That's interesting Sandy.
Of the ones remaining clean for you -- all of them that I grow are also unfailingly clean here. Which means they are resistant to rust and mildew.
Of course, Archduke Charles and Mutabilis are also unfailingly clean here.

Jeri

I guess we've had a lot of rain, wind, and high humidity while I was gone. A few of my other teas are pretty good, such as Red Maman Cochet, and my "La Biche", and Lady Hillingdon doesn't have enough crud to bother me. It's the ones like Verdun, and Mme. Franziska that have me bummed out. I'm going to leave them in (for the time being), simply because I want to see if this is going to be a huge problem all the time, or just a seasonal thing.

I'm hoping I hear some feedback from several people about what roses are doing what for them.

It makes me want to go right back to South Carolina and Tennesee. We were up in the mountains, and I didn't want to come back down.

By the way, we stopped at Roses Unlimited and Ashdown roses, both in South Carolina. It was absolutely delightful. The people in South Carolina are among the most friendly and polite people I have ever encountered.

Sandy

Sandy, you are ALWAYS going to come smack up against roses you want to grow, which sound like they should work
for you, but which turn out to have problems.
The only way you can avoid that is to take out these problem children, and then never plant anything new.

But give them 3 years or so before you make a decision.
Some roses have problems when they're immature, but they outgrow them as they reach maturity.

Jeri

Interesting that Don Juan remained clean. I hope you get some input on what's going on w/ those roses. Brandy

Just a reminder that 15 minutes of spray twice a month per 100 roses (with something that is 1000 to 10,000 times less toxic than the lowest observed affect level in mice and rats) will keep any rose that you like in acceptable health as far as BS and most other diseases at bay. Can you spare a half hour a month for the plants that you love! :) Best -
Not a Sermon, but an observation.

PS - The amounts of chemical in question ultimately bind to plant material and soil particles and degrade. You will not be creating a Love Canal!

Sandy, we've had a lot of wet weather while you were gone and some before you left. Not hard downpours, but drizzles all day and even all evening and all night - ideal conditions for blackspot, I'm told. We wanted rain and got BS with it. What can you do? I've decided to get some of that Bayer Disease Control and spray just a few plants that seem to be bothered. If that doesn't work, they'll take a trip to someone else's yard.
Sherry

ogroser, you are probably right. (I know you've seen all my comments about how I feel about spraying). I have Mrs. BR Cants surrounding my screenhouse, which stay very clean (only a few leaves ever get yuckky), and is an area I will absolutely not spray at all. That's one of the reasons I put her there.

I'm going to try stripping down a couple of the worst bushes first to see if that helps the situation, before considering spray. I really want to do a test and see who can shrug off disease on their own. Mutabilis is shrugging it off, lost some leaves, still looks good anyway, and then grows new ones right away. I just absolutely hate suiting up to spray, I hate handling chemicals, and we are still 90 degrees out.

On the other hand, I have learned to never say "never".

I noticed it is not just blackspot. There is a lot of other crud too. It may not be the fault of the rose, but a couple of cultural issues that are my fault.

I had my rose irrigation on every day while I was gone, and the roses were more than likely getting too much water combined with the rain. I was afraid to leave it off because I had some new plantings that I was concerned about losing if it didn't rain. Most of our irrigation is set up so we can control it by computer when we are away from home, but we didn't get the roses on that system yet. When I am home, I manually control it so as not to overwater.

Another consideration I haven't ruled out is a nearby Crepe Myrtle causing some of the problems, although that would be an issue for only a few of roses. Mme. Franziska Kruger is right by the Crepe Myrtle, which is shading her backside for part of the day now. The Crepe Myrtle has had crud. Mme FK is the worst one. Some of the other offenders are a few Austins, but I already know most of those can, or are, becoming problem children. I still feel the Crepe Myrtle has to go, at least if I want the roses in that area, (which I do).

Sherry, you were right. I came home with a LOT of roses. I think around 20.

Sandy

Sandy - I'm not saying that all of my roses are in great shape - just that I know what I need to do to keep them at a high level of foliage, if I I get out there and give them a little protection. We have had a terrible drought here this summer, but it hasn't stopped the BS or the RRD. While I have sprayed sporadically, and helped the HTs, Austins, and a few others, others have been on their own. The teas and chinas have done very well without spray and are giving a great fall display, while a few other forgotten plants have defoliated (I have given much of my attention to my dahlias for the last couple of months). However most of my roses seem to be in sufficient health to come back next year and give their main show in May and June - eg. most of the HPs are 10'tall and begging to be pegged for next season. My largest rose question now is what to do with all of the beautiful hips that have become apparent - do I play the seedling game like I did with dahlias? There are hips on every class from Austins to Gipsy Boy. Oh well - sigh. - Best

Sandy if it makes you feel any better I spray regularly and roses that normally stay clean as a whistle on that routine are blackspotting. The constant rain and humidity for the past week is doing a number on the garden.

Roses are growing like weeds. WEEDS are growing like weeds, and lots of spots here and there. But the Tea roses are growing CRAZY.

Elaine

Thanks everyone. I don't feel quite so bad now, but it sure is discouraging. It's been so hot that I haven't done much grooming either, which I'm sure would help things a lot.

Even if I wanted to spray (I'm ready to cave in) the weather hasn't cooperated at all. It rains and drizzles just enough to keep everything wet. Even so, the rain gauge hasn't registered anything impressive.

I'm really tired of Florida right now.

Louis Philippe, Napoleon, and my Mrs. BR Cants are delightful though, so trying to look on the bright side.

Sandy

Well, Sandy, hang in there. The best time of year here is right around the corner! I th fall and winter months down here. The roses come back with a vengeance, and divas like Francis Durbreuil enjoy the cooler weather.

There's a ton of new growth to look forward to.

Elaine

I did it. I bought a bottle of Bayer Disease Control. My problems are over, right? lol. Just letting you know I'm off the wagon, so you can watch me to make sure I don't go off the deep end.
Sherry

I think I'm right behind you Sherry. I'm sure trying to hang in there Elaine. This is the first summer in 10 years of being down here that I have felt depressed like this. I might need to become a "snowbird" sometime in the future. More reason to have a no-spray garden.

Sandy