Disease Control for Roses

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 NEWSLETTER

If you are growing any other types of rose than the Knock Out Roses, and a handful of others that have demonstrated almost total resistance to disease, your roses will probably require treatments for fungal and other diseases, particularly Hybrid Tea Roses.

Here's some disease control tips from Gary Mueller - Rose Expert:

I always keep a chart of when I spray my roses with fungicides. You should spray your roses with a fungicide on a schedule of every 10 to 14 days. This is easy to do if you keep a sprayer on hand that is specifically for fungicides.

I alternate using a different fungicide every other week to make it less likely that the my roses will become tolerant to one fungicide.

If any leaves on your roses develop black spot, or start to turn yellow from a disease, pull them off and discard them. Any diseased leaves that have fallen to the ground should also be removed and discarded. The onset of black spot is usually caused by too much water on the leaves, or during extended overcast periods when the dew is not dried off by the sun. I use Manzate to kill black spot spores. If black spot spores are present, you must first eliminate them by picking diseased leaves off.

In regards to mildew, good air circulation is the best preventitive measure. Space you roses in the garden sufficiently in the garden to prevent mildew and other diseases by keeping the plant dry and not allowing disease spores to take hold. Aside from manzate, the other fungicides I use are Compass and Banner-maxx. These are quite expensive chemicals, however the the bottle goes a long way because of the small amount needed to mix solutions. Any broad spectrum fungicide will do.

For those who want to use an environmentally safe fungicide and disease control, there are ornaic and natural products available these days at most retail nurseries.

Whatever fungicidal product(s) you use, remember to switch the type at least every other spraying.

SEE ALSO:

Growing Roses - Featuring Gary Mueller