Is my rose comatosed?

I have a similar dilemma with my rose bush as bethanski's. I bought three bareroots from Cottage Farms last year and they did phenomenal. Then we got a puppy (now a year old and which shall remain nameless because I don't want him to think I'm blaming him:)) who, come to find out, LOVES to EAT my vegetable garden (esp my heirloom tomatoes!) AND do a boxing match with the inedibles like my rose bush! And after he thinks he's won the match, he'd PEE on it! So my poor rose got mangled and stunk like pee! So I trimmed it drastically last winter to where I only left 6-8 inch "sticks" the width of pencils or larger. Well, it's spring now and I've seen no growth on it! The sticks don't look dead because they're still green and "fuzzies" ARE growing on them (you know, the tiny hair-like leaves that are really not good for roses and should be trimmed away anyway). But no real growth; no leaves, not-a-one-a... So does this mean she's a goner? I'm still hoping because it's early yet. And I love the blooms because they were sweet-smelling and a purty yeller :)...

I think your dilemma has completely different causes than bethanski's--cold damage is not an issue for roses in our area. If it's putting out green anything then that tells me it's not completely dead, I'd give it some time and see what happens (and keep the dog away from it...more doses of dog pee are not what it needs at this point!). My roses never really lose their leaves and they've all been blooming for a while now so yours are definitely way behind where they should normally be this time of year in our climate, but as long as there's green there's still hope so I wouldn't give up on them yet.

I haven't been here long and I already know you're one of the most helpful ones, ecrane! Hey thanks for any help.
My other rose bushes are doing great and have begun flowering their ginormous blooms. It's just this one rose that's having trouble. The (shhhh!) puppy's away from it and all of my beloved plants thanks to temporary wire fencing.
I saw this mediciney looking bottle at Lowe's advertizing that it's an "if all else fails" sort of deal. It's supposed to be like a lifesaver for dying plants, a booster or a last ditch effort to revive dead or dying plants. It's on the wee bit expensive side (around $12-16 clams per small bottle) and I forgot its name. Should I try it you think? (I'm afraid that if it does do its job that my rose bush is going to start developing muscles, talking or eating my dog :D...)

Is it Super Thrive? Some people swear by it and it can't hurt so you could try it. Most of the people I've seen post that it works great it's been for things like helping with transplant shock so I'm not sure if this is the sort of situation that it would work well in, but it can't do any harm (except to your wallet!).

Super Thrive works really well for me. It's not a fertilizer so no worry about burning roots--it's a vitamin and hormone mix. It sure wouldn't hurt to try some. And, if you have a Wal Mart, they sell it much cheaper than $12 to $16 a pop. The last time I bought it there I gave about $7, but it only takes a tiny bit to get the job done. If you don't have a Wal Mart, you can order it online but I don't know how much shipping would run up your cost.

Then it's settled! Going to get it tomorrow and try it. Will post update/developments. Thanks people! Oh and has anybody heard of and tried "Preen Weed Killer/preventer"? I just saw the commercial and it sounds too good to be true... Any thoughts?

This message was edited May 2, 2009 10:54 PM

I'm not familiar with a combo product like that (and can't seem to find it on their website either). They do sell weed prevention products which are a pre-emergent herbicide that prevents seeds from germinating (will prevent weed seeds from sprouting but also seeds you planted, so not good to use if you have plants that you want to reseed, newly sowed seeds, etc.) They also have a couple kinds of regular weed killers that they make, one kills anything and the other only kills broadleaf weeds so you can use it in lawns. If there is a combo product, I expect it's a combination of one of those two weed killers with the pre-emergent.

Or are you maybe thinking of the Roundup extended control that kills and prevents weeds from coming back? I've seen a lot of ads for that one recently. It's more for use in driveway cracks, pathways, etc where you don't want anything growing vs using in garden beds.

I just googled and websites indicate that Preen does not kill already growing weeds. It just stops their seeds from germinating. And you're right about not wanting to use it in my garden beds because it will stop any "wanted" seeds from germinating.
I just got that SuperThrive stuff but can't douse my rose bush yet because of the rain we got. The instructions say to wait until the soil is "thirsty" for maximum absorption (makes sense). So I'll wait a day or so and see what happens. I got at HD for 10 clams today which i think is outrageous for such a tiny bottle! Maybe it will do what it promises :)...

It depends on which Preen you get, they make a couple different kinds. The one that most people commonly think of is the pre-emergent which stops germination, but they also make regular weed killers that kill weeds that are already there (they will kill your desirable plants too just like any other weed killer, so you need to be careful in a garden bed)

Pre-emergent: http://www.preen.com/products/flowers-trees-shrubs/weed-preventer
Regular weed killers: http://www.preen.com/products/lawns/weed-and-grass-killer

On the Super Thrive--it's really not such a bad deal when you read the directions and see that you only need to use a few drops in a gallon of water. If you use it according to the directions it can last quite a while.

