You don't mention where you are located, so my advice may not apply. When I lived in the Mid-Atlantic, blackspot was out of control and most of my roses would defoliate in the summer, and than bounce back in the fall. But the stress made them decline over time. I tried every organic remedy under the sun with no success. If you want spotless roses, you need to spray with chemicals or plant resistant varieties.

I'm afraid I don't know the name of the climbing rose. It was planted many moons ago and the tag has long since disappeared.

When would be the ideal time to spray in advance of fungal disease? In the dead of winter? It keeps its leaves year round, so I'm not sure when exactly would be the pre-fungal time.

If I go spraying the rose with a hose, do I risk spreading the fungal disease further throughout the plant?

That's discouraging news, JoJo. I'm in Northern California, BTW. That's the reason I don't have any other roses in my garden -- they're just so hard to keep happy. I'll stick with dahlias. :)

Raymondo, I'm surprised you have BS problems in Northern California. I always thought your area had less disease pressure than the East Coast. I wonder if there are other factors contributing to your troubles, like lack of air circulation, overhead watering, etc.

As for aphids, I just remove them with a strong spray of water. They are usually gone after warm weather sets in and there's less new tender growth.

I am in the San Francisco Bay. Neem oil can be used after pruning in January and before the bush leaving out - this is called the dormant spray. After that I maintain a regular spraying schedule when the roses are leaving out, usually once every 2 weeks, but different rose growers spray at different intervals depending on the disease pressure in your area. It is too late when you see fungal disease on the leaves, even though some of the fungicides are labelled as "curative". It is best to just remove those sick leaves to slow down the disease from spreading to the entire bush.

It is best not to spray Neem oil when the temperature is hot outside. Otherwise the leaves may be damaged. Another dormant spray people use is copper fungicide. Also better time to spray is in the early morning.

JoJo, I'm not sure why disease is such a problem with my roses. They're watered via drip line. I think the air circulation is good -- they're in a corner where two fences come together. The other side of the fence has a peach tree, and the two co-mingle.

And thank you for your input, Rose. So you start spraying your roses with Neem Oil in January, and every two weeks thereafter? Is there a point where you stop spraying?

I use dormant spray, but not with neem oil. It is because black spot isn't the problem for me in my SF micro-climate, but downy mildew (note NOT powdery mildew) and rust. Neem oil does not have much activities against downy mildew. I use very specific fungicides for downy mildew, rotate among several of them and tank mixed them with other ones that target rust.

I stop spraying sometime in late October. I sometimes don't manage to spray every 2 weeks due to busy professional life, but I catch up whenever I can.

Black spot does exist in Northern California but depends on where you are. Neem oil is pretty good for prevention unless you need something stronger.

I appreciate the suggestion, Rose. Sounds like regular prevention in the form of biweekly applications is the key.