Method 1 is the most effective way to keep roses looking good all season long. Although it is more time consuming and costly, most keen gardeners prefer this method over the second. If you reside in a rural situation where both rabbits and deer cohabit, your roses are doubly at risk. When there is snow on the ground deer become braver in their search for food and will stray into the garden. In the USA where the deer are less timid, this is a bigger problem than that faced by us in the UK. Perimeter fencing will help but the temptation is to cover this with climbing and rambling roses, thus placing them at the deer’s height. If a little extra pruning on the outside of the perimeter can be tolerated then the problem is solved but by planting the thorniest varieties, such as some Rugosa you may deter the deer even more. Leaf Rolling Sawfly Spray the roses regularly (every two weeks) with PLANT health Spectrum to prevent the disease from taking hold. When there is considerable new spring growth, stop oil and copper and start summer sprays as oil and copper mixes may burn the new foliage. Some rose waters can certainly cost a premium, and this could be due to a high concentration of rose, the product’s size, or even the quality of the other ingredients added to the formula. However, more expensive doesn’t always mean better. Compare the size, ingredients, and production processes of the products you’re interested in to make sure that you’re getting your money’s worth.

Make sure to feed your roses at least twice a year to ensure they are kept healthy and with good resistance to disease, we recommend Empathy After Plant Rose Food. Cute little bunnies are not as innocent as they appear and they particularly enjoy feasting on roses. Young rabbits relish the young tender shoots that are within their reach and will systematically find them all as they sprout in spring. Older rabbits will cause major destruction, especially in winter by stripping the plants of their bark often standing on their hind legs to reach the higher stems. If you live in an area inhabited by these creatures some measures will need to be taken to protect your roses. A wire mesh fence can be used to keep them out but be sure there are none in the garden when you put this up, otherwise you will compound the problem, rabbits produce offspring like roses produce leaves. The alternative way to protect them is to erect individual fencing around the base of each rose at least while they are young, although unsightly this will allow the roses a head start against the rabbits. There are chemicals, which can be sprinkled on the ground designed to keep rabbits away, but these are never completely successful. Red Spider Mite This is one of the weirdest phenomena of the rose. In early summer a bloom will appear to be opening quite normally, then it will be noticed that another bud is appearing from the centre of the unfurling flower. This is proliferation and no one knows exactly why it happens. Some experts believe it to be viral, and it does tend to occur repeatedly in the same varieties although not consistently on every plant in that variety, but the general consensus is that it is genetic, with parts of the reproductive area overproducing. Rose Replant Disease (specific replant disease) Organic Super Sulphur and Organic Super Spraying Oil (like all sulphurs and oils) must not be mixed together. This tiny mite loves warm airless conditions and will thrive in the greenhouse or conservatory but is also becoming more prevalent in the garden, especially in hot dry periods. The mite is extremely small and will not often be spotted even though it infests in great numbers. It is the fine web that it weaves between the leaves and the damage it causes to them that is the giveaway. The leaves will become pale and limp, sometimes almost dirty with a bronze discolouration before they fall helplessly. The obvious solution is to spray the undersides of the leaves but by this time much of the damage has been done. If the plant is in a pot under glass, move it outside for a while and spray it with water occasionally; the spider mite will not enjoy its new habitat and will move away to a more appropriate area or die. Plants in the garden should be washed down on a daily basis until the mite has left but try to do this in the morning or evening when the sun is not too powerful or the leaves will scorch. Rose Slug SawflyThis Rose Society UK book gives the reader more information about many different pests and diseases with colour pictures and proposed treatments. This book describes only the major pests affecting roses, whilst there are many chemical products on the market the Rose Society UK encourages environmentally friendly products.

This is highly effective resulting in very clean, glossy, healthy-looking roses and controls a wide range of diseases and pests. It is advisable to alternate between the 2 different types of spray to prevent a build-up of resistance to the one spray.

The original version of Sulphur Rose is the powder which you mix with water at home - using 5g of product per 1 litre. Treating up to 40 roses per season and is a more cost effective solution.