Battle with blackspot on Roses.

 I am fairly new to Rose gardening and have one hybrid tea rose (Chihuly) right
now. I have the plant in a large plastic pot where it has been for 2 years, here
in
the Dallas, TX. area. For two years I have been removing leaves that appear
infected, and spraying the top and bottoms of the leaves with the ortho
commercial fungicide (chlorothanonil). I didnt think it was helping much because
this is a constant battle, having to remove leaves, pick up the dead ones,
spray,
etc... every week... I recently decided to try baking powder (I didnt have
baking soda), vegetable oil, and insecticidal  soap. Mixed the appropriate
levels
of each, and sprayed... Since approximately 1 week, nearly half of the leaves
appeared infected, and most have dropped off. I want to keep the rose, but I
want to try and kill this fungus somehow... ill try anything. I even thought
that I
would wait until fall temps dropped and I would pull the plant out of the
original
container, remove the soil completely (bare root) and cut back the topgrowth.
Bleach the container, discard the soil, and lightly spray the outside surface of
the  
rose plant with a 1/10 mixture of bleach or soak the plant, etc.. for a brief
period of time. What can I do? Anything?





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1) Insecticidal soap will serve no purpose in the spray you made, and might
mess with the pH, which IIRC is the reason baking soda is sometimes
effective.

2) When you say "large plastic pot", how large, in height and width?

3) Spend some big money on a really big box of baking soda. Baking powder is
not a viable alternative.

4) Describe the placement of the pot, relative to sun, wind, other plants.

 Is the baking soda just sprinkled on the leaves, or is it mixed with
something else?

Thanks.

 Mixed with water and sprayed on. It then dries, leaving a bit of a film.

 
JoeSpareBedroom wrote:


I usually mix baking soda 1 tsp to a litre/quart, though I suppose you could
use more
(until your sprayer nozzle blocks up).

I read about using skim milk, possibly in rec. gardens. roses,  and tried it.
Apparently there's a protein in the milk that stops black spot from replicating
or sending out spores. You use skim milk because it has all the protein and
none of the fat of 2% or homo, which can
stink up your plants. It's fairly cost effective, and easy to do.

You mix 3 parts water to 1 part skim milk.

I've tried it on my roses and think it's as least as effective as baking soda,
and maybe even a bit better. It won't get rid of the black spot that's already
there, but if you spray it twice a week, and after every rain, you'll probably
see new healthy leaves growing. I also spray the ground around the plants as
there are spores in the earth as well.

Flora