Some Trivia

Jac2 wrote:Got a picture of that? Share it ..

not sure what you mean here jac?

I meant the trailer in the trench, the photos hadn’t loaded when I saw you message, but I’m seeing it now. HAHA
And I’m also seeing your finished bed now, very nice. I like decorative grasses and have a coupe buried under petunias somewhere. What are the roses?

the first one there is red intuition, then neptune and then last that you can see is holtsman gold

Is Neptune your favorite?

moonstone,joyfullness,red intuition....but I will settle for Firefighter

Good to know; will check them out. I’m already aware of Moonstone and Firefighter.
Have a look at my mystery rose (new post) can you tell me what it is?

Jac - My established roses are the same and they shouldn't have an iron deficiency. I think it's the hot Brisbane weather. No rain for 41 days. Even though we water them, I feel it's probably not enough.

Yes, I would be inclined to think it’s the weather, too, but have been checking the soil under all that mulch and the ground covers, and it feels OK. And I find still more yellow leaves every day now. Maybe it’s the sun that’s stressing them already, rather than a lack of water. Can’t hurt to have some chelated iron around, so I will still get some to see if that’ll make a difference.

I just thought of something else I did recently: I applied some old (2008) Seasol, mixed in accordance with the manufacturer’s directions to the ground, not as foliar spray. If anything, that should have made them more resilient, except maybe if the Seasol was off. I applied some Potash, too, also exactly in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions. Have you applied anything to the roots or leaves recently, Teesh?

I applied rose oil for the aphids, but the leaves were yellow prior to that. I think it was those few really hot days we had. I am putting it down to that. But if you have any luck with the iron let me know. The ones that have yellow leaves here shouldn't be lacking in anything, but you never know!!

@ jac

in your earlier posts, you mentioned that you used a lot of manure to help the soil. The one thing I couldn't find was what sort of manures are you using. Can you let me know as I may have a answer for you.....

Actually I didn't notice that Jac mentioned manures. I used chicken poo. Let it sit for a few months but could have still been too potent and last time I did that caused yellow leaves! Neptune you could be onto something there!

actually too much chicken poo causes alkainity , which stops the uptake of iron and magnesium into the rose bush, which causes yellow. Also chook poo is a nitrogen boost and no good for flowering but you get lovely leaves.......

That might be it then. I read that it has to be left for a few months so it's not as alkaline (which I did). Although I have plenty of blooms and no nice leaves

I used horse manure, very well rotted. I had investigated and planned my soil early in the year and build layer cakes and added the manure just before planting.

Actually I thought I had ordered a whole ute full of well-rotted stable/horse manure, but when it arrived it was as fresh as a Daisy. Same day delivery, I swear, you couldn’t get fresher. Not happy, and all I could do was burry it in some layer cakes that were on their way.
One of James’ best days, he was on the floor watching me slipping and sliding around in it and gagging, and in the end I had to through away my shoes. He loved it so much that he told that ‘funny’ story to all his mates and everybody else. As it turned out, one of them owned horses and brought me all the manure I needed; right from the middle of a huge pile that had been building up for years, apparently. I asked, if they used any disinfectants in the stable, and they didn’t.
And there’s plenty more where that came from, but at the moment I’m still going through the soil I build with the manure that came fresh, and the more recently planted roses are not affected by yellow leaves; only the roses that have been planted since June.

Only my old roses have been affected by the yellow leaves. The new ones haven't. I am absolutely baffled. And it's not all of them either.

Horse manure is about 7-3-6, which is about 2-1-2 breakdown. Ideal for roses is 1-2-1 or 1-2-2 ratio. If it has being taken out of the stalls , it will be loaded with urine which adds to the equation. Fresh horse manure should be left to compost for about 6-12 months

Thank you, these ratios are a very useful reference to have. So I should really have been adding phosphorus, CRIKEY!

On another fourm I participate in the USA they are experiecing "hot" weather and they are having similar problems to you 2 "yellowing of leaves" this is happening on established roses not newly planted. The new ones have not aclimatised themselves yet. This might occur to them this time next year if the conditions are the same. It is "stress" of resourses to the plant at time of onset of heat/hot days.
All the fertiliser/minerals/elements over night will not correct it, by the time the plant takes it up there might be another hot period and they "should" be armed to cope with it.
As for the "manures", the chook is is fine if it has no odor to it and is cool to touch in the middle of the heap. The stable manure is the same, it will have different qualities about it and the biggest is not as a fertiliser in the state it is in, it is after it begins to breakdown with the micro organisms, which then builds the structure and texture of the soils up, hope some of this helps.

Yes, this has been very helpful. We’ve been suspecting the weather, but hearing this has been happening elsewhere, coupled with a good explanation as to why has put my mind to rest on this matter.
Thank you ☺

Thanks roseman