"honey-do" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 04 Jul 2004 03:32:38 GMT, "Gail Futoran"
wrote:

"honey-do" wrote in message
.. .
I recently read an article in an organic magazine that
suggested using
Baking Soda and horticulture oil as a remedy for black
spots on roses.

Has anyone tried this, or do you know of a remedy that
might work? I
have tried many fungicides including dormant sprays and
still have a
HUGE problem.

Thanks in advance!

http://www.ars.org/explore.cfm/diseases/blackspot

That said, how huge a problem? Are your roses
losing their leaves and dying due to blackspot,
or is it that you just don't like the looks of
blackspotted leaves?

That's not a trivial (or insulting) question. Some
people require perfect rose bushes and are
willing to do whatever it takes to achieve &
maintain that perfection. Others - like me - ignore
minor (& sometimes major) imperfections. I don't
spray for anything and I have a great number
of different types of roses, modern as well as
antique, grafted as well as own root. Some roses
get a lot of blackspot (but don't die of it), some
roses get very little. None of it bothers me.

particularly.


Sorry!, I will define HUGE a little better.

It is not my intention to get smart, or insult you, for I
understand
what you are saying.

I tend to be abrupt & matter-of-fact when I write
which some people interpret as impatience or
rudeness, but I certainly didn't think *you* were
being smart or insulting!

Okay- I have 18 roses, ranging from 9 years (Or older) to
3 years
old. Were you to remove all the leaves that are left,
from all the
bushes, you could easily put them in a gallon fruit jar .

Whoa, that is a big problem. Seriously.

Two of my roses are 5 and 6 year old Don Juans and cover a
22 ft
fence. I have lost two of the major canes(defoliated and
turned
brown).

I've had a similar problem with my similar age Don
Juan. It was growing steadily, if slowly, now one
whole side is gone. The other side seems
healthy, but for how long?

One thing you might try is using epsom salts as
a soil additive to encourage basel breaks. Any
half-way decent rose book should have
information on epsom salts or do a google
search on epsom salts & roses.

It is hard to even write about it- -I have dedicated much
time and
expense to these things, including an automatic watering
system and
countless hours of pampering them.

Another way to put it is if HUGE gets any bigger, I won't
have any
roses. (which at this point might not be so bad).

I'd go ahead and try the baking soda method. Sounds
like you can't lose at this point. Is there a local
rose society or a botanical garden growing roses
so that you could ask others about their experiences?
Most rose people love to help others grow better
roses.

Another possibility is to get your soil tested.
Maybe some essential mineral is low or missing.

Thank you for your response, have a good day- -Honey-do.

Good luck! It is very frustrating to lose roses
when you've worked so hard on them.

Gail