Roses are one of the most popular and versatile flowering shrubs grown throughout South Carolina. Most roses require a lot of care to grow and bloom properly. One of the most common causes of failure with roses is poor disease control. The three most serious diseases of roses in South Carolina are black spot, powdery mildew, and stem canker and dieback.

Remember that different types of roses vary greatly in their resistance to diseases and the maintenance they require. To grow roses successfully, you must select varieties that require an amount of care equal to that which you are able to provide. Shrub type roses bloom beautifully with few chemical controls needed, while the more susceptible varieties such as hybrid teas, require an effective spray program to be in place before the growing season begins.

BLACK SPOT

Black spot is a common and serious rose disease often reaching epidemic proportions in a season. The disease is caused by the fungus, Diplocarpon rosae. It is most severe after long wet, warm periods in the spring. Symptoms occur on rose leaves as circular, black spots surrounded by a yellow area. Infected leaves often drop from the plant. Infection continues throughout the summer months. The immature wood of first year canes develops raised, purple-red irregular blotches. Plants become stunted and produce fewer, paler flowers. By mid-summer severely infected plants may have lost all of their leaves.

Prevention and Treatment: The spread of black spot can be reduced and future infections minimized by following these cultural practices:
• Plant resistant varieties: Roses that have some degree of resistance to black spot and powdery mildew are listed in Table 1.
• Maintain good sanitation: Sanitation practices are critical in reducing future disease development. In the fall remove all old leaves on the ground, and any mulch that has been contaminated with infected leaves.
• Remove and destroy infected canes: Canes affected by black spot have dark or reddish areas (lesions). Severely infected plants should be pruned back in the fall or early spring to within 1 to 2 inches of the bud union, according to variety and cultivar. During the growing season, remove infected leaves as they appear.
• Keep leaves dry: It is best not to syringe plants with water, and do not use overhead irrigation. Promote rapid drying of leaves by planting roses in the full sun, and spacing new plantings far enough apart to allow for good air circulation

Use fungicide sprays to control black spot effectively, even on resistant varieties. A rigorous fungicide program must be followed during conditions that favor disease development for susceptible cultivars. Select one of the following fungicide sprays, if disease is severe enough to warrant control: captan, chlorothalonil, copper hydroxide, copper sulfate pentahydrate, ferbam, mancozeb, propiconazole, triforine or triforine + acephate & hexakis. Apply all chemicals according to directions on the label.

POWDERY MILDEW

Powdery mildew is another widespread and serious disease problem of roses. It is caused by the fungus, Sphaerotheca pannosa var. rosae and produces a grayish-white powdery substance on the surfaces of young leaves, shoots and buds. Infected leaves may be distorted, and some leaf drop may occur. Flower buds may fail to open, and those that do may produce poor-quality flowers. It can occur almost anytime during the growing season when temperatures are mild (70 to 80 °F), and the relative humidity is high at night and low during the day. It is most severe in shady areas and during cooler periods.

Prevention and Treatment: Rose varieties differ in their susceptibility to powdery mildew, thus resistant varieties are the best defense against this disease see . A film of water inhibits infection, so in years when rainfall is high during spring and summer, control measures may not be needed until the drier months of late summer. Remove and destroy diseased leaves and canes during the growing season. Rake up and destroy leaves under the plant in the fall.
If the disease is severe enough to warrant chemical control, select a fungicide that controls both black spot and powdery mildew. Fungicide sprays recommended for use in the home garden include: copper hydroxide, copper salts of fatty acids, copper sulfate pentahydrate, propiconazole, thiophanate-methyl, triadimefon, triforine or triforine + acephate & hexakis, sulfur, lime sulfur, or neem oil (clarified hydrophobic extract). Apply all chemicals according to directions on the label.

