Someone wrote me an email and here were the questions she asked.
Question 1: Leaves die quickly on my climbing roses. turning yellow
before they drop off - what to do beside spray, which didn't work????
Questions 2: I have an indoor ivy plant (english, I think) because
the stem is more woody, if that makes sense. When I first got it - it
flourished and we had to cut it back. But now that we transplanted a
couple of shoots, it isn't doing so well. the leaves turn greyish and
fall off - I love this plant and want to save it. Help!!!!
Thanks. Darrell
Can someone help me with this, please?
I'm not going to try to answer the rose question, because I'm not much of a rose-grower, but on the ivy question, if there are no tiny spider-mites hiding under the leaves then I suspect over-watering to be the culprit. Re-potting the ivy into a soil with better drainage may help, and also be sure not to let the pot stand in a water-filled saucer.
Thank you June. I appreciate you taking the time and helping me with this.
Darrell
Darrell maybe post the rose question on the rose forum?
Do you see black spots before the leaves turn yellow?
Black Spot is a disease common to roses, caused by the fungus Diplocarpon rosae. The name of the disease comes from its effect on the plant; it causes black spots to appear on leaves at first, which eventually yellow and die.
Sharon
What do you do if they get black spots?
Jumping in here. I spray with a mixture of Baking Soda, alittle bit of Dawn dishwashing liquid for sticking. I mix this in a watering can and use whenever needed. If not too many leaves then I pick them off before dosing. I also try to keep area around roses clean and tidy with nothing on the ground so they cannot become reinfected.
Black spot spreads really really quickly.
I usually add some epsom salts too, just as a tonic.
inanda
Thanks Ginny. Very good information to pass along.
Darrell
Ginny is absolutely right, BS will spread very fast by fungus spores.
The best thing to do is pick off and pick up all the diseased leaves because they are the main source of spores. Bag and throw in the trash, never compost them.
Soaker hoses are excellent for watering roses at ground level, sprinklers are a no-no and water only in the day hours.
Grow roses in full sun with lots of air circulation, never over crowding them.
There are several natural fungicides out there for control but you can’t destroy the fungus without destroying the leaf.
The next best thing is to spray your roses with a dormant oil and sulfur spray combination first thing in the spring before the rose leafs out. The dormant oil will suffocate the overwintering fungal spores. Check out your local garden center for dormant spray, they will tell you how to mix them.
Good luck,
Sharon
Sharon,
You mean the @#$% black spot spores can overwinter..... HERE? Dormant spray. How many years will it last. I only have 3 roses. I dont mean on the rose, I mean in the container?
Do you think olive oil would do? I used this very successfully on indoor iris this past winter. Got rid of all the aphids.
G
Yes they can, if you don't get each and every infected leaf picked up or picked off, those leaves left behind will eventually fall to the ground come fall time, during the winter they get covered with snow, alas spring comes around the spores awake and spread like wildfire. I got hit pretty bad this year with BS and I have about 100 roses.
Good question, I'm not sure Ginny if OO will work. Dormant oil is made out of mineral oil, it is also good for rose weevils if you get little tiny drilling holes in your buds.
Sharon
I'll have to see what is in mineral oil. Minerals perhaps.......
inanda
Wow, there sure is a lot of good information here. Thank you both!
I really like it when I keep learning like this.
Darrell
When I googled mineral oil, came up witha beauty site, about oil vs whatever. One thing which scared me is that Johnson's Baby Oil is mineral oil, from petroleum products. Also vasailene (sp) petroleum jelly. Gulp. I've used this all my life. Mineral oil smothers the aphids/scale etc etc so think I'll just stay with olive oil, instead of buying something else.
inanda aka Ginny
Well Ginny, if you got the $ to spray Olive Oil, go for it.
Well, I filled my sprayer (about 2 cups it holds) in Jan or Feb and it istill going strong. I still have i inch or so left in it. I don't fry much but do spray grilled/baked veggies with it. I bought far too large a bottle of olive oil. It wiill last for years, as long as it doesn't go rancid? Does olive oil go rancid?
Ginny