How Do Rose Bushes Respond to the Environment?

Roses respond to the enviroment, often frustrating gardeners.

While some rose bushes thrive for years in difficult surroundings, others seem to wither in well-tended gardens. Rose bushes, like any living organism, respond to environmental factors.

Weather

Roses prefer sunny, warm weather.

Cooler temperatures, especially in the spring, result in blind shoots. Blind shoots appear normal but stop growing and produce no buds. Cool or wet weather also causes half-open or malformed buds, called "balling." Weather that fluctuates rapidly also causes canes or buds that bend, twist or grow horizontally. Prune blind shoots, balled flowers or oddly-growing canes. Some rose bushes, if planted against sunny walls or in other protected sites, may bloom out of season in response to the warmer temperatures.

Salts

New rose leaves are usually a pink to purple color.

Roses appreciate extra nutrition, but salts build up in dry soil. The salts discolor the new growth or kill it completely. Even if the soil is moist, fertilizing in overcast, cool periods may have the same results. Deeply water dry soils twice, and stop fertilization.

Soil

In highly alkaline soils, rose leaves become pale yellow with dark green veins. Missing or unavailable nutrients cause this condition, called chlorosis. Compacted soils may also restrict root growth, limiting the size of the bush. Dry soils stunt or stop rose growth, especially with newly-planted roses. Roses in very dry conditions may drop leaves and buds.

References

• Washington State University Extension--Spokane County: Rose Problems
• "Sunset Western Garden Book"; Kathleen N. Brenzel, ed.; 1995
• The Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden: Variations in Green

Resources

• American Rose Society