SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
lauren_m_gw

Ugh... Rust, Blackspot, Mildew...

lauren.m
12 years ago

Hello,

I've got 18 or so rose bushes I'm now caring for that were planted by my mother, and a few new ones I purchased. It's been a battle- black spot, rust on all of them, and now powdery mildew on one.

I've been reading the forums and online and tried so many things- At the suggestion of a nursery, first I used the Bayer 3 in 1 (which I regret, as I wasn't aware it would kill bees and found several dead bees after application) combined with Daconil. But it kept spreading.

Then I read to remove all the infected leaves, which left all the roses pretty much naked, cleaned up the dropped leaves around the base, and added a few layers of fresh compost to the top, and then sprayed with the baking soda/soap/oil/water mix. It seems to be working on those roses, but two of the ones who were healthy (one a brand new baby bare rot one, a little over a month in my possession) have black spot, rust, and one has powdery mildew, too. Not all leaves were infected, but I did remove quite a few that were apparent. I'm bummed, as these were my newly purchased Austin roses.

I'm such a newbie to this- and am kind of at the end of my wits with my naked rose plants. Several do seem pretty eager with lots of new sprouts, but it keeps popping up everywhere.

Any other suggestions of what I should do? I was going to try the baking soda mixture again, possibly with horticultural oil instead of cooking oil. I'd like to stay somewhat natural as I have two kitties who tend to sneak nibbles out of rose bouquets when they're in the house.

I would appreciate any other suggestions. I'm in Zone 10, Sunset 23. Thank you!

Comments (24)