I live not far from Roses are Red in the Poconos. I tried all natural methods on my roses last year - neems oil, baking soda and Dawn soap spray biweekly and after rains. The spray made a huge difference in aphids, but I am not sure if it helped blackspot. I also wiped off aphids and Japanese beetles as needed with soapy water, ick. The boys that live nearby had a great time helping me kill the bugs. They thought it was the coolest thing, but I was too nice to be killing bugs -HA.
I still got blackspot, even a bit on Carefree Celebration - a knockoff relative. Austin's Wildeve and Souvenier de la Malmaison had it the worst. They still held most of their leaves, but they looked unsightly. Fire Meilland ground cover rose was closest to the ground, obviously, but had no blackspot at all. That garden patch also got less spraying attention. It frequently was getting dark or I was running out of spray by the time I finished babying the invalids.
The new rose leaves look so beautiful right now that I want them to stay green and shiny. I am going to try systemic fungicides on Eve and Malmaison. I am trying Bayer Advanced All in One Rose and Flower Care. I was mainly looking for imidaclopid in a formula that is poured at the base of the plant, not sprayed. This was the only thing at Lowes that met that criteria. (BTW, it was cheaper at Lowe's than Walmart) I also want to try sulphur, but they didn't have it at Lowes or Walmart, except for a pricey, natural, earthy crunchy dilute preparation which I obviously didn't buy.
I live in a townhome community and have a small cottage garden with as many roses as I can fit, plus. I have been considering moving this year, but haven't found a place enough better to justify the move, especially into another rental. I am too gun shy to buy into this market at this point in time. I dread digging up the garden and replanting but moving the books, fabric and yarn will be even worse!
I haven't been feeling well, so my gardening tasks are behind schedule. I'll get back out there in the afternoon, it is too sunny right now. I have always stayed out of the sun, even with sunblock - which I wear all year long. I just had a thing removed from my back, a basal cell tumor. The doctor got it all, but now I have a divot in my back. There are worse things, I suppose. The bf said , "How did you get skin cancer wearing long sleeves, hats and sunblock?" Who knows, good thing I am not a sun worshiper.
