Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Gertrude Jekyll rose

petehaskellpetehaskell Posts: 130
in Problem solving
Hi.... I'm really struggling with a GJ rose. I use a moisture meter to get the watering right, feed it, spray it and it still looks sickly. It was the same last year so I cut it back and put it in a new container with fresh compost. The growth seems weak and the foliage is poor. What am I doing wrong???
Thanks for any comments 
«13

Posts

  • petehaskellpetehaskell Posts: 130
    I have spayed it twice recently, always in the evening. Once  with a fungicide and with an insecticide a couple of nights ago.
  • petehaskellpetehaskell Posts: 130
    I am a really keen rose grower and I just can't work out what the problem is....
    Forgot to say it's  on a west wall
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    You won't like my answer :) hopefully, more people will answer and you will get a variety of opinions.
    You cut this rose back this winter and you have all those lovely canes. I can't know how tall they are but I think you are actually doing well. You have some cosmetic issues there - leafhoppers, rose sawfly and weather damage. The brown spots and edges look more serious, either scorched or chemical (overfeeding or a result of the spraying). In any case, these will get better by you doing nothing, just watering regularly. You don't need the moisture meter, your finger is the best tool to tell if it needs water.
    Do you want to grow the rose as a shrub or as a small climber? How big is your pot and how often do you feed and with what fertilizer? How old is the rose? Do you have a photo of the whole plant?
  • petehaskellpetehaskell Posts: 130
    Hi...ta for the reply. I use Miracle Grow and organic seaweed concentrate. I feed every couple of weeksat this time of year
  • petehaskellpetehaskell Posts: 130
    ps.... forgot to say that I've had the rose for 2 years 
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    Hi Pete, does that face due south at all? I'm wondering whether it's mostly leaf scorch if so, perhaps a combination of the very hot weather we've just had which just possibly has reflected sun glare off that pale gravel and had heat radiating off the brick wall. I also think you might be over-doing the feeding somewhat so like Edhelka says, just lay off this for a while.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • petehaskellpetehaskell Posts: 130
    Thanks Lizzie..... being a very keen gardener I have a nasty habit of overdoing  things, which is why I bought a moisture meter!!
  • petehaskellpetehaskell Posts: 130
    ps.... notice the brickwork??? Built it myself🤣🤣🤣🤣😁
  • Jason-3Jason-3 Posts: 391
    I have 3 GJ roses. What I would say is that it's not a pretty shrub. It's foliage and growth is stragley. The foilage is generally not as healthy as other modern roses. Your foilage dosent look all that different to my own GJs minus the scorch
    With GJ it's all about the blooms and scent, which is incredible 
  • petehaskellpetehaskell Posts: 130
    Ta Jason 👍👍
Sign In or Register to comment.