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New rose wilting extremely fast?
CraighB
Posts: 758
Hi all,
I bought a new David Austin rose shrub at the weekend and it's a potted one. 2 days ago one of the buds opened and today I knocked the pot slightly the every single petal fell off the rose! It only opened 2 days ago.
When I bought the rose it was outside and when I got home I put it outside too and it was well watered. It is still in its pot as I haven't planted it out yet and it is only quite a small bush at the minute with around 4 unopened buds.
what could be happening?
thanks 
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Posts
Hi CraighB I don't think your new potted shrub rose is wilting especially as you keep it watered. It could be that being a new rose and depending on the variety, the stems are weak and are supporting top heavy roses in bloom, it could be quiet easy for the petals to drop just brushing past them never mind knocking the pot slightly. You have nothing to worry about ... enjoy your rose!
From other posts, I get the impression that many DA roses have flowers that can be foo heavy for the stems. It's certainly the case with mine, especially after rain when the weight of the flower is increased
Sorry I think I have worded it wrong.
The roses are not top heavy, they are being supported just fine and standing upright. what happened was I knocked the pot it's in only very slightly and every petal fell off the rose thats in bloom. I would expect roses to be able to withstand more than 2 days before the petals started falling off in such big numbers?
It's actually a lot to ask of a small young rose to produce and hang on to its flowers at the same time as it is growing a new root system to support future growth.
I would advise you to remove the remaining flower buds and keep removing them this summer so it can grow a stronger root system. I would also keep it in its pot or move it to a lightly bigger one for the rest of the summer and plant it out in autumn. Patience is a virtue in gardening and your rose will be stronger for waiting.
Craigh, rose flowers don't last long, the flowers were probably going over when you bought it. It's nothing serious. The priority is to get it into its flowering position asap. Soak the pot in a bucket of water before planting, roses need large quantities of water at the best of times and potted roses on sale are often never watered properly by the sellers.
Well this was a new bud that hadn't yet opened. It opened the day after I bought it home and then 2 days later at the most it lost every single petal. However I plan to keep this one in a container so im going to get some well rotted manure and a large pot at the weekend and get it in there asap and I'm hoping it will like it there
Don't put manure in its pot. It will be too concentrated and may burn the roots. Save that for mixing into the soil when you do plant it out.
For potting, use good quality John Innes no 3 with maybe a top dressing of specialist rose fertiliser while it's in a pot.
David Austin roses are often very complex looking things and can shed their petals at the drop of a hat. My Boscobel didn't look at all happy for a couple of seasons after I bought it but this year it is standing up to the weather and the flowers look fabulous. Give yours time to get its roots down (hopefully in a very big pot and with the suggested JI No.3) and it should be fine.