It looks and sounds like you have two types of pests - brown scale are the round-ish blobs. The tiny bugs, along with the speckling on the leaves, sound like spider mites. Google those names to see if they match up along with various ways to eliminate them. Brooke

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!)

Where do you live? Don't use bleach on roots. Use a fungicide. Maybe copper or Physan and spray the stones. Fungicide won't hurt the roots. It will also clean up your pavers. Jane

The marks you see are physical etching to the surface from by the looks either a strong bleach product or drain cleaner. Why it is getting worse, we would say that someone has repaired or attempted to hide the marks using a bandaid solution . By adding some like like baby oil or white oil to the surface. This will disguise the issue for a short period though as you clean the surface it will dissolve the oils out and leaving the white spots or marks again. Being Matte you will be able to use a special microporosity impregnating sealer that will solve the issue. Other than having it properly repaired by a stonemason. You will need to do the following steps Clean the entire countertops with acetone. Remove any contamination on grante Apply the Ager to the white spots or marks first with kitchen paper Allow to penetrate for 5 minutes Apply the Ager to the whole countertop - this will make it uniform in colour Allow to penetrate for 5 mintue Follow the directions on the tin to remove excess Allow to cure out, you can speed this process up with a hair dryer. The products you will need are Acetone - 1 Quartz Tenax Ager Clean white cloth Kitchen Paper or Towel If you get stuck or would like more information email us at stains@stonebenchtopcleaner.com.au Uniblack is the wrong product to use in this application will make it blacker in areas and patchy being honed or leathered granite, the acetone will take this back out.