Is this powdery mildew?

[Lmbauer2017]

I think I've seen a small bit of this pop up before on these particular potted rose bushes. It looks a little like powdery mildew, but at the same time it looks a bit "rougher". I don't know if the leaves are just old from the winter or what. I spray them with neem oil every week-ish, but haven't seen a change.

The last photo show's new leaves as a comparison.

What do y'all think?

 

[cpp gardener]

It looks more like spider mite damage to me. Sort of evenly scattered all over the leaf and no wrinkling of the leaf. I would remove all of the old leaves to reduce potential source.

 

[DirtMechanic]

When you spray the miticide be sure to spray the brick wall. They love the heat.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

When you spray the miticide be sure to spray the brick wall. They love the heat.

When you say “miticide”, what is your preferred substance to use?

Are used to mix peppermint oil into my name oil solution, but then I ran out In the fall time and just never bought anymore.

 

[DirtMechanic]

When you say “miticide”, what is your preferred substance to use?

Are used to mix peppermint oil into my name oil solution, but then I ran out In the fall time and just never bought anymore.

I do not eat roses so I am usually using a 3n1 rose product.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

I do not eat roses so I am usually using a 3n1 rose product.

Ooooo ok. Wow I’ve never even considered using a non “organic” chemical on non-edibles (which I have a ton of).

So when it heats up, I get a ton of bees and many other beneficials. If this stuff lingers on the plant, do you know if it would harm them? I’m not sure how much insects actually like roses now that you mention it. I’ve never paid attention if anything is attracted to rose flowers…

I have a bottle of spinosad I’ve used a couple times in emergencies. Last time I used it on a flower-loaded Tecoma Esperanza and then found a dead bumble bee inside one of the flowers. That broke my heart, so I’ve been hesitant to use it ever since. I did learn my lesson to only spray the problem plant with that stuff though. I had panicked and sprayed the problem plant AND the Esperanza which is where the nymphs came from (but I don’t think they were on the Esperanza anymore).

 

[DirtMechanic]

Ooooo ok. Wow I’ve never even considered using a non “organic” chemical on non-edibles (which I have a ton of).

So when it heats up, I get a ton of bees and many other beneficials. If this stuff lingers on the plant, do you know if it would harm them? I’m not sure how much insects actually like roses now that you mention it. I’ve never paid attention if anything is attracted to rose flowers…

I have a bottle of spinosad I’ve used a couple times in emergencies. Last time I used it on a flower-loaded Tecoma Esperanza and then found a dead bumble bee inside one of the flowers. That broke my heart, so I’ve been hesitant to use it ever since. I did learn my lesson to only spray the problem plant with that stuff though. I had panicked and sprayed the problem plant AND the Esperanza which is where the nymphs came from (but I don’t think they were on the Esperanza anymore).

It is funny how many man made chemicals are modeled from organic compounds. In the end it is how they are used that has the potential for problems or success. I generally do not like systemic insecticides but do like systemic fungicides. There are edible systemic fungicides like agri fos that I seem to use more and more. The downside is that eventually something comes along that is not impacted by my witch doctoring and then I have serious problems.

 

[Lmbauer2017]

Oh this Agri Fos looks pretty good. Some of my tomatoes aaaaallways get leaf spot. I have to spray neem like crazy just to keep it at bay (it still spreads, but slower). I may experiment with this. Thank you!

And yes, I definitely take the "non-organic" classification with a grain of salt. Much more important to actually read about what active ingredient your spraying rather than look for what the brand label says.