What diseases can ruin roses and how to save the plant

Roses delight us with their blooms throughout the warm season, from May to November. But growing this flower is not easy because it suffers from many diseases and is very sensitive to them.

Experienced growers know how to notice the problem in time and what to do with the rose to save it. OBOZ.UA shares their tips.

Powdery mildew

This fungal pathogen attacks young stems and rose buds. It manifests itself in the form of spots that look like areas sprinkled with flour. If you do not take action, the plaque will cover the entire plant, turn gray and eventually destroy it.

How to treat it

To prevent powdery mildew from attacking your rose garden, make sure that there is always space between the bushes. Plants should be well ventilated, and moisture should not stagnate on the stems and leaves. Excessive fertilization is also a mistake. Preventive and curative spraying is carried out with special fungicidal preparations.

Downy mildew

This is another fungal disease of roses. But the plaque from its pathogen is red-brown or purple. In order not to miss its appearance, you need to regularly check the back of the rose leaves. This is where the disease begins to develop.

How to treat

Shoots affected by downy mildew should be cut off and destroyed. And then treat the bush with fungicidal preparations. Consult a specialist to choose a product that works on this particular pathogen. Also, to protect against the disease, you need to fertilize the flowers with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.

Gray rot

It is one of the most common diseases that especially affects roses with light petals. If you notice brownish rotten shoots on the plant, this is the first symptom. Most often, the disease attacks the flower during wintering and its manifestations can be noticed when you remove the winter protection from the bushes.

How to treat

Affected roses need to be fertilized with phosphorus and potassium in a 2:1 ratio and provide them with the driest possible conditions. During treatment, watering should only be done at the root. Of course, damaged parts of the bush should be cut off and destroyed immediately.

Black spot of roses

The disease looks very similar to downy mildew, but brown spots begin to appear on the outside of the leaf. However, they do not appear on the back.

How to treat it

Since this is also a fungal infection, it should be treated with the latest generation of fungicidal preparations. Spraying the flowers with preparations that increase the rose's resistance to disease will help protect them from black spot.

Phyllosticta leaf spot

This is a group of diseases caused by various pathogens. Sometimes it can be chaotically located rounded spots with a distinct wide purple-brown border. Over time, the center of such spots becomes ash-gray, but the border remains unchanged. Otherwise, the border of the spots has a crimson tint. Damaged leaves turn yellow and fall off prematurely.

How to treat

Whatever pathogen causes phyllostictic spotting, treatment with a modern fungicide will save the affected flower. And during treatment, do not water the rose from above. Only under the root.

Spur blight

The spots caused by this disease are purple in color. Sometimes they are so dark that they appear almost black. The affected areas are small and rounded. They are brownish in color on the underside of the leaf.

How to treat

The same way as most fungal diseases on this list: with the help of fungicidal preparations. They should be used according to the instructions.

Juniper Rust

This fungus appears as small, convex spots that resemble rust patches on metal. They appear on the inside of the leaf. And at the base of the shoots, you can see cracks filled with yellow powder: these are spores of the pathogen.

How to treat

This disease is very difficult to treat. All affected parts of the rose must be removed and destroyed. If the bush is severely affected by rust, it is better to burn it before it infects neighboring plants. If you are lucky enough to detect the disease at an early stage, fungicides will help. They can also be used to preventively treat the rose garden in early spring.

Ring Rot

If a rose has mechanical damage - cuts, fractures, etc. - it can pick up this dangerous bacterial infection. Its manifestations look like humped growths that can form on the roots, at the base of the stems, on the shoots. They quickly grow in size, become hard and begin to rot. Soon the whole plant dies.

How to treat

If you notice symptoms of the disease near the root collar, you will have to destroy the entire plant. It will not be possible to save it, but the infection will spread very quickly from it. If the lesions are located higher, you can cut them off and treat the cut site with a 1% solution of copper sulfate for disinfection.

How to protect roses from diseases

First of all, always check the requirements for planting a particular variety. If the rose grows in a place where it is too dark or too much sun, too humid or too windy, it will be more vulnerable to infections.

Be sure to apply all the necessary fertilizers. But never use a dosage that is higher than recommended. This will do more harm than good. It is better to put a little less fertilizer than to overdo it.

In the spring, when the plants begin to wake up, carry out preventive spraying. These can be drugs against a wide range of diseases or more narrowly targeted fungicides. Some folk remedies can also work, but they should be used at very early stages of the disease.

Also, do not neglect the rules for keeping roses. Collect and destroy diseased and fallen leaves. It is important to do this regularly, not once or twice a season. Water the plants only at the root. Fungi quickly settle and multiply on wet leaves. Destroy insect pests too as they, among other things, spread infections.

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