Is this normal

[Midwestnoob]

So I'm new to roses (and gardening in general.) I just want to make sure I'm not killing my plant slowly. I have pebbles in the bottom for drainage then miracle grow potting soil then red mulch on top. At the beginning of the season when I first transplanted this rose I watered it with fish tank water high in nitrate and higher PH 7.4ish. Then after depleting the nutrients in the fish tank I switched to tap water which is also higher in PH. Because of the higher PH I added a tablespoon of soil acidifer (for hydrangeas and blueberries.)

So my question is at the begging of the season the roses had a solid color and plenty of buds. Now they are changing color and I have very little buds. 2 or 3 buds Now when it was 2 dozenish.

Is this a normal seasonal change or am I slowly killing my plant. It's a apricot drift rose.

 

[Sheal]

Your rose isn't looking at all healthy @Midwestnoob. I'll come to the feeding shortly but first you need to deal with a couple of other issues. The rose buds in the picture look as though they have mildew, they should be removed including any leaves that have it. The leaves to the right have black spot, again all these leaves should be removed as well as any that may be laying underneath the plant. Put them in a waste bin or burn them as the spores will re-infect this plant and others if you have them. Buds and leaves will grow back. There are various remedies for controlling these diseases, either chemical or organic.

I suspect this rose has these diseases because of the wrong sort of feeding. Ideally roses prefer to be grown in the ground as they are hungry and thirsty plants, they also need good air circulation. I would remove the mulch as that will harbour disease. Roses can be fed with a specially prepared food that can be bought in most garden centres or you could use a mix of blood, fish and bone, also available in garden centres or chicken manure pellets. If you have a rose in the ground they would love mulching with horse manure, if it's available to you.

 

[Fernsdaddy]

Poor air circulation will cause mildew on potted rose

 

[kgord]

Yes, I don't know much about roses, but at this point, I think all you can do is to remove the diseased parts, and maybe take it into a garden center to see what they recommend you do from this point. They can probably make recommendations as to the right kind of rose food to use. Good Luck. Is there anyway you can plant it outside?

 

[NatalieW]

it looks like your roses are too wet for too often, that will cause a lot of the problems already mentioned. They need air flow and sun to be able to naturally resist fungal problems. Roses will always perform better in the ground than potted, so you'll need to be much more persistant with your care if you keep it potted.
Clear out all infected parts of the plant and keep it in good sunlight. don't let the leaves and flowers continue to get wet when you water, do base watering.

 

[marlingardener]

Please do not take the rose itself to a garden center! If it is diseased, you could wipe out their inventory! Take a blossom and a stem with leaves sealed in a plastic bag. That way they can help you without endangering their roses.
Apricot Drift shouldn't look like the blooms you photographed. Back off on the watering, and do not water from overhead, only the soil should be watered. Also, you probably don't need to add an acidifier.
Roses are hardy, and can withstand a lot of opposition from nature and gardeners. I bet your rose recovers and gives you lots of pleasure!

 

[NatalieW]

Oh, I agree with marlingardener! don't take a sick plant to a garden center... you bring your problems to their plants and that can be a real problem.

 

[Midwestnoob]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I've backed off from watering them so much and they seem to be doing better. I knew roses in pos would be harder to keep healthy.

I'm slowly learning which plants like more water and Sun. Thanks again.

 

[kgord]

Well, I mean, the gardening center might not be the right place to take the rose, but not going somewhere they might be able to help is like telling a sick person not to go to the hospital. I mean...How can a problem jump from one plant and infect all the others?? She has a bit of mildew most likely, I don't see how that could affect all the plants in the shop! She isn't planting it with them or something. The co op clinic has people bring plants they might have questions about.

 

[NatalieW]

kgord, you're right, they can certainly help. I used to work in a garden center and we discouraged bringing in sick plants... they had to be wrapped in plastic. Powdery mildew and some other diseases are spread by wind. It does happen. But each center is different, some might not care.