Black Spot on Roses Near Berries

[Warren]

I have some black spot breaking out on some of my roses. The roses have strawberries growing around them.

What's my best course of action? Radical pruning? Some non-toxic spray? Give up on using the strawberries for food, and use a toxic spray?

There are a variety of rose bushes. Some resistant. Some not. Most have been there for a long time (before I owned the house). In past years there was just a little black spot. Hardly anything at all, and I was able to keep it under control with pruning. I'm not going to say I've got a horrible outbreak this year, but it's more than in years before, and I don't want it to get worse.

I'm outside of Portland, OR, and it's been a warm summer, but it's been cooler and wetter for the last week or so. Summers are usually hot and dry, but that may be a few more weeks off.

I'd like to be able to eat those strawberries that are around the roses, and even if they weren't there, I don't really want to go with some course of action that involves extensive chemical therapy. Nor am I some organic-at-all-costs person either. I'm looking for a reasonable solution, all things considered.

TIA

[John T. Jarrett]

Spray with Neem oil solution every weekend - it is organic and non-toxic to us. The spots you got won't go away, but it will keep more from showing up. Spray top and bottoms of leaves (have to lift the strawberry vines) and the top of the soil.

Did I say spray every week? :>) Works for me in Texas when the weather is so wet the black spot gets out of control....like now!

Supposedly, you can spray every two weeks until threat of infestation or growth is over (when it gets colder?) but I'm too lazy and only start up when it gets bad.

hth, John in Houston

before,

[Pam - gardengal]

Remove the infected leaves and destroy and make sure any fallen leaves have been cleaned up. Then start spraying your roses with aerated compost tea - there should be Soil Soup kitchens in the nurseries in your area or you can get a brewer and start making your own. Spray every 2-3 weeks during the growing season (ideally this should have been started as the roses developed new growth in early spring).

There is a growing body of evidence that aerated compost tea is able to help plants ward off fungal problems. A number of nurseries in my area (Seattle), including both of the ones I have worked at, treat all their roses with compost tea on a regular basis and the results have been pretty impressive - virtually NO blackspot or powdery mildew on any of the roses. The University of Washington groundskeeping staff, the Port of Seattle and the staff that maintains the rose garden at the Seattle Zoological Society all have adopted the use of compost tea on their roses and other plants and the effects have been remarkable.

Compost tea can be used safely with any edible plants, although I would reccomend washing as usual before consumption.

pam - gardengal

[escapee]

Well, you know my brugmansia collection. I have one which I bought from Logee's about 9 years ago. It came with a virus. I suspect some type of mosaic. Not only has it come through, it is magnificent. I slogged along for years. When I started using the aerobic tea, it is now almost 6 feet tall...where it was only three feet for almost 9 years. It also produced seed and is flowering almost continuously now.

For any>Remove the infected leaves and destroy and make sure any fallen leaves have

Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for a friend?

[Warren]

impressive -

:::smacking my head::: Of course!

I went out and got a couple of gallons and a pressure sprayer today. (I didn't have a sprayer because I never sprayed anything before.) I've been meaning to do this for so long, but every time I went to the garden center that has Soil Soup, there either was a line, or no one in sight to serve it, and I ended up talking myself out of it. Either that, or I had so many things on my to-do list, I didn't think I'd be able to make use of it in 24 hours.

I'm looking forward to seeing the results. Thanks!

[Phisherman]

The area around and near the roses should be kept baron to provide as much air circulation as possible. Pruning will help, and removing/relocating the strawberries will help. If possible, increase sunlight available (fungi generally do not like UV rays). Keep water off the leaves. Prevention of black spot is a lot easier than eradication, but there are several commercial spray products available.