Roses Down Under

The scale which affects roses is a hard or armoured scale, and it can have serious consequences if left uncontrolled. Scales are white or greyish-white, and 1.5mm to 5mm long. The female scale has no distinguishable body parts - it appears to be a small round fungus, and is permanently attached to the stem. The male scale has wings and flies in the spring. It is said that bush and standard roses are more likely to be affected than climbing roses, and one source said that white ro...

Today i find it hard to believe that it's the first day of autumn. This morning when I walked around my garden it was calm and summy, and very quiet because the big machines working on the large subdivision next door don't work on Sundays. So I enjoyed the brief respite from the din, having my own quiet garden back again.

Although it seems hard to believe, the darker mornings and the earlier sunsets are signs that autumn is coming and the roses will soon be blooming their last, so enjoy...

With the problems I have been having I decided to do some research onthe rust which is found on roses. The species Phragmidium (rst) has a number of different types, each of which is restricted to one or a few host species. For example P. rubi-idea is only found on raspberries, P. violaceium on cultivated blackberries and loganberries, and P. tuberaculatum is the particular type of rust which infects roses. The rust on hollyhocks is different again,

When the weather is hot and dry it can be difficult to keep the rose garden looking good.

Did you go away over the Christmas holidays, and perhaps forget to arrange for a neighbour to water your garden? I went away for a few days in January and although the roses were watered they were showing signs of dehydration when I arrived back home. Some of the leaves were brown and brittle around the edges, a sure sign that the rose was under stress.

Perhaps worse than that, though, was th...