Spring prevention goes a long way. Keep roses pruned for appearance
and better air circulation. Never get the leaves wet. If black spot
appears, it is usually too late to use fungicide treatments but you
can heavily prune the rose bush (and discard the clippings in the
trash). You may want to replace your roses with types that are
resistant to fungus. Roses require a lot of maintenance.

On Thu, 08 Jul 2004 22:42:20 GMT, "wayne crimi"
wrote:

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