A couple of Questions

Hi Everyone,

I just have a couple of questions I hope someone can help me with, please.
Grass clippings, once I have dried them out are they alright to use as mulch?
Powdery mildew and Black spot do they actually damage the plant or are they just unsightly to look at? I know Powdery Mildew will disfigure the branch, stem leaves it is on, but does it cause actual damage to the plant?
What are the best times to water/plant rose bushes, in S E Queensland.
Thanks very much for your help
Cheers Judy
SE Queensland, Australia

In order of Questions

1. Grass cuttings, being dried, they will still break down further, taking some of the nitrogen that is in the soil, this can be rectified by adding some fertiliser(liquid) to the top of this mulch.

2. PM and BS do affect a rose bush, they stop the leaves from photosynthesising(breathing). PM is the worst of the two. Some roses have worse symptoms of either. PM needs to be dealt with IMO, BS I can cope with, as do my roses. As for eye appeal, unless you "need" all the leaves glossy and shiny for shows I do not think it matters, other might disagree. Judy, use "Mr/Mrs Google and look at PM as a disease in general and you will find it brings down a lot of plants, so in your climate it is one I would "learn" to control if possible, Temperature and moisture are the important factors.

3. As for watering in your area I would hopeBalinbear(Gary) will chime in, he is in your broad area. If it was me I would be watering when the "least" humidity was around.

I find grass cutting not good as mulch , but ok if you rake it into the soil and turn it over into the soil. While as a mulch it tends to pack down and the water runs off it(hydrophobic), where good mulch is roughage and allows water to penetrate it

Hi Everyone,
Thanks Guys for your help, I appreciate it. It has been a real learning curve with the garden after moving up here, the biggest problem I had with roses in Victoria was black spot.
Thanks again
Cheers Judy
SE Queensland, Australia

If you are going to water late in the afternoon try to avoid getting water on the leaves.

If you are going to water in the middle of the day you may be wasting your time as the a lot of the water will simply evaporate in heat of the day .

Watering in the morning is usually the best.