I am trying my hand at raising a few rose bushes. Last year I bought two rose bushes, and both bloomed profusely, and then one of them got blackspot, and gradually died. The other one, a climbing rose, is still living, but it is getting blackspot, too.

I know about the chemical remedy for this disease. I thought I would just break down, and buy some, and I even had the bottle in my cart, and then after a while I went and put it back. Even though the rose isn't near my garden, I just cannot stand the thought of bringing such a rank poison near my place.

Has anyone out there had success with an organic method of controlling blackspot? If so, please HELP!

-- Lela R. Picking (stllwtrs55@aol.com), April 11, 2001

Answers

Boil the leaves of ruhbarb, let it cool put a few drops of liquid soap in with it and pour it on the roses. You can also ad mouthwash. Mom had an old rose that we had given up for dead. I did this and in two weeks it was full of blooms

-- grant (organicgrange@yahoo.com), April 11, 2001.

Hi,

I used to raise roses, until my beloved Jackie dined on more than 100 bushes one time when she got out of the electric fence. I used this remedy, I don't know where the book is for exact measurements og ingredients but it was a pint of warm water, then a few drops of dawn dish soap and then a pint of hydrogen peroxide. Spray on plant, repeat every few days as needed. I'll have to look up exact measurements over my vacation which starts tomorrow, :):)

-- Bernice (geminigoats@yahoo.com), April 12, 2001.

There's one remedy using baking soda, vegetable oil and dish liquid but I don't recall the proportions. It was through the P. Allen Smith website (pallensmith.com)--he's the guy who does the gardening segments on the weather channel and on some commercial stations. He's out of Little Rock AR and we used to see him on the LR stations before he made the "big time." It does work because I used it when we lived in AR. Don't have roses here. It will also work on powdery mildew, I seem to remember.

-- marilyn (rainbow@ktis.net), April 12, 2001.

The first year I planted a rose bush, it got blackspot. I sprayed it with just the baking soda in water in a sprayer and kept doing it, all the while feeding it with homemade compost, Roses Alive, and giving it applications of kelp and fish tea. It struggled through that year, came back the next year looking about the same, but no blackspot, and now after 5 years on the organic composts and foods, it's looking huge and radiantly healthy, no black spot in years. I really think that the organic rose foods made all the difference. Other folks in our town are fighting blackspot off, but mine haven't had it since that first time (knock on wood).

-- julie f. (rumplefrogskin@excite.com), April 12, 2001.

Try the Cornell University formula it's worked for me. Add to 1 gallon water 1 Tbs. baking soda and 1 Tbs. Listerine.This will need to be done every 2 weeks or so depending on conditions and rose variety. The most important thing in keeping blackspot off roses is good air circulation around the plant so the leaves are not wet for long periods of time. Once a leaf has blackspot it can't be cured. Blackspot can only be prevented from spreading to clean leaves, even using the most toxic stuff. Good organic practices and healthy soil go a long way. There is a great difference in susceptability to blackspot in different cultivars. If you do lose your roses or get tired of fooling with them but still want roses choose varities suggested for your area to be highly resistant. The backspot fungi are very variable so a variety that is clean in one geographic area may be susceptable in another.

-- John Weis (John.Weis@Baileynursery.com), April 12, 2001.

An article in Organic Gardening suggests layering compost around the base of roses to combat this and other blights. Maybe combine it with some of the suggested sprays.

-- Jay Blair in N. AL (jayblair678@yahoo.com), April 12, 2001.

The recipe I have is: 1TBL. baking soda, 1/2 TBL. dish detergent, 1 Gallon of water.

-- Lynn(MO) (mscratch1@semo.net), April 12, 2001.