Rose Problem

JulieHK

We have quite a few roses in our garden in Oxfordshire but this year all the leaves on the roses have turned brown and very brittle, to the point that at least one has been totally defoliated.  None of the other herbaceous plants in the garden have been affected.  I've never seen anything like this.  We have fed them with David Austin rose food and looked after them as we do every year.  Can anyone suggest a reason for this problem and perhaps how to deal with it?  Thanks in advance

Joy*

Perhaps a photograph would help.

JulieHK

K67

Similar problem to yours on this thread that might help

What's happened to rose leaves?

Borderline

It looks like advance stage of Sawfly larvae damage. Small wriggly things slowly eat the leaves and creating a laced effect. Not much you can do but chop out the leaves. They start their attack around spring time, so be vigilant to look at the undersides of leaves if you see light damage. If you remove them at that stage, there will be less damage. Clear the base of your plant and don't allow fallen leaves to lie around.

JulieHK

Thanks Borderline.  However, we have had that problem before and we are aware of what to look for and deal with it.  We have a total of 17 roses in the front and rear garden and every single one has the same damage of varying levels, either in the ground or in pots.  We haven't seen any caterpillars this year so I am at my wits end as to what's caused this amount of damage.  

Mary370

Would it be possible that you may have given too much fertiliser and it burned the plants?

Dovefromabove

I’m wondering whether it might me a combination of a sheltered garden so the new leaves started into growth early, along with fertiliser promoting lots of soft new growth which was then scorched by the ridiculously hot weather and strong sunshine that we had about a month or so ago? 

Once the leaves have matured and developed a protective pellicle layer they can cope with most strong sunshine but when they’re soft and lush they burn easily. 

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/environmental/leaf-scald-in-plants.htm

Posy

Dove, how do you get that @ before a name so that they get a notification? Another poster is asking a rose question Malorena would help with but I don't know how to communicate!

Dovefromabove

@Posy 😊 you just type the @ and begin typing the name without a gap and you should get a pop up link to click on which then appears in your post. 😊 

Omori

I’m thinking an accidental overdose of fertiliser.