transplanted Lagerfeld has wilting leaves, help!

14 years ago

Just a few weeks ago, we moved a several-year-old Lagerfeld (grandiflora) from one spot in the garden to another just a few yards away -- so, soil is the same, light is nearly the same. Other healthy roses grow nearby.

At first all seemed well & it was putting out normal amounts of new growth. The first inkling I had of anything wrong was that the new leaves seemed greener & more tender & thin than usual, instead of reddish & robust. Now though, these tender little leaves are actually wilting! What do I do? Is this normal? The leaves droop starting at the tips & they get all dry & brittle.

The soil is plenty moist still; we've had a very wet winter. Could it be too wet? We have clay soil; this rose has been growing in it happily for years. We added what we thought was a decent amount of amendment when transplanting. I had pruned it back fairly hard before moving it, though I could have gone much further.

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Comments (3)

jim1961 / Central Pennsylvania / Zone 6
14 years ago
Sometimes transplanted roses go naturally through that stage and it could be normal.
If you added soil admendments to your native soil, the soil PH could of possibly changed.
What type of soil admendments did you add?
Just do not let the roots dry out, keep it watered and if it
keeps declining in the future, think about having a soil test done.
Best Of luck!
indigoberkeley
Original Author
13 years ago
To answer jim1961: We amended with just regular potting soil.

The rose has kept on behaving the same way: starting to put out new growth, which would then wilt, dry & die. I cut the canes back more & more (by just a little bit each time), but it doesn't seem to help. In the past week or so, there is no new growth. At least the wood in the canes looks normal & alive when I cut it.

Is my rose gonna die?! :(
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diane_nj 6b/7a
13 years ago
You might want to post your question on the regular Roses Forum, more folks over there.

How moist is the soil? By "amending", you may have caused what is known as "the bathtub effect", where the hole you dug created a tub, and the amended soil cannot drain properly, leaving the soil around the plant too wet.

Do you see any insect damage (there are boring insects that get into canes and cause wilting)?

How hot has it been in your area?