Roses: Battling Blackspot

Blackspot is not your friend - but roses seem to attract this fungus, especially in hot and humid weather.

A weekly spraying program with a few ingredients does the trick to scare this pest away.

When George and I first started growing roses in 1987 (that's a whole other story!), we were given a simple blackspot preventative spray formula by rosarians at the local rose society that we joined to learn about growing good roses. It worked for us then and it will work for you now.

This what we hand out to beginning rose growers and those folks who want to have a clean, blackspot-free garden:

For Blackspot Control on Roses

1. 1 TBL/GAL DITHANE M45
2. 1 TBL/GAL ROSEPRIDE (formerly Funginex)
3. 4 TSP/GAL FURICIDE (Worm Control)
4. 1 TBL/GAL White Vinegar
5. Few drops of soft soap (Ivory)

• Always spray before temperature reaches 80 degrees so you will not have leaf burn.
• Always wear protective clothing (long shirt and pants), goggles and facemask. Remove clothing immediately after spraying and wash.
• You can purchase DITHANE M45 at a good nursery, or they can order it for you. Rosepride is an Ortho product. Thuricide is a very safe control, farmers use it on their crops before harvesting. The white vinegar and soft soap act as surfactants to hold the spray solution on the leaves.
  

Judy and George Lawler, Consulting Rosarians, will guest blog regularly about roses and other gardening topics. They're Suzanne's folks, so we hope you'll give them a huge welcome!