Hi everyone, Happy Summer. I had 4 rose bushes, I am now down to 3. The rose bushes have developed large black spots on them. The bushes are covered with black spots. I have removed all the leaves with the spots and sprayed the bushes with liquid dish soap and water. It did not help and now I have more black spots. Then, I sprayed the bushes with backing soda and water, this did not help. One bush is almost bare of leaves and dying. The bushes are 6 feet apart. Is there any way to save the last three bushes? My two daughters bought me these bushes when I retired two years ago, you think I would have enough time to keep them healthy, BUT NOT! Thank you for any help and enjoy your weekend.
Maybe the plant is not really dead. You shouldn't take it out till next Spring. Maybe the leaves are gone but not the root system. Next year I would use a spray for roses very early on, before the black spots get too bad.
Having just started learning about how to treat black spot in Roses here in the tropics, I can offer a couple of tips I've picked up so far. Removing all affected leaves is always a great start. Try opening up each bush to create more air circulation. Only ever water the roots and not the bush itself. Give your roses a very good feed every six weeks during the growing season, as better fed roses are more likely to resist disease. Thickening the cell wall of the leaves also helps enormously. This can be done by applying sulphate of potash about four times a year. When using the baking soda and water mixture, make sure you add some soap to prevent the baking soda from falling off the leaves. You also need to spray both sides of the leaves, not just the top. Try spraying with a 50/50 mixture of fat free milk and water every week, on the top and bottom of the leaves. Good nutrition and spraying will control most black spot, but if the bushes are chronically affected you might have to rip them out altogether which would be a real shame. If you do have to rip them out, don't forget you can always choose the more resistant varieties next time if you plan on planting more roses.
Very good advice from Bernieh. I have come to realize that if you have Roses, you have some degree of Black Spot every year. I have had very bad years where nothing seems to help and all the leaves drop off the plants, but they always rally back and regrow. Keep them well fed, pruned to encourage air circulation, pick up all the yellowed and blackened leaves and dispose of them. I used to use a wonderful product called 'funginex' but I haven't been able to find it since our pesticide ban came into effect a few years ago. I haven't tried milk or baking soda yet, but that would be a good place to start. Don't give up on your Rose bushes yet RC!
Here in humid Texas, roses get black spot every year, no matter what we do. We call it "fall foliage" in that the foliage falls off. However, I have roses here that are seven years old, and doing well, except for that time in July and August when they are practically bare stems. Your roses can survive black spot if they are otherwise healthy (adequate water, feeding, etc.). The milk spray is more effective against black spot than the baking soda, which works, but not as well. I have a box of dried milk in the potting area, ready to mix up and spray the roses. It really does help, although nothing completely eradicates black spot here.
Waertrop, Netty, Bermiex & Marlingardner, Thank you ALL for some very good information. I am going out right now to spray the bushes with 50/50 fat free milk & water. Thank you all again and have a GREAT weekend.
Black spots I get black spots every year, I spray them with the milk stuff, it works for awhile and then it's back, they look so bad when a the leaves fall off, But mine are all coming back now but I no it will be back I keep spraying it, I am just so sad about it because they are so pretty when they are right, Good luck with the spots. Margie
Hi Again, Well, I sprayed my bushes with a 50/50 mix of fat free milk and water, I even threw in a few Oreo cookies, Ha-Ha.
Just wanted to make it clear that when spraying with the milk and water, make sure you're spraying every week. Here in the tropics, the black spot never goes away, so we're used to having it around. It would be very uncommon to come across Roses here and not see some black spot. With good feeding and weekly spraying with some of the chemical-free alternatives, it can be reduced a lot though. I look after the Rose Garden at my school, and I do cut our Roses back quite severely when the black spot problem gets very bad after a wet season, and the shrubs come back. We've only ever had to dig up one shrub so far.
