The leaves on my rose bush are fading/turning pale....help!?

Question

It looks like the leaves on my rose bush are fading to yellow/white. They are not curled up and are not falling off. I have checked for aphids and other pests and see nothing. The leaves themselves are pale, and they are NOT covered by a fungus or mildew. I am not sure what would cause this and how to fix it. Anyone who knows roses, any ideas?

Answer 1

Your plants could be suffering from an iron deficiency. You need to look for a product in the garden center like Liquid Iron and follow  feeding directions. It is hard to tell exactly, since I can't see them. Roses need at least 6 hours of sunlight a day and while they are heavy feeders you don't want to keep them wet as this will also cause them to do poorly. You said, however that they do not appear to have a fungus, so that is why I am thinking your plants might need iron.  Often, when you see otherwise healthy plants with a faded or yellow color iron deficiency is the cause.

Answer 2

Possibly over watering?  That's all I can think of.  It doesn't sound like any of the normal rose fungus or any problems that I have seen where I live.

Over watering usually makes the leaves turn yellow and somtimes they wilt.

Answer 3

turning yellow could be any number of things, 1st. thing give them a good feed of sheep or fowl manure pellets, this will give them a boost of nitrogen, and then take it from there, a very slight pruning also helps

Answer 4

If the problem is iron deficiency then you will be able to see the veins of the leaf. The cure is to use a chelated iron which is taken up very quickly by the plant.

If you can't see the veins then you have a plant which needs a good rose fertilizer.. Make sure that the fertilizer you use has (in addition to the 3 main ingredients)  the 6 minor minerals.  Boron, manganese, etc.  Lack of one of these minerals can cause the leaves to whiten.

Just follow the directions on the fertilizer bag.

Answer 5

cause by leafhoppers (small jumping and flying insects on plant

control  spray with carburyl,malathion or nicotine

this is what my book says

another item is use is murphys oil soap diluted in water and pour over roses.

Answer 6

Could be lack of nitrogen