STEM CANKER AND DIEBACK

Cankers usually appear as dead or discolored areas on rose canes and vary in color from light tan to dark purplish brown. They are caused by various species of fungi, including Botryosphaeria, Leptosphaeria, Coniothyrium and Cryptosporella. These fungi enter healthy canes through wounds caused by winter injury, improper pruning, wind, hail damage, or flower cutting. Cankers can enlarge until they entirely surround the cane, and/or reach the base (crown) of the plant spreading to other canes or killing the plant. They
commonly occur on roses that have been weakened by black spot, poor nutrition or winter injury.
Prevention and Treatment: There are no fungicides specifically available to control stem canker. Keep plants healthy by controlling black spot, powdery mildew and insects. The following cultural methods can help minimize disease development.

• Avoid injury to the plant during transplanting, cultivating, pruning, and flower- cutting: Wounds are a major way the fungus enters the plant.
• Prune properly: To prune an outward facing bud. This will help to avoid too many branches growing into the center of the plant that may cross and rub together.
• Remove and destroy all infected or dead portions of canes immediately: Make all pruning cuts well below the diseased areas, and prune about one-fourth inch above an outward-facing bud node, without cutting the nodal tissue, at a 45-degree angle. Prune live canes in the spring, not fall. Disinfect cutting tools after use on a diseased plant in a solution of 1 part household bleach to 9 parts water.

RUST

Rose rust is a disease caused by the fungi Phragmidium species. It causes orange-colored spots to appear on stems and leaves. When rust is severe, an orange dust-like substance may be present on the plant surface and on the ground below the plant. Rose rust attacks all plant parts except the roots and petals. Severely diseased leaves of highly susceptible cultivars may turn yellow or brown and drop.
Prevention and Treatment: Provide good air circulation. Do not plant roses in crowded areas and prune plants to keep the centers open. Water plants before noon and avoid getting the leaves wet. Remove and destroy diseased leaves and plants. Fungicides containing either ferbam, mancozeb, propiconazole or lime sulfur are recommended for homeowner use. Apply all chemicals according to directions on the label.

BOTRYTIS BLIGHT

Rose flowers and buds are often infected with the gray-brown fuzzy growth of the gray mold fungus Botrytis cinerea. The fungus is most active when temperatures are 62 to 72 °F and conditions are moist. Infected canes have discolored, sunken areas (cankers) and dieback that can extend down the stem from the flowers. Diseased flower petals have small, light-colored spots surrounded by reddish halos, which can quickly expand into large, irregular blotches. Buds fail to open and often droop. Thrips can cause similar damage to half-open buds, so inspect plants carefully.

Prevention and Treatment:

Keeping the area clean is more important than anything else. Collect and discard all fading flower blossoms and leaves. Provide good air circulation, and avoid wetting the leaves when watering. Disease easily develops on canes that have been damaged and canes that are kept too wet by a manure mulch or wet leaves. If chemical control is necessary, fungicides containing captan, chlorothalonil or neem oil (clarified hydrophobic extract) are available for homeowner use. Use neem oil on a trial basis, especially on open blooms and during hot weather. On dormant bushes PCNB or copper sulfate pentahydrate can be used. Apply all chemicals according to directions on the label.

ROSE MOSAIC

The symptoms associated with Rose mosaic virus (RMV) are highly variable. Yellow wavy line patterns, ring spots and mottles in leaves will occur on some varieties of roses sometime during the growing season. In general, symptoms are most evident in the spring. Yellow net and mosaic symptoms on the leaves are also associated with RMV and detract from the overall quality of the plant. Infected plants become weakened and are more sensitive to damage caused by other stresses, such as drought or low temperatures.
Prevention and Treatment: Virus-infected plants cannot be saved. Rose mosaic spreads slowly, if at all, in established rose plantings through root grafts. Infected plants should be removed from highly prized plantings and destroyed. Buy only healthy plants from a reputable dealer; especially avoid purchasing plants showing any mosaic symptoms.

