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black spot driving me insane

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by MaryReboakly on June 23, 2005 11:37 AM
I tried soap shield from gardensalive. I had to cut 2 bushes completely down since the first application about a month ago. Almost every morning I pick off any infected leaves on the other bushes. So far, only 2 of my 7 bushes haven't been affected. I water only in the morning. I have a very thin layer of hardwood mulch on the bed. Could that be the problem?

I'm reluctantly considering resorting to chemicals. I applied soap shield again the day before yesterday, after picking off all the infected leaves (and that's a lot of picking with all the bushes we have). I noticed more blackspot yesterday and today. I'm at a loss for how I can keep it from recurring constantly. I wouldn't mind some spots on my leaves, but I've seen it spread over an entire bush and we had to cut it to the ground.

Please help! [Eek!]

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by weezie13 on June 23, 2005 11:44 AM
Mary,
Can I ask what kind of growing conditions
are around the plant????
ie; type of soil (*clay or bagged soil, etc.*), type of sun (shade), are you using
fertilizers..??? And what kind of plant is it???

And
quote:
I have a very thin layer of hardwood mulch on the bed. Could that be the problem?

Have you replaced it from year to year?
Left it on from last year, and re~loaded more
on top???
And/or how close is it to the plant?
And what is close to the plant/anything touching it?

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

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http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/
by MaryReboakly on June 23, 2005 12:22 PM
I have pretty good soil, but if I had to put a label on it, I'd say it's more clay than sand surrounding them. I did plant them in miracle grow soil for roses. I used some rose food from wally world once about a month ago. Not sure what the numbers are, but it was specifically for roses. I put a handful down around the base - being careful not to touch the bush, and watered in. That was the only time I fertilized.

This is the first year for the bed. They're all newly planted roses, except for one of the 2 I had to cut to the ground. It's a rambling rose (I think) and is already showing new growth. No blackspot so far on it. I put new hardwood mulch down after planting the others. I have it surrounding the bushes, but not touching it at all. The only thing planted among the roses are mums...but they're not close enough to touch them at all. They don't touch each other, either. Well, the ones with the black spot don't. The 2 that haven't gotten it do [dunno] I do have landscape fabric below the mulch. I'm thinking may be I should pull it all up, including the mulch, and just top dress with compost. (I love my compost! LOL) Think that'd help?

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by papito on June 26, 2005 06:41 AM
Symptoms: Circular black spots with fringed margins appear on leaves. Leaves may turn yellow and drop prematurely. On more resistant varieties, leaves will remain green and hang onto bush.

Problem: BLACKSPOT. A fungus disease, easily spread to nearby bushes by rain or hose. Overwinters in small cane lesions or leaves left on ground.

Solution: Water with wand or soil soaker. If you must wet foliage, do it early in the day, so the bush can dry before night. Spray regularly with Fungicides.

Source: Ortho Books, All About Roses

You might want to pick/rake/remove all the leaves that dropped at/near the base of the bush. The bush needs air to circulate, that means trimming any crossing branches. As to the landscape fabric, I think you can leave it for now; it does help to prevent weeds from coming up.

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Amor est vitae essentia.
Love is the essence of life.
by MaryReboakly on June 26, 2005 07:59 AM
Thanks Papito. I've been thinking I should probably get a soaker hose for the roses. Even though I water in the morning, and water at the base, I know some water has to be getting on the leaves. I've hand-picked every last leaf off the ground ... but will double and triple check to make sure they're all gone now.

Yesterday we hacked them up pretty good. cut off every last leaf with signs of blackspot, and took off all leaves on the lower 6-12" of the canes, and cut out any crossing canes and made sure the middle was open on each of them... Then sprayed again with soap shield. I hope it works! Thanks for the advice - I wasn't looking forward to pulling it back up [Wink]

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by MaryReboakly on June 29, 2005 09:44 AM
Just wanted to follow up on the blackspot problem I was having. After I hacked up the bushes and took off all the lower leaves/crossing canes, I started watering with the 'soaker' setting on my hose (instead of the 'shower' even though I was aiming for the bottom, water inevitably got on the leaves) and so far (knock on wood) so good!

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by obywan59 on June 29, 2005 09:57 AM
Do you fertilize your roses regularly, Mary?

I mix my own rose fertilizer:
2 parts alfalfa meal
2 parts fish meal
2 parts dried blood
1 part bone meal
1 part cottonseed meal
1 part rock phosphate
1 part greensand

Every month during the growing season, water your roses, then apply 1 to 3 cups of this fertilizer to each plant, keeping it off the rose stem. Work the fertilizer into the top inch of the soil with a trowel or cultivator and water the roses again.

If the roses are flourishing, 1 cup is enough, but if the plants are extra large or look like they're struggling, give them 2 or 3 cups.

Since I've been using this fertlizer, I have much healthier foliage and almost no insect damage (except for some worms late last fall) and no black spot.

Note: if you have a lot of cats around, you might want to leave out the fish meal as the cats will then dig all around your rose bush.

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Terry

May the force be with you
by weezie13 on June 29, 2005 08:41 PM
Terry what kind of store do you buy all
of your ingredients??
Just curious??

They don't sell any fish meal here,
or the kelp..
I have a hard time finding the fish emulsion even sometimes...

But that is a [flower] [thumb] [thumb] [flower] [thumb] [thumb] [thumb] [flower] recipe you've got there.

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

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http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/
by obywan59 on June 29, 2005 09:10 PM
I buy my fertilizers from a local organic farm. (Seven Springs Farm) They have a Community Supported Agriculture Garden where people buy shares of the produce which are available weekly throughout the growing season. Working shares are also available for a reduced price.

They have a ton of organic fertilizers, sprays, and some garden supplies.

www.7springsfarm.com

They will ship by Priority Mail or Parcel Post. UPS also, but it's more expensive.

Also, Mellinger's carries a lot of this stuff.
www.Mellinger's.com

It would save a lot of money in shipping though, if you could find a local supplier. When I lived in West Virginia, there was an Amish farmer nearby (near Oakland, MD) who sold organic fertilizers.

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Terry

May the force be with you
by MaryReboakly on June 30, 2005 11:14 AM
Hey Thanks Terry - We have some Amish and Menonites nearby - I'll see if I can't find any locally before giving that a shot. I used the cheapo blue box rose food from wally world [Wink] but only fertilized once, I think beginning of June. Probably time to give em s'more. Thanks for your recipe! I've got it saved [Wink]

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by weezie13 on June 30, 2005 11:39 PM
And remember Mary,
A good rule of thumb for fertilizing in your growing zone is....
May 1st, June 1st, July 1st and August 1st...
Nothing past August...

After that time, you want your plants to start
going nightie~night for those long cold winters!!!

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2

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http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/
by MaryReboakly on July 01, 2005 02:53 AM
Great tip, Weezie! Pay my mortgage, feed the roses LOL! [Wink]

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by obywan59 on July 01, 2005 03:00 AM
That's correct, and for gardeners further south, make that September 1 for the middle zones and October 1 for the warmest zones. However, after all growth has stopped I've read to fertilize with 1/4 cup of greensand per plant (after the first frost, but before the ground freezes). This is the time for your fall application of Holly-Tone also (for your acid loving trees and shrubs)

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Terry

May the force be with you

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