Southern California has had a 65 degree weather, humidity, and steady
drizzle.

Three weeks ago I trimmed all my roses back because of rust, and they are
growing back well.

I didn't use any chemicals, and I don't see any rust coming back.
However, since it's been damp, I'm wondering if I should spray them as a
preventative measure. I bought the Ortho Orthonex spray.
Would this be a wise thing to do?

If so, I'm curious about a few things. What time of day to spray it? I
assume I need to find a time when the leaves are dry (they've been getting
drizzled on for 20 hours a day recently). And do I spray everything,
including the branches, or just the leaves?


Thanks for feedback.

Xref: kermit rec.gardens.roses:93799


"Me" wrote in message
thlink.net...
Southern California has had a 65 degree weather, humidity, and steady
drizzle.

Three weeks ago I trimmed all my roses back because of rust, and they are
growing back well.

I didn't use any chemicals, and I don't see any rust coming back.
However, since it's been damp, I'm wondering if I should spray them as a
preventative measure. I bought the Ortho Orthonex spray.
Would this be a wise thing to do?

If so, I'm curious about a few things. What time of day to spray it? I
assume I need to find a time when the leaves are dry (they've been getting
drizzled on for 20 hours a day recently). And do I spray everything,
including the branches, or just the leaves?


Thanks for feedback.



When you're spraying Orthenex, spray everything thoroughly, including the
undersides of the leaves.

Lesson learned the hard way: don't spray Orthenex on a sunny afternoon.
You'll fry some rose leaves. Very disconcerting.

Good luck!
Sue in SoCal

In nk.net Me wrote:
Three weeks ago I trimmed all my roses back because of rust, and they
are growing back well.

Even so, that's a bit extreme. Don't trim them. Spray is fine - rust
isn't THAT deadly to roses.

Try a milk spray if you're feeling daring. Works for me. One part full
milk to six parts water. Cover all leaf surfaces and let the sun turn
the milk proteins into a bacteria-toxic coating. Wonderful.

It also kills black spot and mildew. Great results with my garden. It
proves that some old wives' tales work!

Daniel Hanna wrote:

In nk.net Me wrote:
Three weeks ago I trimmed all my roses back because of rust, and they
are growing back well.

Even so, that's a bit extreme. Don't trim them. Spray is fine - rust
isn't THAT deadly to roses.

It's not deadly but it is sure unsightly and very hard to control with
organic measures. Cleanup doesn't seem to make much difference. I saw
roses for sale on asphalt completely cloaked in rust. Rust is a curse
of susceptible roses.