The leaves on my roses are turning yellow and falling off, What is the cause of this and what should I do about it?
Yellow leaves are typically the result of three things. The first is under watering. Roses like to have frequent deep watering, but do not like “wet feet”. In hot weather, water DEEPLY every few days to allow water to get deep to the lower roots but allow time to dry between watering. Over watering can cause yellow leaves as well. The leaves resulting from over and under watering can be bright yellow. If the leave are dull yellow, they may have spider mites. A rinsing of the underside of the leaves with a strong stream of water every 3 or 4 days can disrupt the mite breeding pattern and you will see better results quickly.
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The first question I would ask is, where on the plant are the leaves yellowing? If they are inside and at the bottom of the plant, it’s normal. The leaves provide several functions: they shade and protect the canes from sun scald; they transpire water/sap through the plant to push growth; and they photosynthesize the food the plant requires to nourish itself. They require light to produce the chlorophyll. As the plant grows, the new growth often shades the older, lower growth, reducing the amount of light those leaves receive. Once the light is reduced past the basic threshold the leaf requires to produce chlorophyll, the plant will suck the chlorophyll out of that leaf, turning it usually yellow and it dies and falls.
As the plant grows, the old leaves at the bottom are recycled and replaced with the new growth further up the canes. So, if the leaves which are turning yellow are inside the plant and being shaded or at the bottom of the plant, the yellowing leaves are normal.
If the yellowing leaves are on the canopy, the new growth, then you may have problems, as the previous response suggests.
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