Lynn are you certain Black Spot is the actual problem? There are different strains of the disease so I guess it's possible, but here in very black-spotty Florida, Belinda's Dream is highly resistant. That, coupled with your dry climate, really makes me wonder if there may be some other source of the black spots. If it's the actual disease, the spots will have "fuzzy" edges, rather than sharply defined, normally with a yellow or orange "halo" around the black spot. Is that what they're doing? Do you have a good close-up photo?

Hi,

I have not taken a photo of it yet. I should be able to take a snap shot in a little while and post it. I do not have a first hand experience with many rose diseases, but have seen a lot in books etc. over the years. I am in no way an expert, and you could be on target to suspect that it could be something else, but one thing is for sure, something is wrong. :( :(

The issues began a few weeks ago when it was a little cooler here and snow was predicted. The own root plants in pots, including B.D. were being watered via a watering can when required, and it was almost impossible for me not to wet the leaves.

It has been in the ground for about 2 weeks, is putting out a significant amount of new growth right along with the horrible looking leaves already present. I am tempted to yank it out of the ground and plant something else. If the area was ready, I would have planted it in the ground during September as opposed to when I did.

I purchased about 25 bands and one gallon roses this summer. They made it through 118 degree temperatures with flying colors. It is kind of disheartening to be having issues due to my mild winter or practices.

Lynn,

If my friends from Vegas have told me correctly, y'all have much drier heat than we experience here in Tx. Blackspot is usually associated with humid climates, and we see it here most often when the temples are between 65-80 degrees and high humidity. If you could snap us a picture it would be helpful to have a look at the leaves. If it is Blackspot, I can assure you that roses will grow and flourish despite contracting the fungus.

Josh

Hi Josh, They are correct regarding the dryness. The top 3 driest places in the country for populations of 50k+ are in Las Vegas proper or the surrounding areas in the county.

Thank you for responding. I am already feeling re-assured regarding the on-going health of this plant. We had low temperatures in the 25 - 29 degree range for about a week about 3-4 weeks ago, so I moved the roses into the garage and their leaves began to yellow after receiving no sun for a few days. Those signs remain too, but I had no worries about that part. I tried to snap a photo but the sun is just in the wrong position right now. I will try again in a couple of hours and post the image.

Lynn

Here's the image.

That doesn't look like black spot. Black spot is blotchier and more solidly black. That looks like the plant version of a skinned knee. Hopefully someone with a more formal description will post.

Cath

Freeze burn.

My modern varieties have it. When the normally warm weather here drops quickly and stays there, this is what their leaves look like. My antiques don't show it.

Blackspot free!

Josh

Yes, that does not look like any fungal attack (we could be more certain of we had a pic of the back of the leaves also), it looks like burn. In any case, fungal attacks and freezing temps don't go well together.
Nik

Yep, what Josh said. The same thing happened to one of my modern roses (Easy Does It) when it turned cold suddenly. It is ok now.

I guess what is throwing me is the color. In the past, and even on other roses now, the leaves turn "brown" when the cold temperatures hit. This is definitely a bunch of little "black" dots. I assumed black dots = black spot.

When it became cold, B.D. and others were in the garage where they were watered once. Maybe it was too warm but definitely not humid.....

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Fri, Jan 3, 14 at 12:36

I agree, Lynn, that your problem doesn't look like blackspot. Those leaves are toast from your freezes. I would remove them to encourage new growth at those nodes - or not if you are expecting more freezes. I try to discourage growth in the winter - often to no avail - because they just get zapped in the next freeze.

I must be the only person in the universe whose BDs get fungal disease. This may not be BS. Cercospora? It's a fine distinction with no difference to me. It still looks ugly. This plant went in the ground last spring. I had one for a couple of years several years ago and it did the same thing, pretty much always keeping a bunch of infected leaves. Maybe they're old leaves and therefore more susceptible but still not attractive.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...

Another.

Another. I'm wondering what the stuff on the right is. Hopefully, not downy mildew.

Sherry

Belinda's Dream and other roses were in the garage where they were watered once. Could the garage have been too warm, leading to issues? The garage is where the leaves began to change due to a lack of sun, but it is also where the spots began.

Sherry, as noted in my reply to this thread over on Roses, you are not alone in having a BD with fungal issues (your photos look like BS to me, not cercospora, which has smaller, neater-edged dots). Here she gets a bit of BS during the winter/early spring months and more than a bit of PM over a longer span, though during much of the year, which is mostly very dry, she's clean.

May I inquire why, in Zone 9, you put any rose in the garage? In more northern regions (like where I live) we put them in the garage for winter protection--against the cold. Surely temps in Zone 9 don't go down to 20 degrees or 5 degrees or anything like that, do they?

