Rose replant disease (sometimes called rose sickness) occurs when a new rose is bought to replace an old one and is planted in the same soil. It is generally considered that the cause is a combination of soil imbalance caused by the removal of trace elements from the soil by the old rose and a natural build-up within the soil of fungal root diseases and soil micro-pests, although rose replant disease is not perfectly understood. When talking to customers on the phone we sometimes draw a parallel with what would happen to a newborn baby deprived of all vitamins and exposed to a range of airborne diseases. Even if it did not die, it would probably be unwell...
Rose replant is always quite obvious, however, as the new rose looks increasingly poorly. It generally dies or else takes years to recover. When removed from the ground the roots will not have put on much growth and most of the finer roots will have rotted away. There are no roses that are resistant - if there was one, it would headline our list of roses for sale.
There is no topical cure for rose sickness. So not really. The problem is below ground. By the time the condition has been recognized it will be too late and there is little point in moving the rose as it will already be sickly and so will struggle to establish. So the trick is to recognise when there is a risk and plant accordingly.
The following procedure should be followed whenever a rose is planted where another rose was previously grown. By the way - the best advice is - don't put one rose in the hole left by another for at least five years if you can help it. On the other hand, if you can't help it....
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