CROWN GALL

This disease is caused by a soil-inhabiting bacterium, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, that infects many ornamentals in the home garden. The symptoms are rounded galls, or swellings, that occur at or just below the soil surface on stems or roots. The galls are light green or nearly white when young. As they age, the galls darken and become woody, ranging in size from small swellings to areas several inches across. The galls disrupt the flow of water and nutrients traveling up from the roots and stems, thus weakening and stunting the top of the plant.
Prevention and Treatment: To prevent crown gall, select disease-free roses. Once a plant is infected, nothing can be done since there are no chemical controls available for crown gall. Avoid injury to the roots and crown of the plant during planting and cultivating because the bacteria enter through fresh wounds. Remove infected plants as soon as galls are observed. If possible, remove and discard the soil from the area where the infected plant was located. Disinfect all cutting and pruning tools that have been used near crown gall. To disinfect tools, dip them for several minutes in a solution of 0.5 percent sodium hypochlorite (household bleach).

One of the first jobs a gardener needs to do is to decide what crops to grow. This is fun, but it’s also serious business. Unfortunately, we can’t grow everything we might like in a small, backyard garden or in a community garden plot. Your first consideration should be what do you and your family like to eat. Other important factors to think about are the value of the crop and its nutrition.

Value & Nutrition of Crop

Vegetable value can be due to either a high price per pound or a high yield of produce. Vegetables highest in value for the space they take up are:
1. Tomatoes, grown up supports to save space
2. Rhubarb
3. Green bunching onions
4. Leaf lettuce
5. Turnips, for greens and roots
6. Summer squash: zucchini, scallop and yellow types
7. Asparagus
8. Edible podded peas
9. Onion bulbs for storage
10. Beans, pole or runner types (green or wax pod)
11. Beets, grown for green tops and roots
12. Beans, bush (green or wax pod)
13. Carrots
14. Cucumbers, grown up supports to save space
15. Peppers, sweet or bell
16. Broccoli
17. Kohlrabi
18. Swiss chard
19. Mustard greens
20. Spinach

At the bottom of the list are potatoes, Brussels sprouts, celery, corn, winter squash and melons. Other veggies are in between.

Nutrition

People have lots of reasons for gardening. Whatever our primary motivation, nutrition should be at least a secondary one. Unfortunately, most gardeners seem to give little thought to nutrition. A few years ago, a Gallup poll done for the National Gardening Association showed that none of the 10 most popular vegetables grown by American gardeners are among the 10 most nutritious that they could grow.
Actually how you define “most nutritious” is up for debate. American Health magazine (May ‘87) came up with their rating (below left) after looking at concentrations of protein, calcium, iron, vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, phosphorous, thiamin, riboflavin and niacin. The Center for Science in the Public Interest created a score for each vegetable by adding up the percent of the RDA (recommended daily allowance) for six nutrients vitamins A & C, folate, iron, copper and calcium. Vegetables are an important source of fiber and they felt fiber
should influence the ratings. There is no RDA for fiber, so they assigned it one.

American Health Magazine May 1987
1. Collard greens
2. Shelled beans (like limas)
3. Peas
4. Spinach
5. Sweet potatoes
6. Turnip greens
7. Winter squash
8. Broccoli
9. Kale
10. Brussels sprouts
11. Mustard greens
12. Swiss chard
13. Tomatoes
14. Corn
15. Beet greens
16. Potatoes
17. Carrots & Parsnips
18. Summer squash
19. Cauliflower
20. Green beans

Center for Science in the Public Interest

1. Sweet potatoes
2. Carrots
3. Spinach
4. Collards
5. Red bell pepper
6. Kale
7. Broccoli
8. Brussels sprouts
9. Potatoes
10. Winter squash
11. Swiss chard
12. Snow peas
13. Mustard greens
14. Kohlrabi
15. Cauliflower
16. Asparagus
17. Green bell pepper
18. Peas
19. Romaine
20. Endive

