Pleae someone help me save my rose bush?

Question

OK I wasnt born with a green thumb and completely stupid on this subject. It was a very hot day and I was outside cleaning my car and thought my bushes looked thirsty so I sprayed it down.....the leaves and all. Well my hubby came home and said that they were wilting now. Go figure. He said I was only suppose to spray the bottom, not the whole thing. Soooo, its been a week or so and they are not recovering, just wilting. Am I suppose to cut them off now and let them regrow? Please help they were so beautiful and now they're UGLY. Can they recover from this before next year? Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

It will not hurt a plant to water it gently by a fine spray. The reason to not water from sprinklers is to keep from splashing fungal spores up from the ground onto the leaves. A sudden wilt, not due to either over watering or lack of water, is more likely insect infestation, root parasites or Verticillium wilt. Or voles/moles can leave tunnels drying the root zone. Both animals leave lateral foraging tunnels through the soil.
You need to examine the plant for specific evidence of the cause and treat them appropriately or you risk further problems. If your garden lacked water more than the rose would be showing stress. Water retention in clay you will have to check how wet the soil is by digging some up from around the rose. Hold a fistful and squeeze it, it will form a good ball when wet. It will appear moist, dark and may feel sticky and cool to touch.
If the soil is warm to touch, hard to shape into a ball or crumbles to sand, with clods easily crushed it is way to dry.

Heavy, wet, clay rich soil can retain to much water. This can let crown rot start. The plant will wilt.

Crown gall rot is a bacterial infection & can be strong enough to wilt plants but you would see the lumps around the base of the plant and possibly up the stems.
http://www2.dpi.qld.gov.au/horticulture/17902.html

Phytophthora Root Rot is another fungal soil disease. The fungus grows in warms constantly moist soil. Disease can be very rapid.

Root-knot nematode stunts plants and leaves it prone to wilt even in mild temps because nematode-damaged roots cannot take up water. If all else is eliminated [voles, insects, galls] Think about if just the roots were failing despite adequate water. Was the plant growing poorly this spring or showing chlorotic leaves? Then nematodes are a distinct possibility. Below ground the roots will have characteristic galling. The usual method is to dig up and examine the roots. If the plant dies you need to do this because you can't replant in that soil. It must be treated or removed.

Mites suck sap like aphids but congregate under leaves. Mites are nearly invisible but show silvery webbing underneath leaves sometimes. To control, spray dormant oil or lime-sulfur on dormant plants. During the growing season, use insecticidal soap with pyrethrin or whole neem oil.

Verticillium wilt is caused by a fungus that enters the plant when temperatures go up often in June to Aug. The first symptoms are brief with yellowing leaves then a permanent wilt. The fungus blocks the water flow up to the leaves. It can't be treated.
Rose wilt is thought to be viral and is commonly called rose dieback. Fully formed leaves wilt as if water stressed.
If either of these are the cause the soil must be removed there is no treatment.

Answer 2

I am not certain if this is the real reason. I would walk up to the rose bushes, and I would look at the leaves , and see if you can detect any kind of bugs on it. Sometimes, it looks like some lice have put their eggs on the leaves, and that can cause wilting too.
From my experience, take a dump cloth and wipe off every leave, or break the bad onces off.
I do not think it will have trouble to regrow. My experience, fertilize them and do not water in the middle of the day when the heat is the highest. Cause, that's a reason a plant will dye. It has something to do with sunn and poly something. I can't remember the word for it.
If all fails, just clipp it down, fertilize it, put some straw arround the plants. And if all fails it will growth back next year. Hope this helps. M y own experience with rose bushes. P. S. Rose bushes are very tender bushes. You must tend to them daily. TLC is the best medicine for them.

Answer 3

I think your rose needed more water. I mean lots. You said that it was a hot day, so you sprayed the whole bush. The water on the leaves probably evaporated quickly and took moisture in the leaves with it. You should've watered deeply only around the base of this plants with a bucketful. Roses are hard to kill. Water, water and water lots and see what happens. I would take off any wilted parts, though. I hope you can save this plant!

Answer 4

Cut off the roses, the bush will regrow new ones in about 2 weeks time.

Answer 5

it should recover for next year but yea i would dead head it (take off the dying areas) that way the areas that are still healthy have a chance to flourish, also when it starts to produce blooms when the flower starts to wilt dead head those as well it will help the rose to produce more flowers.
just like removing dead skin to look healthier same with a flower remove the dead to expose the living.

Answer 6

My rose bush was green with roses on it. One day here in California was hot about 80 degrees and in the evening I saw all of the green leaves wilted and dried out I touched the leaves and they were dried. The plant is dark brown in the stem and green in the other half. Please help me this is my first rose plant.

Answer 7

Ok, when it rains, the leaves get wet, right?

If the leaves are wilting, not turning yellow, then it needs more water. (If they are turning yellow, it's had too much water.)

Also, pour a beer around the base of the plant. Rose bushes love 'em!

Answer 8

Yes, you might try to cut them back a little. Is it the buds that got burned or just the leaves? Roses are very resilient.

Answer 9

i would say give it some time to re-coup, then every time you eat a banana take the peel and bury it in the soil around your rose. my rose plants love the potassium from the peels.
also i agree with removing the dead but only if it is for sure dead and not just wilted.
good luck...

Answer 10

Water the roots thoroughly and wait two days, if you do not see improvement, then cut off all the areas that look bad, spotted or dead (have no mercy, chop, chop, chop)