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  • From: Claude Sweet <hortventures@cox.net>
  • To: gardenwriters-on-gardening <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [gwl-g] question about Harrison's Yellow rose
  • Date: Sun, 24 May 2009 10:57:17 -0700

Carolyn,

It sounds like rust is attacking your rose.

The following link should answer your questions.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/p459roserust.html

Claude Sweet
San Diego, CA

Carolyn Ulrich wrote:
I have had my Harrison's Yellow rose for about 20 years. It's 8 to 10 feet tall and about 6 to 8 feet wide. If I didn't keep pulling out suckers, it would be much wider. It blooms around Memorial Day with semi-double slightly fragrant flowers. Blooms once and is a sight to behold. Absolutely covered with bloom.

This spring as I went around examining roses to see if they were breaking dormancy,  I noticed that some of the canes on Harrison's Yellow had bright orange bands about an inch long. Day-Glo orange. The orange comes off like pollen. Once the rose leafed out and formed buds, I started to notice a fair amount of die-back so I have been cutting out all the dead canes. (This rose is very thorny so pruning is not exactly easy. Also the mature wood is very hard--branches that are one inch in diameter require some serious effort with the pruning saw. )

The rose is now covered with buds and continues to make new growth but I also notice that the leaves and buds at the tips of the some canes are wilting. I cut off the wilted tips. 

Even though this rose can be a pest, I am fond of it because 1) it's an American rose dating to 1830 2) I've read that the pioneers grew this rose and, since it grows by suckering, when they packed up to move westward, they could just hack off a piece of it to take with them and leave the rest behind and 3) my particular rose was given to me by a neighbor whose 19th century ancestors brought the rose with them when they migrated from Ohio to Iowa; she then cut off a piece, brought it back to Chicago and gave it to me. 

SO....I want to save this rose which has historical and sentimental associations and which has always been trouble-free. No winter protection ever. From a distance it looks fine, but up close I see that something is going on and I haven't a clue what. Does anybody ?

Thanks in advance.


Carolyn Ulrich, Editor

Chicagoland Gardening



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