Just curious.

Kate

I just wanted to add that my belinda's dream also has fungal issues in spring and fall, not so much in summer. Also, we tend to lose plants at higher temps due to the fact that our temps are not consistant. If it is near 80 for more than a week in december or january, and then we suddenly get down to the upper 20s, quite a bit croaks. I protect all of my tropicals and baby roses in gallon pots when it drops below freezing at night, and then bring them back out/uncover during the day.

Kate, they are plants purchased as bands or one gallon this July. They are in little black nursery pots, and 23 degrees was predicted as the low. I believe it actually hit 24 in my garden. I am in USDA zone 9a (20-25 degrees).

Had they been mature roses, there would have been zero concern whatsoever. But, these being immature plants with little roots, I decided to play it safe and provide a little protection from the cold snap. The lows are now in the high 30's and they are back outside.

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Fri, Jan 3, 14 at 14:21

In Sherry's last picture, the spot on the left is blackspot (fringy margins), while the ones on the right are probably cercospora (which BD gets a lot of) or possibly spot anthracnose.

Oh, OK. Just wondering.

Aren't these some cold snaps we are having this year across America! I see the forecast for my area is for a high of 40 degrees on Saturday and a low of MINUS 2 on Sunday. Sure hope my roses are up for that--cuz I'm not going out there in that cold and snow to rescue them!

About Belinda's Dream, my neighbor spaded hers due to BS problems--or so she thought; leaf problems at any rate. I don't remember if there were certain seasons that were particularly bad, but I know she is angry at roses in general for "lying" to her about the disease-resistance of Belinda's Dream. Then she was "betrayed" by her Knock Out getting RRD. She has since dug up all her roses (about 6 of them) and swears she will never grow another one ever again!

I always wonder when gardeners take it so personally about their roses--but accept that other plants will have problems from time to time.

Kate

Kate,

For me, this year, the issue has been little bands. Once established, roses are tough, even here, but, no more teeny weenie bands, one gallon or larger only, and own root if I can get them. I am just not into babying anything in my garden and probably not anyplace else honestly.

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Fri, Jan 3, 14 at 15:17

FWIW. I bought a three gallon own root BD this August. It was lovely and clean. It spent 6 weeks in the pot on my porch and it promptly turned into a black-spotty, yellowy mess. I was not here to give it as much water as it needed. I put it in the ground and made sure it was getting more water and it did a complete turn around in no time flat growing a whole new set of leaves. Even with several cycles so far of 15-20 degree nights followed by a few days of 50-60 degree warm spells she's the healthiest looking bush with the best looking leaves in the garden.

My conclusion: Stress = compromise in disease resistance. At least that's my conclusions with this particular rose in the particular situation...

Thanks to all who responded with suggestions/ a diagnosis. It is probably frost damage. In addition to you all pointing me in that direction, I researched and saw images of frost damage on a UK site that appear very similar to my plant.

I am still going to dig it up in a couple of weeks, because yesterday evening, I purchased a larger own root bush. B.D. is the focal point, thus it would be more appropriate if I begin with a larger plant versus my focal point being immediately dwarfed by everything near it.

Being unfamiliar with growing bands, but using information received from a supplier regarding growth, I thought that plant would be larger than a 1.5 gallon by now. My little own root will likely be placed someplace else in my yard or returned to a pot and gifted to a family member.

This post was edited by desertgarden561 on Fri, Jan 3, 14 at 16:47

Sherry, my BD in 7b NC, mostly full sun, gets leaves exactly like the left one in your last picture. Other commenters suggest it's blackspot. I am trying an aggressive spray program this spring (my first), alternating Mancozeb and Tebuconazole, with a pretty thorough drenching, coupled with aggressive removal of all diseased plant matter.

The BD is planted near a Mr. Lincoln and an Iceberg, both classic blackspot magnets here. Mr. Lincoln and Iceberg are fine and healthy, maybe a touch of leaf discoloration, but very minor. BD keeps showing new yellow leaves with black / brown spots just like your photo. I thought for a while it was cercospora, but other commenters and pictures disagree.

Does anyone know of an effective control for this? BD is the most diseased of my 17 roses, which just seems wrong.

The fungicides you mentioned should control most fungal diseases. However, if you are only applying them now, it may be a few weeks before you see clean leaves. Tebuconazole can stop the fungus, but some leaves may already be affected and just aren't showing signs yet. Spray weekly for 3 weeks, then every two weeks. If conditions are right, even the most resistant roses can succumb to blackspot. We've had a very cool wet spring. I have had severe bouts of powdery mildew, which I almost never get. And it just wont go away! And now it's going to rain again and be in the 50s!

Thanks. I started weekly apps on April 15. Hopefully it will clear up soon.