Designing Beautiful Borders

Rose Balling

If this image looks familiar then you are in good company! All this wet weather is causing a disorder called rose balling (or flower balling) to my roses.

This is caused when the outer petals of a perfectly formed flower bud get saturated and then fuse together as they dry out, preventing the flower from opening. The buds can become quite slimy, or can become quite crispy.


roseball2.jpg


There is not a lot that can be done to prevent rose balling when the cause is poor weather. The main thing is to try and improve ventilation by correct pruning earlier on in the year and to remove any buds which have balled, so as to prevent fugal disorders from developing. 

Cut each bud off just above a pair of healthy leaves.