Yeah--don't waste your money by using too much of that Super Thrive! It really does only take a little bit. Use the recommended amount and if your plant doesn't improve like you'd like it to, wait a couple weeks and try another small dose. I had a friend who used the, "If a little is good, a lot is better method." She had LOT'S of gorgeous grass growing around her plants!

That was funny, naturelover! :D I WAS tempted to do just that... I'll just have to remember not to!:)

ROFL! I can see us standing over our plants saying, "HURRY UP AND GROW!"

I doused it with Super Thrive last week and there is growth... BUT not the kind I want! It's those fuzzy things again! I think it's a goner :(. I've already gotten a bareroot replacement and have resigned myself to the fact that my rose bush (this season at least) is going to be dormant or dying or dead...
Add to the fact that I have two gardenia plants that are now sloooowlyyyy croaking, this season is not being very nice to me...
Flowering plants make me feel soooo much better, maybe that's why I garden. If I'm down and feeling weird, I just go to my local HD or Lowe's and look at the numerous purty plants and it instantly makes me feel a gazillion times better. That's why it sucks when I lose a plant or two... (granted I'm not a great gardener :)
So I went to HD and got me a couple of purple and white columbines- did the trick:) I'm not as bummed (IF I don't look at my dying rose bush and gardenias that is) anymore... Well, just a little:).

I just found out that the "fuzzies" I was referring to is "witch's broom"... Now that does not sound good... Because it could either be rose rosette or just an herbicide problem. If it is just herbicide overkill, then my rose has a small chance of recovering. If it's the rose rosette, then I might as well bag it up and throw it in the trash... The growth is small yet so I cannot see any "redness" akin to rosette.... Here's hopin! :(

A few years ago,I bought several bare root roses from Edmund's Roses.One of them would not break dormancy.All the rest were growing really well.I called and got to speak to the owner(very cool).He advised me to apply fish emulsion.In 2 weeks it had caught up with the others.I was totally amazed.Edge

It's possible all the dog pee from last year could count as herbicide overdose--I'd give it a chance yet!

I hope so! I will post pictures soon.

Here's a picture I took of my rose bush just this morning... It IS hopeless, isn't it? I've tried everything too. Your thoughts... (before I pluck it out)...

Mm, doesn't look good... I know, you would feel like Fern's father killing Little Wilbur, but in this case it may be a mercy killing.

I had a thought - do you give your puppy a preventative de-wormer? (heartguard, etc.) The breeder I got our pup from was a little out there, and she was dead-set against that type of thing - overvaccinating, etc. Anyways, the literature she gave me got me so-o scared that I also do not give my dog a preventative dewormer product. Once a year when he goes to the vet, he gives him a dewormer pill and that's it. If he had worms, it kills them, and if he didn't, there's no harm done. But the pill is way different than the monthly preventives.

The point of all this (sorry, I went off on a tangent) is that my dog pees all over everything, and it hasn't hurt anything. I don't have any brown spots on my lawn, nothing like that.

You know what- he was on a monthly deworming pill for about six months, but then I stopped giving it to him around feb... I guess it is time to say buh-bye to my dear rosetwig- i mean- bush... so sad :( (if that dog isn't just so goshdarn cute with his puppydog eyes when he gets in trouble- i'd give him another tell-you-what-for!)

You might try one more thing--on the branches that are brown at the top but green at the bottom, try cutting back into the green part and see if that might stimulate some new growth. May not work, and at this point you may not feel like spending any more time waiting for it to come around, but since it does still have some green on it and was making an attempt to put out some leaves there may still be a chance for it. Since it's summer now it's not a great time to plant anything else in its place (I'm assuming our recent cool temperatures are going to come to a very abrupt end any day now!) so there's nothing to lose by waiting on it a little more. Severe stress can take a while to recover from. It could be too that it'll continue to look bad this year, but then next year might come back a little bit better as its roots continue to recover.

Oh lord, E! See, now I'm not gonna pluck it out! I have to try one last time, shouldn't I? :) Ok. Will prune back to the green, chant something, down two prozacs , then talk to my therapist and see if that helps :)! But THIS IS it! Really! I'm not gonna go out there every 2 hours and keep checking on it to see if there's any difference from two hours ago or think like there is! :) Thanks for all the ideas peeps!

I wish I had access to a rolling, laughing smiley face icon. I thought I was the only one who checked their plants every two hours!!

