What MITE It Be?
During the hot, dry days of summer your rose bushes can become host to a devastating tiny critter called the Two-spotted spider mite.
When these conditions are prevalent the mite is very active feeding and reproducing on your bushes.
What to look for
At the start of an infestation the mite likes to feed on the underside of the leaves. Usually starting at the bottom of the plant and spreading toward the top. If you look at the underside of the leaf with a hand lens, you’ll see a sandy color insect moving around.
Signs and Symptoms
Leaves will become stippled and start to bronze. This is a result of the juices being sucked out of the leaves during feeding. Eventually the leaves will die and fall off. During heavy infestation the mites will encapsulate leaves and buds in webbing. Not only does this allow for them to move easier but your roses can’t bloom!
Treatment
In our spray mixes we have a plant protectant to control mite populations and egg production. To fix any defoliation issues with the bush we will cut them back lower and fertilize them to flush new, healthy growth.
Can You SPOT It?
Black Spot disease is another common condition during summer months where typical weather conditions like rain, heat and humidity will bring this annoying fungus out of nowhere to pester your roses. Black Spot is a persistent and damaging disease as long as conditions persist.
What to look for
As the name suggests the telltale sign that your bush has Black Spot is well…. The black spots.
This will be found on the leaves usually starting on the interior where airflow is poorer or on clusters of leaves that don’t dry out as easily. Once the fungus has infected a leaf it can potentially spread to the entire bush via spores.
Signs and Symptoms
This is one of the easiest diseases to identify as the name is very descriptive. First, black spots will appear on healthy green leaf tissue. After a spot appears the infected leaf will fade to yellow and brown. Once enough damage has been done to the leaf it will drop off the bush.
Treatment
Regular cleaning of your rose bush is required. To get rid of any existing fungal colonies or spore our plant protectants are used every 10 days. In cases of infections we may apply every three days.
If a bush loses its leaves we cut back the canes and apply fertilizer to encourage new growth.
