Assessing the Fall Rose Garden

Hybrid tea roses have highly scented buds that unfold into flowers with 20 to 50 petals each. Most hybrid teas are winter hardy in Zone 7, so they need extra protection in colder zones. In early fall, the gardener stopped deadheading spent blooms, allowing the hips (rose fruit below the star clusters) to form. The formation of hips encourages the canes to begin hardening and preparing for winter. This is a mild case of blackspot, a fungus that usually appears on rose foliage in mid to late summer.

Even though most roses are dormant by fall, they still need care and attention. Roses are a woody shrub, and many don't die back to the ground like herbacious perennials. Because their stems (canes), are exposed to the elements, roses need special care to make it through the cold season ahead. And they'll have a better chance of growing beautiful blooms in the spring if they are kept healthy.

By mid-fall, the roses have hardened off, the plant cell walls have thickened and the canes have a purplish tone.

Many diseases find winter shelter in garden debris. Clean up the bed by removing dead leaves and plant litter. This can be a prime source of disease and infection for the following season.

Look at each rose plant carefully. Damage at the roots or base may suggest an invasive-pest problem. A common problem is blackspot, caused by lingering wetness on the leaves; it's a fungus that looks like black circles surrounded by yellow rings. If you find blackspot, pull off the leaves and remove problem branches. For mild cases, cure with a 5% baking soda and 95% water solution--1/3 cup baking soda to one gallon water. For more severe cases, there are chemical solutions on the market.

Check for rust spots and powdery mildew, which causes disfigured leaves and flowers. Treat by hosing or cutting off damaged parts. Also check for aphids, spider mites and other insects. Cut off any branches with burrowing insects.

Don't throw diseased branches into your compost. They'll infect the whole compost pile, and when you mix the compost into soil, you'll spread the problem into the rest of the garden.

It's also a good time to treat your rose bushes with fungicide to protect the branches through winter. Coat the canes thoroughly, making sure the shrub is completely moistened. Also spray the soil around the base of the plant in case any of the disease has migrated there (likely if diseased leaves dropped to the ground). Be very careful with fungicide. Wear gloves and take necessary precautions. Also, wash your clothes afterwards separately from other laundry and keep pets away from sprayed areas for about 24 hours. Always a good idea to check the manufacturer's instructions before using any chemicals in your garden.