Roses

Hello everyone, I am new here so hopefully you can help me out. I have a rose bush in my garden that was here when we bought the house 25 years ago. I do not know what type of rose it is but it is highly scented pink and what I would call a cabbage rose or old fashioned rose. You know the sort very big with lots of petals. It did marvelously for years then about three years ago we noticed strange things happening. The stems of the bush and just beneath the flower bud became infested with a flourescent orange growth. These were like clusters not on every branch but beneath most of the flower buds. As a result the flowers opened dead. The petals were brown and and rotten. We tried spraying insecticides to no avail, we doused it in Jays Fluid again to no avail. Last year we chopped it right back to next to nothing. This spring it flourished then I noticed the dreaded orange stuff again and the flowers have all died again. The leaves look o.k. so I do not know what is causing this I do not think it is rust as I understand that this affects the leaves, could it be an insect like a wasp or is it something in the roots like a fungas? Help would be welcome.Incidently, a few years ago we planted a cack willow nearby and that is also affected.
Kat

 

does the orange later turn brown and black?

sounds like rust
http://www.sactorose.org/ipm//21fungi/21rust-un.jpg

http://www.gardenguides.com/articles/rosediseasesfungal.htm

 

Hello there, no it remains bright orange even though the stem is dying. It looks like something has deoposited it just beneath the flower bud. To touch it is powdery but raised in a lump on the surface of the stem.
Kat

 

Hi Kat
is there anyway you could post a picture? It sounds suspiciously like rust, but if the leaves are unaffected, this is more puzzling. Sorry I'm coming over all botanical now, but theres a reason - bear with me. Willows are susceptible to canker, rust & blight. roses can suffer from blight (most members of the rosaceae family are susceptible to fire blight thouogh roses aren't- inc. malus, prunus, pyracantha, amelanchier, cotoneaster). willows, in the Salicaceae family are related to the rose family (Eurosids I) & can be susceptible to the same/similar pests & diseases. It may mean that its not advisable to grow related plants in a spot that has had diseased specimens growing there - You may have to discard your rose & grow something unrelated. If you can - please post a pic, I'm sure this can be sorted!

 

Does it look anything like this?