What is Rose dieback disease?
Rose dieback is a condition commonly affecting rose plants where there is browning or blackening of the tip of the rose stem or a branch which then travels down toward the graft and may engulf the whole plant causing death.
It can either be a Branch die back or the main stem dieback towards the graft. It is infact a commonly encountered problem by every gardener and can sometimes be too bad causing death of the plant if no intervention is done.
What are the causes of Rose dieback problem?
Any factor that contributes to stress on the rose plant can result in dieback. The actual agent that causes this die back is the fungus which start multiplying and engulfing the entire plant. They gain entry from any form of physical injury to the plant and this can be even from a simple scratch to bad pruning techniques. Not taking enough aseptic precaution specially not cleaning the cutter, not cutting at 45 degree cutting angle and things like that. You can check out his article on all pruning techniques and how to safely perform plant pruning.
Now the other factors that are believed to cause this rose dieback problem are:
- Both overwatering and underwatering can cause this problem.
- Another cause is poor soil quality with no proper nutrients.
- Poor absorption due to soil ph problems. Rose plant needs a PH of around 6.5. I have discussed about soil ph and ways to check and rectify this, in my previous episodes. Please check description links to watch related videos after this episode.
- Dieback can also be physiological – meaning a normal process that can occur on a branch that has already flowered and if no further buds or yield is expected in that branch. This is a natural response to conserve energy for the rest of the plant, So dieback process can happen by itself.
The Treatment of Rose dieback problem:
Non-Chemical Methods and preventive steps:
1. Soil Preparation: When you plant a rose, the initial soil is very important to prevent rose dieback. Ensure there are enough nutrients including micro and macro nutrients for the plant to gain that strength to combat any infections. You can check out some good soil or potting mix recipes.
2. Check soil drainage hole if grown in containers: There should not be water logging. Also always use a well draining soil mixtures for roses or any plant for that matter. Avoid using clayey soils. You can watch few good soil recipes from my video title Universal Potting Mix recipes, I have linked all related videos in description below.
Now the most important step to treat rose dieback problem.
3. Pruning: This is a very important step for treatment as well as prevention of rose dieback disease. First of all for beginners in gardening, when you start to perform pruning, do not take it lightly. You have to follow the protocols. Some people due to laziness or whatever reason, just take their cutting tools and start snipping their plants. This is not done! Please always Clean or wipe the cutter with a disinfectant like rubbing alcohol or 6 percent hydrogen peroxide or alteast the home antiseptic solution from your first aid box. Optionally better to Wipe the pruning tool after every cut. Regarding how to make the cuts and the exact procedure for pruning, please check out my important video on Pruning techniques.
The main treatment of Dieback disease is pruning the involved stem or branch. With aseptic precautions, cut off the involved stem including an inch of the normal stem and dispose it away from other rose plants. That’s it.
The Chemical Treatment:
Nothing much, this is usually applied or sprayed after pruning that is cutting the involved branches. You can use any broad spectrum antifungal powder like the SAAF powder which is a combination of Carbendazim and Mancozeb. If you prefer to be completely organic, direct Neem oil application at the cut end will also help. If you do not have anything, atleast try to apply some turmeric powder to the cut end. This way you can stop further progression of this problem.
Rose dieback and black spot rose disease are two most common problems affecting rose plants. Also please check out the Black spot rose disease problem article.
Black spot rose disease is characterized by black spots on the upper side of leaves. This Fungus spreads quickly and can move from plant to plant if intervention is not done quickly. So, these are the 5 important steps to control black spot rose disease.
- Location: Carefully Choosing Your Rose Garden location is very important to prevent the development and spread of this fungus. Choose a location which receives Atleast 6-8 hours of direct sunlight and preferably morning sunlight is best so that the night time dew dries out early. Also there should be enough air circulation around the plants.
- Soil: Water should not stagnate around the plant at any cost. So make sure you have a well draining soil for your potted plant.
- Watering Frequency and method should be appropriate. Watering early morning is best way to prevent fungus so that the leaves dry out quickly rather than leaving them wet overnight by watering in the evenings.
The first three steps I discussed are mainly preventive measures and also a part of treatment of this black spot fungus in rose plants. Now moving on to the two most important steps for actual treatment or the complete removal of this problem. - Pruning: If your black spot disease is not so extensive, so soft pruning or remove only the affected leaves. Trim off all the affected leaves and branches and keep them away and dispose them safely so that your other plants should not get infected. Better use a trash bag and dispose them.
- Now before moving on to the actual remedy for black spot rose disease, we should understand the pattern of this black spot or brown spot rose disease:
- They are Circular black spots or brown spots on the leaves.
- The lower leaves tend to be infected first, and then it spreads quickly to the whole plant.
- The leaves then turn yellow and fall off.
- Then eventually the plant becomes weaker and it either blooms less or stops blooming.
Many recommend spraying with broad spectrum chemical fungicides like imidacloprid, mancozeb which is a component of SAAF powder and other like trifloxystrobin, Ziram, chlorothalonil and many others. Even Copper and Sulfur fungicides work great for black spot rose disease treatment. I think you can reserve this if your conventional organic treatment fails.
What I recommend is an Organic Solution – that is NEEM OIL SPRAY. 5ml neem oil in 1 liter of water weekly twice for 2 weeks and then maintenance dose of atleast monthly once or once in 15 days.
So, there we have it folks. That was a quick gardening tutorial on how to cure black spot rose disease. Please Share this Article by clicking on social share icons. Also comment your feedback below. Happy Gardening.