Black spot on rose leaves - help how do I rid?
SHJ
Posts: 5
I have several patio roses that were bombarded with black spot last year and I really could do with some advice on how to rid them of this fungus. It got so bad last year that the plants ended up dropping their leaves, before growing back new ones. I have been picking off any leaves with the issue and collecting ones that have dropped and disposing of these in the dustbin. It's really important that I help these roses as they are part of a memorial garden and the ashes to my beloved pets are scattered in the compost. Any advice would be appreciated. Many thanks.
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If they are in pots remove any debris and burn or bin,then remove the top two inches of compost and add some fresh. Right now they should be quite dormant, so you won't have that much foliage. Get some Rose Clear and spray the whole plant AND the top of the compost. Feed them when the new foliage emerges and keep them well watered throughout the growing season. Spray every fortnight with rose clear covering the whole plant. Feed again after the first flush of flowers.
Inspect them regularly and re-spry at he first sign of any repeated infection.
If they aren't in pots the same regime applies.
The spores that cause black spot lie in the soil surrounding the plant, so removal and spraying is essential, sorry about the ashes, but it has to go.
Great advice - many thanks and very much appreciated. I'll get cracking.
I used a bit dish soap and sodium bicarb last year and seemed to have a good effect. Nice and cheap. Have to spray regularly after rain and every week etc but is a good preventative treatment.
Never, ever put any affected leaves on the compost heap. Tie them up in a polythene bag and put them in the dustbin.
Black spot is spread be spores so can be recycled within your garden. Pick up every leaf that drops and remove any that show signs of black spot.
Talking about Sodium Bicarb, I picked up a tip on You Tube, not concerning roses but chilli plants. If you get powdery mildew, spray them with 1 tablespoon of baking powder dissolved in a litre of water. I presume it must work on all plants so will give it a try should it happen.
The young American guy's 'handle' is Praxxus 55712 and he is well worth a look. He has grown the largest, bushiest Trinadian Moruga Scorpion chilli plant you could ever wish to see and he gives step by step instructions. Really switched on and pleasant with it. I typed in 'Chilli plants/Growing' then clicked on the You Tube site. Which I will now be doing for other plants.
Digging them up and planting something else is also a valid solution for some gardens where blackspot is a real problem. Certain situations just don't suit roses and you can spend the rest of your life fighting nature but only ending up with that awful sight of a garden full of disgusting looking rose foliage every year. Try some 'resistant' varieties and if those also secumb, my advice would be to give up. There are lots of lovely flowering and scented shrubs which don't need anything other than a bit of simple pruning at the right time.