My Pounland Rose Plant

[jenny312]

Hello All

I was wondering if anyone could help me?

I bought the Virgo (white) Hybrid tea rose plant (6wks ago) and placed it in a plastic container with water and it was doing well, however i decided recenly to take it out of the contianer as it was getting too big, some fungus was growing near the base stem/root area and the water smelt foul (little white nodules near the roots) even though the plant seemed happy. So i moved it too a bigger pot with compost that where i added fish blood and bones to and have been watering. In spite of this all its stems continue to wilt and today the leaves near the base are starting to shrivel up. It's so depressing to see, i've already had to bury my sunflower and lavender plants that were grown from seeds.

As i guess you can tell i'm a complete newbie to gardening
And any advice would be appreciated?

Plus are they any books you'd recommend for someone at my level (the basics) as i just can't seem to get anything right

[lynda66]

you say the water smelled foul? is this whats drained from the plant? if so don't leave it standing in water air goes into the roots through the soil so it needs to be in air not under water as this restricts ventilation, and they also need to dry out a bit before watering again so don't water too often

it could be some kind of fungus/mould from being too wet? but sure someone will come along soon who know what they are talking about

[Two_Sheds]

Sounds like over-watering to me. And did you have drainage holes in the pot?

[jenny312]

Yes the pot it is in now has holes at the base the first pot didn't, as when i bought it it was a small and really dried out stump
Seems you are all agreed that i've over watered the plant so i'll leave it for a while to dry out (how long??) and see if it recovers
Thanks for all your help i'll let you know how things turn out

[coreopsis]

Roses don't like growing in containers.It may look fine for a while but sooner or later you'll have a problem.

[Lizanne]

just a quick note to add - I keep loads of plants in containers that "shouldn't be", including roses that have been in there for 2+ years. BUT you need to have a good soil based compost in there to keep them going, I would recommend fair sized (at least 12")terracotta pots, keep feeding, dead head, good drainage and let dry out between watering. Get in touch if you're struggling WITH ANYTHING! And remember that most of us learn purely by trial and error - everybody has failures (both through fault and bad luck) and every single one teaches you something new. Lx