Yes Michelle I sprayed my 33 roses yesterday, didn't like the smell though, they say you should do it after you have pruned which I also did yesterday.

I have tried the organic ones but they dont work for me here so I will see how this goes and my roses instructions said to do it after pruning so I will see how it goes as something has to work Cheers ...MM

I,m new to roses Michelle but Lime Sulphur is a great start after prunning,A lot of good horticulturists swear by it that is why I use it,stinks alright Marion the sulphur,greencroc.

Hi , Lime Sulphur sprayed on the bushes and the surrounding ground, straight after pruning is a great idea.
Not only on roses, but fruit trees and grape vines.
It does stink , rotten egg smell is a good description.
Regards, Shane

Thanks all
Looks like I would be wise to do it.
Cheers
Michelle

Michelle, if you have no black spot, mildew, scale or other disease problems then you dont have to do it.
However, few rose growers have those conditions.
You do it straight after pruning as otherwise it can burn the new growth
cheers Deryn

OK thanks Deryn. I may have left it too late .I pruned 10 days ago and there is a little new growth and we do get BS and mildew.
Is it too late now?
Thanks
Michelle

Have to say that in 45 years growing roses I've never used Lime Sulphur. The concept never grabbed me that by killing spores around my roses, I could prevent them blowing in from next door.

lozza lol lol
I think you are quite right!!:))

hee hee, I agree Lozza, I hardly use anything on my poor ole roses and they bloom their litte and big heads off! You know a bigger challenge is paddock rust and sweet little birds popping around between the roses eating aphids and spreading rust. A little mancozeb and its fixed at the time. I would have thought home gardens wouldnt have such problems.
Lynne

Come on everyone give us Northeners a bit of Credit as it is not so easy growing Roses here
And we need all the Help we can get to try and stop all those nasties you dont get down South.
And as I lived in Melbourne for 45 years I didn't get those things on my roses either.
At least we are trying ....MM

Shane, can't agree more about different areas producing different problems, particularly in the States. Haven't heard the same complaints here though. Perhaps we escape much of it because we do not experience extreme cold as they do in some areas. Regarding the fig tree though, I think there is a thing called 2-year syndrome or something. A tree will fruit well one year and not the next because of no feeding programme. Causes the tree to rest every other year. Just a thought, because I've got an apple tree that waited 5 years until last year to give me a decent crop. My pruning had been a bit savage though.

I remember Don Burke saying how good Lime Sulphur was he said it on one of his last shows how doing the stems on roses saved a lot of trouble thruogh the growing period.That is the reason I use it,then use an oil or whatever one uses after,greencroc.

Well ,this has turned into a very interesting thread.Thanks for your responses everyone
Michelle

The fig was interesting. I could compare two figs in neighbouring yards , one got the sulphur and one did not. They both got the same fertiliser, water, etc. The one that did get sprayed yielded over 18 kg of fruit plus whatever the birds ate. The other had 2 kg and is a larger tree. Since then they have both been sprayed, fed, etc and yield within 2 kg of each other.
Pruning will start in the next few weeks, along with the sulphur spray,followed in two weeks by a copper spray.

well, the banana bender has to have the last say hee hee. Obviously he knows all. Oh wouldnt one love Larry to be here. I think I must be taking after him in my old age and thats a creepy thought!!

Lynne , all i was doing was following up on a question and saying what my experience was. Why attack me for trying to help ? I thought the idea of the forum was to ask and answer questions. If thats the way i get treated for trying to help, stuff it. Find out for yourself.

Don who?

You know,short fella,no hair,little ears,wears size five boots,everybody remembers old ah burkey,Our don burkey,played cricket too,greencroc.

Shane do not take any notice of what these Cabbage Patchers are saying
There is always one on every Forum who likes to spoil it and you are so right
I always thought these Forums were to help and advise gardeners with their problems also

And I for one Thank you very much for all your input on this thread it has helped me heaps.
So I am off to spray my Nectarine tree and also put more on the mulch around the roses.
To try and kill those nasties that would have come in on the bales of Lucerne I bought yesterday.
Seeing they did not blow in from the property next door.

Cheers....MM {{gwi:2112669}}

Yes you can have some fun without knocking someones help,I helped save a ladies ground covers in Victoria because of one fertilizer,she was so nice about it thanked me,so grow up some of you it,s a friendly forum,not the high court,greencroc.

