I am new to gerdening in this area (I've gardened in Boston, very different) and new to roses. I have 9. Most are pumping out new leaves and showing no sign of going dormant. I read the blog of an NC (Raleigh area) gardener who says he picked off the remaining leaves and gave a dormant lime sulfur treatment (beginning of Jan). Is picking off the leaves that are left the right thing to do now? Or should I leave them on the plant and spray for the BS (neem, cornell mix?) with the leaves still on even now. Maybe the 2 nights of freezes coming (Tues/Wed) will finally shut the roses down.....Or....?
The roses in question are: a tree standard iceberg, an abraham darby, 2 caldwell pinks, 2 subzero miniature roses (already pruned heavily by some hungry rabbits!), a David Austin HT that was supposed to be a Pat Austin, but is something else (bought bareroot - has too many petals to be a Pat Austin), wild blue yonder (a grandiflora that has gone dormant unlike the rest) and (of course) a Madame Alfred Carriere (antique climber).
I wouldn't be as concerned about the dormancy if it weren't for the BS...I appreciate any advice....
Roses not going dormant....and now even antique rose has BS
Some of my roses are putting on new growth. I'm in zone 8 so I pretty much leave them alone. I would think taking off the leaves would not be a good idea because it would leave an open wound making it much more susceptible to freeze damage. For the most part, I have found roses to be very frost hardy and bounce back from whatever you throw at them with grace. I lived in Virginia and my roses had no problems there when they would put on new growth because of warm weather.
As to the blackspot, In winter I only take off the leaves that will snap off easily (which indicates that the plant has already begun to cover the point where the leaves come from the stem) and spray with Orthenex Rose Fungicide/Insecticide. Just make sure you spray top and bottom to the drip point and also spray some around the base and soil.
I am no rose expert, but I don't cut my roses back in the fall for the very reason that it does encourage new growth. I cut them back in the Spring, feed them heavy to wake them up and spray them when I cut them back making a point to make sure some of the spray stays on the cut points. Once they start to leaf out and grow, I spray them once a week for about 4 weeks then only on demand.
X
I agree with Xeranthemum, do not prune those roses in the fall. Here is Mt.Pleasant, also zone 8b, we prune in February. The only thing you should be doing right now is a l ittle cleanup if the canes are way too long or rubbing each other. Leave the leaves on. And just let them be, I have a hundred roses or so and they just need to be left alone this time of year. Now is the time for going thru catologues and trying to work out what you want to buy for next years garden.
G