Hi there - I'm on Cape Cod in Massachusetts and wrestling with the same issue as Jessica Skalley. I had a very bad case of black spot 1 or 2 years ago and even at first foliage this year the leaves are still infected. The canes too. I am thinking of just pulling the six plants and getting new ones next year (I am not patient enough to cut down and have the canes grow back, plus I suspect they will just grow back infected). I tried using BioAdvanced All in One rose fertilizer before just as a saw new growth (mid-March) this year, but I think that did more harm than good. I think I stressed the plants out. So... now its just a big mess! (Not to mention that I didn't prune at all the first two years because I didn't know you had to prune KO roses so aggressively, so they are rather leggy which I don't like.) I am thinking most here would be on board with me trying from square one. That's the way I'm leaning - I'm not sure these plants can be recovered. When I start again next year, any advice re: pruning/feeding when starting out plants on Cape Cod? My thought is just to get a better start on pruning after they are first planted, and then to use an organic leaf spray rather than a strong fertilizer as I've done in the past. (I think the BioAdvanced is just too strong for me as a beginner gardener to work with.) If any one has any advice, it would be most welcome! (I thought knockouts were dummy proof - but I guess no one had me in mind, lol!)

Hi, Brandon. Thank you for writing from my region! I have also grown roses here since the mid 1990s, and I've never had rose borer problems either until recently. I checked my neighbors' roses today and notice that many also have borers. The buggers seem to have moved in during the last couple of years or so. I can identify old holes from (at least) last year in my rose canes. Things have been rather hectic at my house, so I haven't been paying a lot of attention to my garden over the last two years. This year, the critters seem to be legion! They even bored through the Elmer's Glue and nail polish I just pasted on my Penelope. I really should prune my OGRs after bloom, anyway, so I think that's what I'll start doing. Due to time constraints, I've always pruned all my roses except ramblers in late winter. If my HTs and floribundas survive this spring, I'll seal them with something more durable each year and do what you suggest, prune them a little later in the springtime. Do you know when rose borers are done with the egg laying stage? I'm researching that topic. I'll be curious to hear if my neighborhood is an anomaly or if rose borers are becoming more plentiful in the Willamette Valley. Raspberries have grown in popularity in my area, so I'm checking out raspberry borer sites as well. Thank you again for your local feedback and any new info you discover. Carol

You'll get answers if you post in the garden clinic forum or houseplant forum.

I'm a little confused. You say the *canes* are getting infected. I assume you mean the *leaves* on the canes? Blackspot is going to happen unless you spray. The spores are in the air, basically everywhere. Cleaning up fallen leaves helps, but if there's a rose within 100 miles of you, trust me, there are BS spores floating by. There are at LEAST five different strains of BS, and some areas have all five+, so it's the very rare rose that isn't susceptible to at least one strain. I can't even recommend resistant roses to you, since what is BS free in MY garden, may not be in YOUR garden. Inquire of rose growers near you. VERY near you. I have many roses here that are *mostly* BS free, regardless of what I do to them. I'm sure there are many roses that would be resistant in your garden. You just have to find them. Please don't weaken your roses by cutting them back so severely. Most roses would tolerate it once, maybe twice, but none are going to survive over the long term if you continue to force them to re-grow from zero every year. EDIT: Also, if you happen to grow any once-blooming roses, cutting them to the ground in the Fall or Winter would prevent them from ever blooming at all. Once-blooming roses should only be pruned immediately after they bloom, other than removing dead or crossing canes. Your best non-spray options are to improve your growing conditions by adding organic matter to the soil, keeping the foliage dry, and the roots moist, continuing to do Fall clean up, and make sure there's good air flow around each rose (don't crowd them). Generally keep the roses as happy as you can. If you choose to spray, you'll need to rotate between at least two different sprays with different active ingredients. BS can and will develop resistance if you use only one spray. Also keep in mind that you don't need to spray very early in the season, or very late, as BS spore are only active between the temperature range of 60-81F. When the temps are below or above that range, you're wasting your spray since BS spore can't grow any way. There are also some organic spray options, but they have had negligible results in my garden. But then, I swear I have every strain of BS that exists on the planet. Again, your results may vary. The organic sprays may control your type of BS just fine. It's best to talk to other rose growers in your area to see what their results have been. I hope I haven't discouraged you. But it's best to be realistic about BS. Unless you live in Rose Heaven (that's California, if you're wondering), you'll have to deal with it. Or do like I do: learn to co-exist with it by choosing the right roses, and looking the other way when the other roses succumb, and spraying the few horribly susceptible roses that I can't live without.