Recognise rose balling

11th July 2021

Recent bouts of bright sun and cool and damp weather have encouraged rose balling in the Rose Garden at Ryton - this is where the outer petals of a rose flower (particularly with dense, multipetalled flowers like David Austin roses) become saturated and then dry in strong sunshine to form a stiff straightjacket around the inner petals and this prevents the flower from opening. An invisible soft, slimy layer of fungal mycelium fuses the petals together. The only treatment is to cut off the damaged buds and wait for new ones to develop - unless you spot the problem promptly enough to peel off the clinging outer petals and let the flower open before the bud inside rots.