Easy Rose Care Tips

Many people can't resist a rose's beauty and scent. Although these flowers are known to be a bit complicated to grow, anyone can start rose gardening in the comfort of his own backyard. To make sure that your most prized roses are in the best of health, simply follow these tips on dealing with rose dilemmas: 1. Black Spots on Leaves This disease is commonly known as black spot. Black spots appear as circular with fringed edges on leaves. They cause the leaves to yellow. The solution is to remove the infected foliage and pick up any fallen leaves around the rose. Artificial sprays may be used to prevent or treat this kind of rose disease. 2. Blistered underside of leaves A disease of roses known as rust, it is characterized with orange-red blisters that turn black in fall. In spring, it attacks new sprouts. This disease can even survive winter. What you can do is to collect and discard leaves that are infected in fall. Benomyl and Funginex spraying every 7-10 days may help. 3. Malformed or stunted leaves and flowers What could have caused this is the presence of spider mites. They are tiny yellow, red or green spiders on the underside of leaves. They also suck juices from leaves. The application of Orthene or Isotox may help in treating this infestation. 4. Weak and mottled leaves with tiny white webs under them This might be caused by aphids. They are small soft-bodied insects that usually brown, green or red. Often clustered under leaves and flower buds, they suck plant juices from tender buds. Malathion or diazinon spray may help roses to survive these bugs. 5. Flowers that don't open or are deformed when they open. Thrips could be the reason behind this deformation and unopened flowers. It is characterized with slender, brown-yellow bugs with fringed wings thriving in flower buds. They also suck juices from flower buds. One should cut and discard the infested flowers. Using Orthene and malathion may also treat this health problem of your roses. These are some tips to help you produce beautiful roses in your garden every season. Just remember to follow the manufacturer's directions when using pesticides. And do not contact the chemicals with your skin. Always wear gloves when applying these chemicals because they are highly toxic.