Shhhhh, smileymom!! It's too embarrassing! But I do! :) [I wish Davesgarden had emoticons!]

so what did you end up doing?

I trimmed (per Ecrane) to the green part as best as I could then dance around the fire (a citronella candle :) while chanting "I will Survive" by Gloria Geynor and now it's the dreaded waiting game... It's still looking like it's gonna croak, but serves me right for checking up on it wayyyy too many times a day! :p
The replacement bareroot is leafing already though. That should keep my mind off of it for a while :).
Pharmacist wouldn't let me refill my prozac- Drats! :) (j/k!)

This message was edited Jun 16, 2009 10:10 AM

This message was edited Jun 16, 2009 10:11 AM

last year our roses did really badly here in the UK, due to consistant poor weather, but this tear after trimming them right back in the autumn they are doing great.
this is the first time i can say it's been a good year for the roses. our yorkshire terrier also likes to mark our rose bushes but we put chicken feed pellets ( yes you heard right ) and we are having a great year despite his attempts to self water them

How is your rose doing NOW?

DEAD. It's still there though. I'll wait til next season...

Thanks for asking though :-)

Roses! Roses! Everywhere is coming up roses! Remember the weather does play a role. Perhaps even in California with the hot, and now sometimes little or too much rain. Here in the midwest along the shores of Lake Michigan--we simply just pray and keep planting, and planting--everything. Southern exposures are great-but life in the city can be a little !! This year our southern exposure was stolen--roses we and so many neighbors through the years enjoyed were clipped right down to the base--stolen blooms-stolen plants for grafting-so I quickly but what remained of each inside the 6 foot fence--however the yard is only partial shade and it will take a number of years for them to grow back--with over 35 plus years gardening I've learned patience--and a few good "Rose" tips I hope will help everyone! One is remember to freeze those banana skins--chop them into small pieces first then freeze-then spread around each individual rose-covering with a fine covering of compost--they just love to bloom extra for you! Two--remember to randomly feed them--I have added a one gallon jug filled with one cup of cow manure (shake shake) making cow manure tea, fill approximately 1"-2" of this solution into a gallon of water--and feed at the base of the plant--roses love water (everytime you use the mix simply refill the gallon-as it gets lighter it is a little less strong--thats Ok--continue until it looks like plain water again and then start all over again; when watering your rose remember to water roughly 1 gallon per foot of plant per week (do not spill this mix on the plant--with the sun it may burn the leaves on a hot summer day); Third--remember to add garlic plants between the rows-or at least chives (true they are more formal)-no Japanese bettles, many many bees--love the flowers especially chives! Fourth remember the epson salt--they just love the stuff--everytime I go into the gardens I constantly remind myself to not work so hard with the perennials and annuals and give the extra loving care the roses crave!; Fifth (because my original plans of growing an English Victorian Herbaceaous Ribbon Garden--got caught up saving wildlife a change of plans and this year it is official the gardens are now part of the national federation wildlife habitat program and I've learned to live with the ups and downs of wildlife-destroying roses--marigolds are a must along the edge--watch the reaction when a young squirrels tries these blooms first (yuck!).

Through the years the gardens filled with perennials, fruits and berries, along with roses and on occasional annual quickly grew -to 50 plus rose varieties over the years. Today celebrating 40 plus years in our home and revamping the gardens with 35. It appears here in the midwest the graft on each rose should be planted 2" below--sure wished I knew about this all those years!--that explains the lost of so many!

Could use a little help--along the sidewalk facing south on the outside of the six foot fence we originally had 15 plus roses--appears times have changed to take and don't ask--wish to make mom happy again--she is up in age and loves to stand on the sidewalk and water the roses-little easier for her (talking with the neighbors passing through)----because of this years bizarre theif-taking the whole plants--only the one time blooms of five red blazes along the side of the house remain--can anyone recommend a few roses which might take such punishment and still rebloom. It appears they leave the blaze alone because it is not a tea or floribunda--also does not hold well when cut. Would love to see the spark in mom's eyes again--what a shock when I came with the hose and handed it to her so she could water the roses--they where !!!

Happy Rose Days Of Summer! Even the wildlife love it--especially the young squirrels who smell and spring back a rose or two!

Hello, 2gone :-) Thanks for the tips and ideas! I sill surely try the bananer peel stuff on my next project (front yard). What a shame, someon's actually out there stealing plants?!? That's horrid! You should post some pictures of your roses too. They sound lovely!

I read that this morning, didn't have time to post, I agree that is awful! A guy I know had his cherry tree pulled out of his yard in the middle of the night....literally pulled out of the ground, can you imagine? There was a huge rash of plant thefts in his town. Crazy!