Rose Black Spot

[NickMendes 0]

I just read an article by Marie Iannotti on "about.com" that advises to reduce rose black spot to soak your rose mulch for an hour in a mixture of 1 oz. bleach to 1 gal water. I hadn't heard this before but will sure try it this year.

[Janet Macunovich 32]

Thinking... if it's sterile compost or fresh ground bark from plants other than roses, it won't have black spot spores in it that need killing. If it's used mulch form under roses, whooo, serious work to lift mulch, soak and replace it.

Or maybe residue of bleach kills spores that float up through the mulch?

Will be interested to hear what results you see Nick!

 

Cutting back roses HARD helps, too. Black post spores winter over on pinpoint infections (and larger) on the canes, as well as on debris. So the less of the rose that was there last year, remains into this growing season, the less infection.

[Guest dcsmith796]

The name Guest_dcsmith796 had to be retired

because of a program glitch. (Dang it!)

See his more recent posts as DSmith74.

- Janet & Steven, Forum Administration -

I only have a few roses — all own-root rugosas or explorers — but that "whack the whole thing down and send it away" idea is the solution I use for every rose problem. I've found it remarkably effective… except on those darn thrips.

[Janet Macunovich 32]

We're going to quot you on that the next time we write about roses. Whack the whole thing down and send it away is beautiful in its clarity!

[Guest dcsmith796]

Ha ha well, patience has never been one of my stronger points. I think I get it from my paternal Grandmother. She loved gardening and they always had a three huge vegetable/annual flower gardens. When it came to shrubs, she basically had one pruning method - if it looks bad (regardless of reason), cut it back hard, hard often being flush with the ground or pretty close to it. It was a well known joke within the family. People would say "Gee, Ma, you were pretty hard on that one. What if it doesn't come back?"

 

"Well," she would say, "then it doesn't come back!" Did I hear a hint of contempt at the silliness of the question? Maybe, maybe not, but anything more forward would be rude. "Now, about these yews..." she'd say and disappear into the beast, lopping all the way.

 

So, when I see something seriously off on a rose, I think about all the possibilities in those huge "Rose Difficulties and Whatnot" books as thick as a lawn mower deck. Then I shrug my shoulders, cut it to the ground, stuff it in the trash and move on with my life. If it doesn't come back, it doesn't come back!

[Janet Macunovich 32]

I"m tempted to whack some roses back to let them start over from scratch, this year. Too bad others have a say in what happens to those plants. At least if we cut them back we'd have a shot at plucking bad leaves as they develop. Daunting to walk out there and see half the foliage bearing spots already in mid May. The black spot is worse than I've ever seen and started earlier than I've ever seen.

[drupnorth 0]

hate black spot !  my roses improve by giving them more air circulation and no water on the leaves unless mother nature does.