The lists are very different, but there are some similarities too. Look at all the leafy greens on both lists and both lists contain those orange, vitamin A powerhouses sweet potatoes, carrots, and winter squash. Don’t worry too much about exactly where a vegetable placed on the list, after all, these are all winners. Are you growing crops that aren’t on these lists? Tomatoes, peppers and green beans, the top three most popular garden vegetables, each only made one of the lists. Cucumbers, onions and lettuce, the next three most popular crops, aren’t here at all. Neither are radishes, beets and turnip roots, eggplant or celery . I admit to skipping okra, cantaloupe and avocados in reprinting these lists, since local gardeners are not likely to grow much of these crops. I left sweet potatoes in as a challenge. It did so well that perhaps we should be trying harder to grow some of the cultivars adapted to cool climates. I also skipped parsley, which appears in the teens on both lists. Most of us don’t eat much parsley, though perhaps we should!
Choose varieties developed to grow well in our area. In some cases, the wrong variety can give you poor results, even if you do everything else right.

Advice for Beginners

Don’t try to grow more than about 8 vegetables in your first garden. With experience, a couple more can be added each year as gardening skill and confidence grows. New gardeners may want to try the easiest vegetables and avoid the ones that are more difficult to grow here. The vegetables in the easy list are mostly ones which are fairly quick to mature as well. Fast-growing vegetables are good choices when
gardening with children, who often don’t have a lot of patience. Aids (such as raised beds, cloches, cold frames and row covers) will also help.

Remember that the low desert provides gardeners with two distinct growing seasons. Warm season flowers can be planted from approximately February through May, for bloom through the summer. Cool season flowers are planted in the fall and bloom through May, or until temperatures heat up. This Guide provides a range of dates that offer a high probability of success. However, yearly weather conditions can vary considerably and the low desert contains a myriad of microclimates. Use these dates as general guides and adjust them as necessary for your local conditions.

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Time to Bloom

Next, the chart provides information on approximate time from planting seed untill the plant will bloom. You can use this to plan for blooms at a certain time of year. On a calendar identify the date you want blooms, back up the number of days listed in the “Time to First Bloom” column and plant seed slightly before to slightly after that date. Plant over a window of time to allow for variation due to weather conditions.

Height 

The information on plant height will be useful in designing your garden. When planting a one-sided bed (next to a wall, for example), put taller plants in back. If the flower bed can be seen from two sides, tall growers look best in the center so they don’t conceal smaller plants.

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Biennials Flowers

Biennials grow vegetatively in their first year, flower in the second year and typically die after flowering. Because we have two growing seasons here, some biennials complete their entire life cycle in one year.

 Perennials Flowers

Perennial plants live more than two years and, once established, bloom each year. Some die back to the ground in their off-season; others retain foliage year around. In the low desert, perennial off-seasons are usually during the intense heat of summer and the colder winter months.

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Annual flowers complete their life cycle —vegetative plant, bloom, setting seed, to death of the plant — in one growing season. Most annuals need to be replanted each year, but others easily re-sow themselves. Their seed is scattered by wind, weather and wildlife, to pop up the next season when conditions are favorable. These unexpected visitors are called “volunteers” and can be a delight or a source of frustration, depending on your outlook and how rigidly you follow the garden’s original design! Larkspur, cornflower, poppies, desert marigold, calendula, scarlet flax, gaillardia and Johnnyjump - ups are a few flowers that are easy to grow and readily reseed.

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There are many types of beautiful flowers that can be grown in the low desert. Use this chart to plan for year round color and interest in your yard. Select plants that will do well in our climate and meet your individual needs. Plants are listed in alphabetical order by their common name. Some plants with more than one common name are listed under each common name. The common name is followed by a letter designating whether the plant is annual (A), biennial (B), or perennial (P) here in the low desert, and then the botanical name for the plant. More about Flower Planting Guide next week.

