Gardening question - help with iceberg rose please?
Question:Hi, I bought a white iceberg rose about 4 months ago and it was going great. About a month ago the leaves and flowers turned yellow and fell off, now it is just sticks. The sticks are green so it is alive, but other people in our street have roses that are flowering now (I live in Western Australia, it is the start of winter here). Does anyone have any suggestions on what I am doing wrong? I water the rose once every two days and it gets sunlight during the day. Thank you!
Answers:
Congratulations, you picked a GREAT rose! Iceberg can be counted on to be covered with flowers for at least 4 months!! (The American Rose Society ranks it as "8 or greater" on a scale of "1 to 10").
If it is the start of WINTER in Australia, then your Iceberg Rose is acting very normally. At least it is what I would expect for November or December in California! I have one Bush Iceberg and three Climbing Icebergs and they ALL lose their leaves in Winter!!
Look at this as an Opportunity! Because Iceberg is such a good grower, you really need to prune it good each winter when it goes into a dormant period (that is what is happening!!). It will make your rose more productive and attractive. Prune out dead, weak and old growth. Reduce plant size as necessary. I need to prune some of the heavy growth off the climbers or they would pull my fence over! LOL!
Make sure that you have mulch around your plant (not touching the cane) to keep the soil moist. How warm is it? Watering every two days may be too much. I don't water my roses at all in winter (they get by on the normal rainfall) and only twice a week (20 minutes each time on sprinklers) from spring to fall --unless we get a real hot spell!!.
Good Luck!!
You are drowning it.Roses do not like to be overwatered.Even in your climate.Water only once a week.To save your rose now requires you to be cruel to be kind. Cut the rose right back. This means you cut back all the growth by half.The rose will rest during winter,and then start to sprout in the spring. When the summer comes, water thoroughly at night. and then only once a week.
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