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For the first time since I have had rose bushes, I experienced some black spots on my climbing roses bushes.
I learned about treatment of black spots once before when I was in a college horticulture class. I immediately dug through my home library for my old book and started researching through all my old notes. Those that know my blog, know I research and study a topic in depth to make sure I know all the information to share with you. So goes the life of a chemist 🙂
I’ve had some people reach out to me with this same problem so I wanted to share with you today the best tips for combating black spots on roses! I’m happy to say the roses are back to looking healthy and even have more growth. If you don’t have black spots, I would save this for later just in case! Also, check out my rose trimming tutorial for more healthy growth on your bush.
Best Tips for Combating Black Spots on Roses
After much research and experimenting, here are the best tips to get rid of black spots on roses.
Black spots are really not a big deal if you deal with them quickly. Combating black spots on roses will keep your plants healthy and pretty!
1. First, it is important to know what black spots even are.
They are actually a fungal disease typically caused from moist, cooler weather. I’ve never had to deal with this in Texas, but we had so much incredible rain the last few months, my roses were sitting in damp soil for weeks. Dampness is the issue for black spots, so identify why your roses are dealing with black spots. Too much rain? Bad drainage in soil?
2. Remove all the diseased leaves and dispose of away from roses!
Now that you understand what the black spots are, you can start removing the infected leaves. With gardening gloves, I removed every trace of black spotted leaves on my roses. Just leaving the infected leaf on the ground near your plant can cause it to continue spreading. Sadly, one of the bushes looked pretty sparse after that! But catching it early will prevent the fungus from spreading. Remember dispose of the leaves AWAY from the roses.
3. Keep the leaves as dry as possible after that.
One of the things I’ve always done and had reiterated again in this horticulture class was to never water your roses from over head, just the roots. So, especially with this black spotting, make sure the leaves stay dry. Protect them from further rain too!
4. Try some fungicidal spray to prevent further infection.
Sprays WILL NOT treat the current infection 100%, but they make a great preventative! As a chemist, I always use a product that is organic, so it will not be harmful to other plants, wild life, etc. I have tried a few brands, but the one I like this product! It works for other plants to, plus it also works as an insecticide. You can try our homemade fungicide here.
After removing all the infected leaves, I sprayed with the fungicide spray, and I am already getting new growth!
I check them everyday for any signs of black spots, so far so good on mine, but if you do see any more spotting, just remove the leaves quickly. Remember to spray your roses periodically too with the products mentioned above. Prevention is key for combating black spots on roses! And it is so simple too!
Thanks so much for reading my easy garden tips and keep a look out for more soon!
Want to Grow Your Rose Blooms BIG and HEALTHY?
Don’t forget to read our post on growing the biggest and healthiest rose blooms!
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Alexis is an investigative chemist sharing her expertise in cleaning, skincare, gardening, and home hacks. She personally tests out products like the best skincare products or home products then shares not only the science behind how it works, but also her personal results. She is the mom of two living in Texas with her husband. Find her on Instagram for fantastic videos, tips, and behind the scenes.
Hi Alaexis – hope you are enjoying your staycation. Thanks for this great post on clobbering black spot on roses. Good info to know. I spent a bit of time stripping off the diseased leaves this past weekend; the poor bushes look so sparse! I will check into that spray. Woof to Ruger!
Mine looked so bare for awhile too! They are so much healthier, but I keep that spray on them to prevent anymore of that. Hope you have a great week Laurie!
This is a great post, Alexis!
I can’t believe we’re having to deal with “wet” weather in Texas. It’s insane. But hey–it’s been much cooler, so I can’t complain.
I know, it is so strange dealing with it…we are normally in a hard core drought by now!
Thank you so much…I needed help with the roses! Thanks for sharing with the Thursday Blog Hop!
I hope these tips will help you! I’m so glad my Roses are looking beautiful again!
I so love roses of any color they are such a work of art when you look into them. Thanks for showing us how to look after black spot.
Kathleen
Roses really are a work of art…I love having them in my garden just to have something to admire each morning!
Thanks for this recommendation, Alexis; I will look for this spray. My poor roses are falling apart right before my eyes! 🙁 Black spots, holes in the leaves, and as of today, a white mold-looking thing has started growing on them. Granted, we have had TONS of rain in my part of the country, but still… I think it will be easier and just as effective for me to cut the entire bush back than to strip the affected leaves (only a teeny bit of sarcasm here, mostly true!). Hopefully this spray will help! Your roses look great, by the way! 🙂
I hope this spray will help prevent some stuff for you. I think cutting them back will be the best thing since they are so bad at this point…it’s amazing how the rain can be so bad for Roses! Thank you! I hope your poor Roses can come back to life soon 🙂
I love roses-this is a great tip on how to get rid of black spot. Thank for sharing at #HomeMattersParty
Thanks Vickie! I love them too, they are always so pretty 🙂
This is such a simple thing to do, thanks for the tips.
Diana
Thanks Diana! It really is simple & I am so glad it worked 🙂
Great tips, we have had one bush that has had this problem and we too have had a lot of rain this spring and summer
Thank you! We’ve had so much rain, it has been very unusual!
I love roses and have several in my yard. I am now following you.Thanks for the tips.
Thank you Sylvia! Roses are such a beautiful addition to yards! Have a wonderful day!
My parents have rose bushes at their house – I can’t wait to share this with them! Thank you for linking up at Waiting on…Wednesday! I hope you have a wonderful 4th of July!
Holly @ http://www.iwillservewhileiwait.blogspot.com
Thanks Holly! I hope they can use these tips anytime they have this issue! Have a great day!
I have had this problem with black spot on one rose bush. Its a prim Adonna rose my late father gave me this rose bush back in1984. I have always had this problem of black spot on this rose. I have tried many things to get rid of it.. Going to try this tks.
Roses really struggle with black spots, it is very common. I hope these tips can help 🙂
I am so glad I found your blog! Two of my Rose bushes have this awful black spot on them and I looked it up on the internet to find a way to treat it but no where did it tell me to strip off the leaves that have the spots!!! All it did was tell me to use a spray on them. Well, of course they haven’t gotten any better. I am on a mission today to rid them of those awful leaves that are spotted. Thank you for sharing!
I’m also going to check out your post on trimming Roses. For some reason, mine are so stubby this year and when they bloom, the stems are so short I can’t do anything with the Rose. 🙁
Visiting from Roses of Inspiration~
Hi Anne! I am so glad you found this information and I hope it can help you get rid of those black spots! Aren’t they just the worst? I find it interesting that more information isn’t out there about it, but that is why I love sharing this stuff to help others 🙂 Let me know how it works for you and if you have any questions! Have a wonderful day!
I use 2 325mg aspirin crushed up and fill a spray bottle with aspirin and warm water. I spray my rose bushes and this keeps the fungus away.
Our homemade fungicide recipe is linked here which uses aspirin 🙂
Thanks! I have used the expert advice and not so great. I inherited some roses with low blackspot tolerance all year long-zone 8. If the aspirin doesn’t work, goodbye to these roses and hello new variety! Thanks again!
Hi, I’m new to having rose bushes and I would like to know what to do for bugs and black spots on the leaves of my rose bushes that we just planted in the ground from containers. Any advice would be great! Thank you all in advance!!!
This post is what I do for black spots. For insects, I use this DIY insecticide recipe. Here is another post on rose bushes that is helpful.