Tags: flower planting, flower guide, flowers growing, low desert

The white flowers are a reason to relax and enjoy your time in the home garden. The white means purity, innocence and satisfaction. The white flowers are gladding the eyes and soul. Especially when you’re a busy man and you got tired after a full week, the white garden is the perfect answer. If your only chance to admire the home garden is in the evening, we are suggesting you to choose to garnish the garden with white Flowering Tobacco (Nicotiana affinis). In Romania, we like to call it the Queen of the night, because of its blooming in evening and also of its special calming effects scent.

Description

Coming from South America, Nicotiana Flowering Tobacco sweetens the hot summer air, without being such a decorating plant. The love and appreciation for Nicotiana affinis comes from the perfume that its flowers are spreading in the air. Flowering tobacco is a flowering shrub which can reach even 1 m in height. The flowering tobacco’s leaves are a kind of silky and the flowers seem like little trumpets very bright colored. There are white flowers as well as pink, purple, red, yellow, violet flowering tobacco’s flowers. Continue Reading »

If you have the possibility to turn a part of your home garden into a water garden, please do so. It’s like the heaven on earth. You’ll be surrounded by green, water, fresh air, by nature with all it means.

There are several floating and aquatic plants for you to dress with the water garden. Such plants are: Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), Eurasian water milfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum), Water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes), European frog-bit (Hydrocharis morsus-ranae), Stratiotes aloides, Ceratophyllum demersum.

The water lily is a floating flowering plant too. Nymphaea, by its scientific name, the Water lily is the star of the water gardens and the representative plant and also the most known aquatic plant. Continue Reading »

We love roses as if they would be a treasure for home gardens. The roses, either red roses, white roses or pink and yellow roses, are special flowers to decorate and beautify any common garden. You may think that the roses need special care to convert the garden in a splendor. So, are roses difficult to cultivate? Our answer is no. Roses need just a bit of your attention when planting and a little more when blooming, for help them to resist more. Continue Reading »

Lily’s flowers are the highlight of the gardening season, beautiful big flowers, elegant. Just imagine your lily home garden, it has to be special and full of color. The gardeners from all over the world just love lilies, because they dress the garden for gala and don’t need so much care. Continue Reading »

In the yesterday article “Wild flower field into your home garden”, we spoke about the species of wild flowers and their exigencies to light, sun and soil.
Today it’s about the wild field, a mix of wild flowers field, the field of dream just into your home garden. Just fill your garden with white, blue, yellow, violet, pink flowers. Your home garden will look like a wild field, an explosion of colors and tones.

As we said before, the wild flower’s needs are a few and can be neglected. These flowers are beautiful, delicate, bright colored, and, what’s special to wild flowers, their tolerance and their capacity to bloom in the worse growing conditions.
If you want a description in a few words, the wild flowers are fresh as a virgin and natural as a lady without make up. Continue Reading »

Wild flowers and shrubs are those which are giving to your home garden a special charm and a natural, living and flaming view. Don’t be afraid to plant wild flowers into your garden, some of them matches very well to the cultivated flowers. Others love the sun or the shady corners or the stony garden.
Wild flowers are proper to many types of home gardens, adapting to the worse weather conditions. Wild flowers and shrub are not very pretentious, they love the unprepared soil, the sun, but there are species which have different needs of water, sun or soil. Continue Reading »

First of all, the lawn is a green area, a relaxing land and also an environmental valuable support, a region planted with grass or other greenery and evergreen plants.

When is the most proper time to sow the lawn?
The optimum weather is since the end of April till the beginning of September, when the air and soil temperature are proper for the grass to germinate and grow well. Continue Reading »

Make a resting green place from your home garden, surrounded by hedge and greenery.
If you want a place just for you, far from the curious eyes, and a natural beauty and a green simplicity, build your shady corner in the home garden.

You can choose evergreen plants as cypress or yew, or biennial green plants. Those evergreen hedges are protecting you during winter, but they aren’t beautiful as these which are loosing their leaves. An interesting and special hedge is of hornbeam, also of red beech or maple. They are good-looking in spring, in budding period, and have a nice color in autumn. Continue Reading »