April Garden Tip-Rose Pest Outbreak

In the last several days there have been numerous customers and friends who are experiencing mildew on their rose bushes. This outbreak is not unexpected given the amount of moisture we received this past winter. When we get a few days in a row of warmer weather the conditions become perfect for fungi and disease ,especially mildews to grow. One of the first things mildew will show up on is roses. Mildew as you can imagine looks just like you'd think, a white to slightly grey film on the leaves and stems. If you let mildew persist it will cause leaves to deform and become damaged to the point of leaving the plant in pretty poor condition. Fungi are much easier to prevent than to clear up so we suggest you begin treating now even if you haven't noticed any mildew yet. Roses are not the only plants that commonly get mildew. Grapes and almost any of your garden vegetable plants could be affected. There are several remedies for mildew. Dusting sulfur,Bordeaux,Halt,and fertilome Rose Spray or Triple Action are all effective. Also applying soil sulfur around the plants on the soil surface can help. Be sure you are not watering in the evening hours and/or are over watering. Mildews will persist until we get the very warm dry conditions of mid to late May so don't expect this to just go away anytime soon. Remember to check your plants early and often-where there is no gardener, there is no garden!