Well, you don't say where you are, or what the weather has been like, but are you *sure* this isn't spray burn. Around here, bad 'blackspot' problems well before the first flush can usually be traced back to a bad combination of weather and spray. In this climate that specifically means spraying when it's too cold. YMMV.

I'm in Texas where it's always humid. One problem I have is that the spring wind is almost constant in my area. I have to wait for just the right time to spray, and sometimes I have to put it off until the wind dies down. I know that works against me in that I can't always spray on schedule, but does it also blow more spores into my garden?

rosepep, I sprayed today too. I have the same problem. Probably not as bad as you because my roses are not as leafed out yet. But many of them have bs badly. I can only assume the rainy late winter is partly to blame. I've never seen BS this early. I did the lime sulphur, but I did it too late and the mixture was not strong enough.

This also happened to me last summer because I was lax about spraying. It did take a few weeks for it to subside. I think that will probably happen this time too. I'll be spraying every week until it stops.

Buford, thank you so much for your input. I'm not happy to know you are having trouble with bs too, but it does give me hope knowing I'm not alone. I was about ready to yank them all out and give them away or murder them in a fire.

rosepep -- Have you considered replacing some of your roses with cultivars that have more resistance to blackspot?

Blackspot's not a problem here -- our problems are mildew and rust. But believe me, they're just as frustrating.

After several years, we started removing roses that were troubled by disease.
Little by little, we've replaced them with roses that were not.

Just a suggestion -- have you explored, for instance, the Earthkind program?

Jeri

Are we suppose to try to remove the leaves if we think they have blackspot? A few of mine have a few leaves with black spots. So Buford since I live in NW Ga. do you think I need to spray weekly too? What do you spray with? I wish you the best of luck rosepep!! Thanks, Judy

Are you mainly growing hybrid teas? I agree with Jeri that you should look at the Earthkind roses. They are tested in Texas for blackspot resistance, so depending on what part of the state you live in, they should perform well in your area. I lived in Houston for 30 years and there are many roses that perform well in Houstons' humidity, which is as bad as any part of the state.

I also believe that young plants are more susceptible and with time can become more resistant. At least, that seems to be the case from my experience.

Thanks prettypetals! I hope you have better luck than me.

jerijen and collinw, I am growing several hybrid teas, and floribundas. My garden is young and I'm still learning, so from now on, my main requirement when researching a rose will be DISEASE RESISTANCE!!! I will definitely check into the Earthkind line. Little by little I will purge my garden of the demons. :) Thank you both for the suggestion.

well, so far,most of my roses are all leaved out and have little b uds,and no BS yet.I have been spraying weekly with Mancozeb and it works pretty good.I didn't have BS last year either until about the end of the blooming season,when I got lax with spraying.It seems to be good for Mildew also,as I have a couple bushes thats bad to get mildew in early spring, but they didn't have it last year and not so far this year either.

Jean

Spray with Mancozeb, Manzate, or Diathane to kill the blackspot and don't be afraid to overspray to help kill the spores on the ground. Keep diseased leaves picked up and once you've got it under control rotate your fungicide between a single and multi site product to maximize effectiveness. Wind (air circulation) is a good thing.
Spraying should begin as soon as leaves appear and continue until dormancy in the fall.

rosepep, you should try some teas, not hybrid teas, but old fashioned teas. There are several threads on them in the antique rose forum. They are more garden roses than hybrid teas, but they are beautiful, can get large, require less pruning, and so far do not blackspot in my yard. I have 3 and ordered 12 more this winter.

One mistake I made was not removing all my old leaves. That's where the bs probably stayed. Those leaves were affected first, then it spread to some new foliage. I thought by doing the lime sulphur, it would get rid of the old leaves, but I didn't use a strong enough solution.

Before I sprayed yesterday, I tried to get rid of all the old leaves that were left, they look funny now that the new leaves are growing it. The roses that didn't have old leaves left were the least affected by bs, so that must be it.

Another year, another lesson learned.

Now you know why I gave up spraying- I could never learn how to do it so my plants were clean. My failing, since others here know how to do it well. I then got into blackspot resistant roses, and never looked back. I have found that an otherwise healthy and vigorous rose will even overcome complete defoliation. Some inevitably succumb, but then that just makes room for one more...

Spraying is such a pain. :-[ I do not spray here (I do spray insecticidal soap if needed). Not all teas are blackspot free but most of them will not completely defoliate like modern HTs can. Most china roses are very resistant to BS. One good tea to start with is Duchesse du Brabant. It is a lovely medium pink that is fragrant and spot free for me here in FL. Another to consider is Belinda's Dream. It is a shrub that looks like a pink HT and it too is supposed to be spot free. Both of these roses are Earthkind roses too.

I'm so heartened to see that most posters recommend finding disease-resistant roses rather than spraying vast amounts of toxins just to keep a few roses looking reasonably good. It's a win-win situation for everyone and I'm so glad that more and more thoughtful people are choosing that option.

Ingrid

I was going to suggest using something else like Karl stated above and alternate that with the Bayer. A spreader/sticker that would help it stick to the leaves might help. Rosemania is a good site to check out for information on this.

I started spraying Bayer early this year (Feb). I sprayed twice including the ground before anything leafed out and then every 2 weeks since then. I also picked off any old/damaged leaves and cleaned thoroughly around the bushes. I have not seen any BS but my neighbor has some. I am thinking about buying other things but will stick with what is working for now.

Make sure you are getting the underside of the leaves.

I should also say I had a bad case of BS last fall.
HTH
Sunni

Spraying to prevent blackspot is a personal choice. Although I don't spray fungicides except for the most stubborn roses that insist on getting blackspot, I will advise those who do. Most all my roses are hardy disease resistant shrubs but I do have a few that insist on getting blackspot. Those that do are my fault as they are planted in areas that stay moist all day. Hansa and Magnifica on the NorthEast side of my house are defoiliated by August and they can't be sprayed anyway.
Overhead watering early in the morning seems to keep most of my roses blackspot free.