"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
...
"Eric Bause" wrote in message
...
I am a rose newbie living in zone 6b who planted six baby roses bushes in
window boxes on a deck. I learned about black spots the hard way.
Spraying weekly with a product called Green Light Rose Defense helped.
During the initial black spot attacks, the plants were getting full sun
all
day and new leaves quickly sprouted.

In mid October there was an entire week of rain that trailed off into
drizzle and mist. All of the plant save two were completely coverd in
black spots. They now only get full sun in the morning. All of the
leaves have fallen off and the remaining bud withered and died. The
remaining bare kanes do not look dead. Are they going to die? I had
been
planning on digging them up when they went dormant and sheltering them
in
the attic for the winter. Can they be salvaged or should I give up on
them?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I'm in an area where blackspot doesn't do any
significant harm (or I haven't noticed harm). So
I'm not sure what advice I can give except that
minis are really hardy and it's probably worth
hanging on to them and seeing what happens.

I would suggest trying a different product. Not
that the one you're using is bad (I'm not
familiar with it) but some products seem to
make the problem worse. Most modern roses
can handle a bit of blackspot without a problem.

Gail
near San Antonio TX Zone 8



Even with just a few roses in containers it is wise to rotate your
fungicide; diseases and insects can become tolerant/immune if a single
product is used.

Black Spot tends to be a later season disease and affects the older/mature
leaves. It would be best to remove and discard the infected leaves and
apply a new fungicide to the plants AND soil. Diseases can survive the
winter and recur next year.

Tim
Zone 5, Front Range of Northern Colorado