Some years ago, our Jeri and her great husband, Clay, spoke at a Huntington Old Rose Symposium about ridding your garden from diseases. As Jeri stated, "You CAN rid your garden from diseases!", all eyes were front and center, many on the edges of their seats. Clay held a shovel over his head and shook it like a weapon and the crowd exploded! Wonderful experience and funny as they come! They're right, though. Selection of the best rose for the best place, often difficult and requiring a lot of research, exploration and education, is the prime way to eliminate disease issues. Nothing will ever be perfect, but if avoiding the costs, dangers and work of having to use chemicals is important enough to you, it's the ONLY way other than to grow anything else which isn't affected by the plagues. Kim

Plant disease are soil related, so what is the soil you are growing these roses in like? When was the last soil test done and what did it show? What is the level of humus in your soil? How well does that soil drain? How well does that soil retain moisture? What kind of soil life does the soil have? Check with your local office of the Universtiy of Vermont USDA Cooperative Extension Service about haveing a good, reliable soil test done for base nutrient and soil pH levels and then dig in with these simple soil tests, 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer you soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. to see what you have and get more help in what you need to do to make a good, healthy soil that will grow strong and healthy plants. Here is a link that might be useful: UV CES

Hi Straw; I enjoy reading your posts, your background in chemistry brings a unique perspective, and interesting information. The reason that I believe that damage is topical and possibility caused by the soap spray is that it "happened overnight". To me that would mean a chemical, such as something sprayed on it, or mechanical, such as insect damage. I have never seen nutritional deficiencies occur that fast. Now your theory on the soap precipitating out calcium is interesting. However, I don't believe that the calcium was in a "solution" to begin with. If it were, then the rain would have washed it away without the help of soap. The link that you posted shows soap precipitating calcium out of tap water, so it seems to me that using soap could, in a very small way, add calcium to the soil by "unbinding" it from water. I truly don't believe that it was the problem because soap is used in agriculture as a "sticker spreader", a wetting agent and an insecticide and I have never seen any problems. I would want to know the ph of the soil in the pot before adding lime to the soil. Too high a ph will cause deficiencies of minors.

those black spots are probably blackspot - a fungal infection. I see a lot of water on the leaves - is that how you're watering it? Fungus thrives in moist environments, and watering the foliage can make it more susceptible, especially if its not able to dry out completely and quickly. This is one of the reasons the lower sections of a plant tend to get it worse - the leaves are shaded from sun and don't get as much air circulation. I would make sure to only water the base of the plant from now on, and you'll probably need to treat the existing infection with a fungicide to prevent recurrence. I know a lot of people have their own remedies and organic or chemical free treatments, but if you're not against using chemicals I suggest Bayer Advanced Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs or somethign else containing Tebuconazole.