Lynne, I am sure if Larry was here he would not be so blatantly trying to score points where there is no reason to do so - you are nothing like him. I do not think you have any of his wit, intelligence or tolerance.
As Lozza says different climatic regions require different solutions. I for one do not spray, but live in a less humid climate. Having said that, there have been times over the last few years when I have regreted not spraying during some
very unusually high humidity days that have seen BS and PM run riot. Still the roses always bounce back- such forgiving plants!
Cheers
Melda

Thanks for the kind words MM greencroc and Melda.
I appreciate your replies.
Lets all remember, its nice to be important, but its much more important to be nice.
Regards, Shane

Hi MM and others
Does this lime sulphur come already made up as a spray or do you have to mix it yourself?. Might be worth a try.
Jan

Hi Jan, Its is a liquid you have to add so many mls to a litre or litres of water.
Its best done after the Winter prune as it tends to spoil the leaves..MM

And just adding one extra tip I read in another earlier thread about spraying lime sulphur: the spray can leave white spots on the foliage of nearby plants. Though I don't think it actually does them any harm, it does look a bit poor. If this could be an issue for you, just cover them with newspaper while you are spraying.

(With apologies that I am not acknowledging whomever first suggested that tip - I don't remember who it was! Great simple idea though.)

Lets not forget that lime sulphur kills of dormant red spider mite eggs around the base and inside the old bark of older roses. Nows theres something to think about! Regardless of dormant fungus spores. Red spider is still the hardest pest to control during Summer and this is the best start to the season for the home gardener to get on top of the buggers as natural as possible.

Pete

Thats really good to keep in mind.
Thanks Pete
Michelle

Is it too late to spray now?

Cathy

It can damage the leaves so unfortunately it is better to do it when the branches are bare, in winter. I have heard that you can use it half-strength and it won't do much damage to the leaves though - has anyone done this?

Well I wouldnt recommend it but when I sprayed the lime sulpher after pruning in July, I covered the surrounding plants with newspaper to protect them.
Now ,you will have lots of new growth on the roses and the spray will burn it and damage the foliage.
However at Bunnings yesterday I saw a presentation on roses and the presenter suggested that if you hadnt done it after pruning you could do it now using HALF strength lime sulfer.
She wasnt too keen on it but said it could be done.
Hope this is helpful
Michelle

My 2 bottles of Lime Sulphur, 2 different brands, do not say it is for BS, but for mildew and some insects. I sprayed anyway but I do have a real BS problem. So I'm thinking I should now spray with Triforine. Any advice on this?

Yes I have sprayed with Triforine.
I have found it too be very useful for powdery mildew and black spot.
The rose Fresia hates it so I avoid that rose.
Yates have a product called Rose Gun which I use for everything if I havent made up the other sprays.Quite good.
Rose Gun for me is a bit of an all rounder
Cheers
Michelle

This may help people.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sept.chores

Thanks Lozza-a few good ideas there.
Cheers
Michelle

I sprayed lime and sulpher after pruning the roses. what happens if i do not wash off with clean water afterwards. Early reply much appreciated. Thanks

Extremely true! Here in Queensland, on the Gold Coast in particular we get all manner of fungal diseases and pests.

I've only been growing roses for 4yrs now.

I have learned many lessons in the process. I tried the frequent spraying. As pests can become immune to certain chemicals, even though I rotated them, I didn't find that was very successful.

I joined the Qld Rose Society so I could purchase Neutrog fertilizers at a great discount. However, being a new rosarian, I under estimated how much Sudden Impact I would need for summer. Since I ran out in early Autumn I had some of

"Vasili's Garden" Black Grit, and SuperFood, so I used that.

To my surprise, my struggling rose bushes grew such brilliant new strong growth. Larger roses than any I had seen in the 4yrs I've had them, and much more resistant to disease. The roses have even lasted longer as cut flowers.

There is so much new growth, it breaks my heart to prune them. But I will at the end of July, & I will use the lime sulphur. All the rose growers recommend it, and it only smells while you are applying it.

Don't forget fungal spores remain on the surface of the soil and the rose bush.

I will definitely continue to use Vasilis Black Grit and SuperFood too!

By the way, it's available on his website, and delivered to your door.

There

I did not rinse off the Lime Sulphur!