I don't know the answer about your rose variety, but wonder if you've tried Neem oil for the prevention of and control of the black spot?

Yes, mine does. JC can get severe black spot without spraying with some fungicides. Try Neem oil to see if it works for you.

I live in Southern California and Julia Child has been the healthiest rose I've ever grown, a veritable blooming machine with not the slightest sign of any problem. I'm afraid this may be one of those roses that really excels in hot, dry climates. I'm sorry yours is doing so poorly.

I have 2 Julia Child roses (in full sun) and I have not sprayed them at all since getting them last fall. They are totally clean so far.

sandy

I have Julia Child in partial shade (in a pot) and she has been very healthy for me, flowers constantly - I am very happy with her. This summer has been unusually cool, but mostly sunny, low humidity, and frequent late-afternoon sprinkles. Actually, I like it just fine this way, and it seems JC likes it too!
Judith
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I have an own root JC and she is bs free even though those around her have it. It is definitely hot and humid here.

I live in Nashville and have a first year Julia Child but she's on Fortuania stock. She has been blackspot free for me and a great bloomer but with the big drought this summer, I had a lot less BS to contend with on all my roses. I am planning to cover JC carefully for the winter and see if she comes out healthy and happy in the Spring. I'm wondering if the root stock might have helped with the lack of bs disease.

My Julia Child is a few years old and it has been the healthiest rose in my garden consistently. I live in Northern California near the coast so we get a great deal of fog. But while some of my other roses get BS and mildew, Julia Child is always clean and full of blooms.

Take a good, in depth, look at the soil these plants are growing in. Any plant growing in a good, healthy soil will be much less likely to be bothered by insect pests and plant diseases than would a plant growing in a not so healthy soil. For any organic gardener the soil should be the single most important part of the garden.

You could try Grandma's yellow rose aka Nacogdoches if JC didn't work out for you. Chamblee's sells one (Nacogdoches). It went through several years of testing in Texas to find the best yellow rose without chemical usage for blackspot,pests, etc and it came out as a winner of all the yellow roses tested. It's going to be on Texas Superstar list this spring. So far, I like it a lot.

Hi,

I live in North Texas and I purchased and planted 3 Julia Childs last year in the spring. We had a lot of rain last spring and they looked horrible. They were covered in black spot, lost their leaves, and were covered in bugs. I don't use pesticides and I was really dismayed and thought I would move them to a different location, when this spring--after the first fertilization--they really started blooming, the foliage got full and healthy, and very little black spot. I think it's because the soil was so soggy last spring (we have clay here) and didn't drain well. I amended the soil some, but of course, I can't remove ALL the clay from my beds.

I would try amending the soil. Is it in a location where it drains well? Is it in full sun? If amending the soil, fertilizing and Neem oil don't seem to help, I would probably suggest moving them to a location where there is better drainage and full sun.

Good luck. Hopefully yours will clear up as mine did.