I don't know what you have used on BS in the past, but my understanding is that the BS pressure is high enough in your region that you absolutely must use a fungicide spray if you want to get serious about treating BS. I recommend Bayer Advanced Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, Shrubs--which you have to buy at Lowes or order online. (Please note that is not any of that Bayer 3-in-1 or 2-in-1 awful stuff that you should avoid like the plague.) Spray it every 2 weeks during BS season.

Even better, replace your disease-susceptible roses with highly disease-resistant roses. They will still probably get some BS in your region, but they will be better able to fight off some of the effects of BS that your present roses cannot.

Kate

ND1964, we have high black spot pressures in NJ. If you click on my user name, then send me an email, I will send you a list of roses that are disease resistant and do well in NJ without fungicide treatment. None of them are hybrid teas. Hybrid teas will require a regular fungicide spray (see my photo of "Let Freedom Ring" in the Rose Gallery, vs. the photos of the disease resistant Blushing Knock Out).

There are also a set of roses hybridized by Kordes in the "Fairy Tale" series are very good for me. They can be purchased from Chamblees (own root potted) or Palatine (bare root, grafted on R. multiflora, order in September for delivery next March).

A bleach solution will not help, sorry. If you want to keep your existing roses, and I don't care how many lengthy other responses that you receive, you will need a synthetic fungicide, and the one that Kate named is very effective. Also. we need to begin out fungicide treatments in late March, early April, before the leaves emerge. Once the spots appear, it is harder to slow down the progress, but the goal is to prevent an out break of new leaves.

You have 3 choices. You can look for roses that are more resistant to what ever strain of fungus you have in your area. You can lower your expectations and live with some spots. Or you can spray regularly.

I've learned to live with some spots myself. There are certain roses I love but they aren't the most resistant ones. I do the best I can to keep them healthy and give them a healthy environment but in certain weather conditions they still spot. Usually they don't completely defoliate and they still bloom beautifully for me so I'm happy with them. I no longer have to have perfect leaves all the time.

I am in Northern Jersey, and I don't spray, and I have learned to accept that blackspot is a "way of life" for growing roses here. Go to NY Botanical Garden's website. All the roses are listed. The rose garden there is non-spray. (I am planning to go there during lunch break if work slows this week).

But here is a list of roses that have shown good blackspot resistance (which, for me, means less than 10% of leaves infected) in my garden:

Kordes: Sunsprite (very, very blackspot resistant, very fragrant); Cinderela Fairytale (balling big time when it rains), Pomponella Fairytale, Floral Fairytale, Golden Fairytale and Laguna. All of my Fairytales have little smell, and tend to be late bloomers (and are a little boring).

Austin: Heritage, Tamora, Darcy Bussel, Abe Darby and Teasing Georgia. The one that has little resistance:Crocus Rose.

Old garden roses: all of my Burbons tend to blackspot a lot, but it does not really bother me as they are in the back of the bed. I planted a Tea rose (D. De Brabant) a year ago to experiment with zone pushing. It survied our last winter and is blooming its head off right now. So far, no sign of blackspot. (Just to give you an idea, the rose next to it, Julia Child, now is about 30% infected). I planted four other Teas this spring. So far, zero infection.
(They are borderline hardy/supposedly not hardy here, but my DDB seems very happy... So I decided to experiment a bit more).

Others: Red Double Knockout, Bonica and Belinda's Dream.

Climbers: Laguna, New Dawn, Awakening. Eden. Not so good in terms of blackspot resistent: Blaze Improved and Zepherine Droulin.

New roses that are reputedly blackspot resistance that I planted this Spring: Francis Meilland, Lady of Shallot, Souh Africa, Carding Mill.

After much research for a blackspot resistant rose for Queens, NY (basically same type of climate as Joisey), I got an Easy Does It rose last year. Have had no problems with blackspot with it at all, and it's blooming its head off right now. Check it out!

You could also try out the older Kordes floribunda (with some hybrid musk in its background) called Eutin. I've been growing one or more of them in various gardens I have had for the past 30-40 years. Back in the 1960s, Eutin was considered the Knock Out bush of its day in that Eutin was promoted as being more disease-resistant than most other roses at the time--but Eutin has prettier blooms than Knock Out does--blooms in big red clusters--very showy.

Kate

Many thanks to all of you! Will check out your individual pages/blogs as follow up. I am not trying to have a 'show' rose bush; BS ok for me but what I have is basically stripping the rose bush completely, and looks ugly. But the roses look beautiful; but I guess we cannot live in Jersey, have this as a part time hobby and try to be 'green' at the same time.
Thanks again, fellow gardeners!

Farmerduck,
Can you please post a picture of Bonica and Belinda's Dream that you have?

Thanks,
Enjay

Enjay, you can find photos of any rose variety at HelpMeFind.com. Lots of other info too.

You can be "green" and grow roses, but not hybrid teas.

You'll see that there is a wide range of opinions, even within the state. Teasing Georgia was a black spot mess for me. Sunsprite is OK, but will defoliate if I don't treat it at least a couple of times a year.

I agree that the Kordes "Fairy Tale" series are extremely disease resistant. Another Kordes, Rosenstadt Freising, keeps leaves most of the season, defoliates in September. Also, roses in the Polyantha class have been good for me. I have White Pet, Baby Faurax, and Excellenz von Schubert. Heritage has been just OK resistance-wise.

Whlle I amOK with getting rid of most of my rose bushes that are infected right now, I will find it very difficult to get rid of my 'Dream Come True' rose bush. That is the one I am trying to salvage.
http://www.rose.org/2008-winner-dream-come-true/
Enjay

Hi Enjay -- I will try to post the pictures this weekend. Long commute/work hours means I am lucky to get home when there is still light. :(

For now, here are links that you can see the pictures as well as description of Bonica and Belinda's dream.

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/pl.php?n=792&tab=36

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.574&tab=36

Also, I am 100% with Diana-NJ that you cannot generalize too much when it comes to roses. People might have vastly different experiences even with the same rose in the same area. Although Bonica is doing quite well in my garden, I saw last year the ones at the Brookdale Park (near Bloomfield) seem to suffer quite a bit from blackspot. Being a Newbie myself, I guess how the roses do for us has a lot to with a lot of variables (e.g., quality of specimen, soil, sun exposure and water habit). Carefree Bueaty, another reportedly bullet-proof rose, is a total dud in my garden.

I saw another pink rose, Cape Diamond, there last year, which did not seem affected by any disease at all. http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.44277.0 However, I dare not to grow it as, by the look of its size, it seems to have exceptional vigor and I can only handle smaller roses given how small/crowded my garden is.

If you can manage the time, in addition to the NY Botanical Garden, try the Brooklyn Botanical Garden and Longwood Garden⦠But be forewarned: shopping spree might follow after your tripsâ¦

Mark