Well, you have started a controversial thread. Every time this topic comes up, opinions (and hot tempers) start flying in every direction. First off, most posters on this forum (or so I would guess) do not think the cornmeal treatment for BS is effective at all. Secondly, there seems to be some confusion above whether we are talking about insecticides or fungicides. Insecticides kill bugs; FUNGICIDES DO NOT! Fungicides are for treating DISEASES (NOT INSECTS). A lot of us here rarely or never use insecticides. There are other ways of treating most bug problems (though nobody knows how to treat the Japanese Beetle). Those Bayer products that are advertised as 3-in-1 or 2-in-1 or some such "combo" should be avoided--they have INSECTICIDES in them. If you want an effective FUNGICIDE for disease, (NOT an INSECTICIDE to kill bugs), Bayer puts out a product called Bayer Garden Disease Control of Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs--if you are going to spray, I recommend it. If your only problem is a couple BS leaves on a couple potted plants, I would not spray--just go over and yank off the BS leaves and dispose of them in a trash bag. If you have a widespread and persistent enough problem with BS throughout the garden, then you have basically two choices. (1) Spray using the Bayer fungicide (but NEVER the Bayer "combo" products); OR (2) toss all your bs-susceptible roses and start researching for BS-resistant roses to replace them. If you do spray with a fungicide, read the directions first. They list some precautions and give helpful advice. For instance, spray earlier in the morning on a wind-less day (so that the wind won't blow fungicide in your face.) While it is not listed as dangerous to kids and pets out of the yard, as a precaution you may want to keep them out of the yard until all the fungicide has dried. Again, read the label carefully--they list the kinds of critters that may be affected by Bayer Garden Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, Shrubs. Of course, if you ignore my advice and pick one of Bayer's "combo" products, then all bets are off--because the "combo" products contain insecticide (along with fungicide and/or fertilizer). And if you spray, get an extension "wand" so that your reach extends way beyond your arm--and you can thus stay further back away from the spray. Read the labels for other Do's and Don't's. Spray as little as possible--and only spray the roses that need some help controlling BS. Unforutnately, in some parts of the country, gardeners find themselves in BS-he!! and thus have to spray every 2-3 weeks all season long. Myself, I'd go look for some more disease-resistant roses so that I didn't need to spray that often--but then I've never lived in BS-he!! --so I can't really say what I'd do under those circumstances. And now I'll predict that several posters will arrive on the scene and vigorously denounce me for the "moderate" approach I advocate here. To them, you must rave against fungicides, or you are a hopeless renegade! To each his/her own, I say. : ) Good luck. Kate

No, the whole garden will not have been infected with RRD. Maybe a couple more. GreenCure (potassium bicarbonate) is very effective against powdery mildew, not so much against blackspot. Combining it with oil (horticultural spray oil or neem oil, dose as labelled) makes a more effective spray, but the summer months are often too hot for oil--it will burn the foliage. Between the three evils you mention, eastern US, zones 6 and 7, is a really tough area to grow roses, but lots of us do it and enjoy it. For JBs, as long as they are very bad, I recommend just cutting off all the flower buds that are near opening. You will feel better doing that than watching all the flowers get ravaged. The floral scent attracts extra JBs to the garden. If there are no flowers open, you can spray insecticide in good conscience, if you get tired of collecting beetles by hand. You can also protect a few flower buds by tying sections of panty hose or white plastic over them.

I had a Granada, Neptune & Tropicana, all hybrid teas, in the back row and Chihuly & Scentimental, Floribundas, in the front. Gave them plenty of room in between each other for air circulation, watered in the morning at the base and yes, they were spectacular, especially the lavender Neptune. The Neptune was the first rose I bought here about 5 yrs. ago. When I took it out, it just never looked good this year and the base was very rotted. Maybe it was just too old. The Tropicana I got from a local nursery and it never looked good, so that one went first. I got the others from the rose grower that is always at the U of Tampa plant sale. The Granada is a good bloomer and what a scent, but is also horrible for blackspot. I can't tell you what color the Chihuly is, because it never blooms enough to remember it. The Scentimental is a red w/white through it and I think I'll keep it and just keep it pruned so it's manageable. Sally, you're right, it is an addiction, but I just can't physically do it anymore(bad back and hands). I'm tired of wearing long sleeves in the summer and masks and glasses and going out there to spray, which takes a good 20 mins. if you are going to get all the leaves. Then clean up the ones that have fallen off and pick off the infected ones. I had roses up in PA and they had blackspot, too. They Bayer worked great up there, but I had more luck with Ortho here. I guess you don't mind it as much up north because they only bloom for a few months. My DH wants me to save the Granada because of how huge it is, but it is so unstable at the root that I have to tie it to stakes. I got rid of my sago palm because that thing used to scratch me and I'm really sick of getting nailed by the roses, no matter how careful I am. I'll just enjoy other peoples roses and save myself all the work.

Blackspot is a plant disease caused by wind borne fungus spores in water drops.They land on the top of the leaves and when growing looks like circular black spots with irregular edges. The infected leaves will finally turn yellow and drop off. If the disease is severe all the leaves will drop off and the plant will have to grow a new set. The quality of the blooms will suffer and the plant will be weakened. Blackspot can not be cured but it can be controlled. In climates where there is a lot of rain in the summer or high humidity it becomes more prevalent. Blackspot can be controlled best by spraying with a dormant oil and sulphur spray in the early spring before the bush leafs out. Then again in the early summer using at half the strength. There are also other ways to keep it control. Clean up all dead and fallen leaves, water when the sun will dry the leaves off or use drip or soaker type hoses, remove first six inches of leaves from the ground up so splashed water won't jump the spores on the leaves, plus feed and water plants well as a weak or stressed plant will succumb more quickly . Finally choose varieties that are disease resistant.