"wayne crimi" wrote in message
...
I am having a chronic problem with my Rosebushes.

I bought an extremely healthy looking one last year and noticed a problem
with the leaves after a few weeks. I was new to gardening so I didn't
act
right away. When it got worse I did some research and concluded it was
black
spot. I bought a spray and followed the instructions for the remainder of
the summer.

It survived the winter, but did not come back this year nearly as healthy
and full as when I bought it. Several weeks into the spring I noticed the
problem again. I acted on the very first day (I was monitoring the
situation daily). Despite repeated spraying and removal of the lower
level
problem leaves, it continued to spread upward. Right now I am looking at
what is essentially a leafless rosebush. It is clearly still alive
because
the branches remain green, but things don't look good.

I bought a second one this year and the same problem occurred with it
after
about a month DESPITE preventative spraying. I suspect I am looking at a
repeat performance with this and I am not optimistic about the survival of
the other.

Any insights at all as top what may be causing the problem and what I can
do
about it would be appreciated. Thanks



Some roses are more succeptible to disease than others. Some climates
provide more disease pressure than others. Some winters are more challenging
for roses than others. Some fungicides are more effective than others. No
fungicide will eradicate black spot once it has a foothold on your rose.
Fungicides are preventatives only. The best method to control black spot is
to purchase varieties that are not prone to it and get rid of ones that are.
Roses that look healthy at a nursery have been sprayed to prevent disease,
and I wouldn't trust 99% of most nurseries to know which varieties would
work well in a no spray situation. The best source of varietal
recommendation would be a local rose society, but even then a list will be
biased towards those who spray regularly and describe a bush as "disease
resistant" WITH spraying. That's BS as far as I'm concerned. "Disease
resistant" to me means it will retain at least 60% of it's foliage when left
unsprayed, or has an extremely rapid recovery rate if it loses all of it's
foliage. But, I'm in MS, the hot and humid capital of the South, and
growing roses here is very challenging because of the constant fungal
pressures. In a shorter growing season or some place with less heat and
humidity, disease resistant varieties might be ones that keep their foliage
till frost.

Which varieties are you growing? Where are you located? Which fungicides
have you used and when have you used them? How much spring pruning did you
do, or were forced to do by Mother Nature?