I’ve accidentally poured petrol on a rose bush what can I do to save it?
Lightly dig around the bush and remove the soils down about 4 inches in depth, water well with a product called super thrive in the water. Fill in removed soils with a good bagged garden soil and compost mix. The soils removal will hopefully remove remaining residual contaminants before they travel any further. The feeder roots are likely burned, so destroying some while removing the soils is not likely to harm much. The super thrive product helps the bush to overcome shocks of all kinds and will hopefully offset the poisoning that the roots have taken in. The new soils with compost will create as good a situation as we can hope for in helping the feeder roots to re-generate. If you have any buds or blooms on the rosebush right now, cut them all off. I know that is hard to do but it will allow the bush to focus on survival rather than bloom production at this time.
I have roses and columbine in flower beds with rocks. The grass is invading the entire bed. Would like to leave the rocks, but thwart the growth of this very invasive grass. I don't want to kill the flowers. Thank you. J. Camp
Are you referring to crab grass?
The only save way to remove weeds from your flower beds is to hand pull.
Using mulch will help keep weeds down.
Here are some links with more information.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/mulch/benefits-of-using-mulch.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/using-sugar-to-kill-weeds.htm
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/special/organic/cornmeal-in-the-garden.htm
What is the best thing to treat mildew on roses
I am assuming you are speaking of powdery mildew. Both Scotts and Bayer make "fungus fighters" but repeat applications are usually necessary. Make sure the product is rated safe for roses and follow instructions thoroughly. Make sure to clean up any plant material that falls to limit the hazard of repeat infection next year. If you use a mulch, consider removing it at the end of the growing season as it might be harboring spores. Powdery mildew usually strikes during hot, dry weather especially when roses are not getting an inch or more of water weekly. Unlike household mildew, it is not a result of humid weather. Make sure your rose is in full sun, that watering is at the root level and that you prune annually to "open up" the rose's center and improve air circulation. Early next spring, start a mildew prevention program, perhaps with Neem oil. Homemade recipes are available to treat powdery mildew but I can't confirm their effectiveness. Here is one: to one gallon of water, add 1 Tbl baking soda and 2 Tbl Safer SunSpray (fine agricultural oil) with or without anti-transpirant. (Anti-transpirant keeps fungal spores from spreading.) Coat both sides of leaves every 3 days x 3. Avoid using dish soap and kitchen oils which some recipes include.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/roses-powdery-mildew.htm
When and how can I transplant rose bushes?
See this excellent article from Gardening Know How:
Does the yellow miniature sunblaze rose retain it's bright yellow color thru it's whole cycle, or does the color fade?
I researched this for quite a while but couldn't find a definitive answer so I am inclined to say they will fade. The Sunblaze collection is noted for its bright colors, and I could find some sources that said two or three of them did not fade but none said that the Yellow would not. We have an article below that lists cultivars and two specifically say they don't fade, which leads me to believe the others probably will.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/sunblaze-miniature-rose-bushes.htm
We have some 40 year old roses that we want to dig up and replace with a vegetable garden....how to?
Digging out is just manual labor. But the first thing that occurred to me is do you know what has been sprayed on the roses in past years? There are many products and you want to know how long each persists in the soil. It isn't necessary to remove all the rose roots but do get the large ones. I would mix several inches of compost and peat in the top 2-3 inches. Plant or sow seeds then mulch with straw, shredded leaves or wood mulch. Tilling is no longer recommended. If you plant on transplanting the roses, this link will help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/how-to-transplant-roses-tips-for-transplanting-a-rose-bush.htm
My Duchesse d’Angouleme is about to bloom. It said not to prune old roses except very little so I didn’t in winter, but her stems are so thin, she is sprawling all over the place, hanging over other flowers . What do I do ?
I would wait until she has bloomed and then do a shaping pruning. If such pruning is not done a beautiful rose can become an out of control monster. Shaping pruning can be as severe as you need it to be to regain control and to thus train her into what growing habit you prefer for her. Letting such roses go for even one season can lead to some serious work needed to control the growth habit and patterns.