moist weather is nearly impossible. I recommend using Funginex at the first sign of a problem, but only at seven- to 10-day intervals to avoid damaging your plants.

To describe roses as romantic is to open them and myself to a degree of misunderstanding... but certainly they are the evocative flowers of incurables.

Beyond their unquestioned beauty, the heavenly scent of roses keeps me lingering in the garden, enhancing the time spent with Catharine and our cats. See you next time.