Keeping Your Roses Healthy

It seems that even with the best of prevention techniques and caring for your roses, you cannot always stop diseases and problems from affecting your roses. For all of the problems your roses can encounter, there are just as many ways to fix them. All it takes is a little bit of tender loving care, and the right techniques. Here are some of those techniques to help your roses look their best.

Aphids and Spider Mites
Aphids are a greenish brown insect that suck the juices from roses, and can eventually cause your roses to dry out. To effectively treat them, simply blast your roses with soapy water.

Black Spots
Black spots are a fungal disease that causes the canes to turn black or brown in spots on the foliage. To remedy this, simply prune the affected areas and throw out the clippings. Do not water the head to prevent this from happening again.

Canker
A canker is another fungal disease that causes the canes to turn black or brown. All you have to do is prune the canes just below the canker in the early spring.

Midge
A midge is a tiny maggot that causes the rose’s buds to blacken from the damage. If you want to fix this problem, prune the affected area and then destroy it.

Rust
Rust is a disease that creates an orange powder in the center of the rose. It is caused by wet and calm winter weather. Putting in some spider mites can help with this because they hate the water. You should consult your local garden center about the best insecticide to use in order to get rid of the spider mites. Once you have chosen the insecticide, spray every 7-10 days until it is under control.

Powder Mildew
You can put an end to powder mildew by making a mixture of:

 1 gallon of water
 2 TBSP of baking soda
 1 TBSP of Murphy’s Oil Soap

Spray over the roses in the morning every two weeks until the overall temperature around the roses reaches 80 degrees.