A Sure Sign Of Fall. Blackspot On Your Roses.

Paul Zimmerman, contributor

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While blackspot in the fall isn't pretty it is inevitiable.  

Photo: Paul Zimmerman Roses

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There are several signs of fall I can depend on year in and year out.  The sky turns bluer, the leaves start to change and the numbers of questions about blackspot begin to rise!

Fall seems to bring on blackspot in most parts of the country.  Makes sense if you think about it.  The nights are cooler.  Dew and damp are the usual morning conditions.  The roses are starting to shut down so they are not putting as much energy into fighting off disease.  I suspect they figure their leaves will just drop off and someone will just pick them up for them.  Kind of like a teenager’s method of changing clothes before a Saturday night date.

So what should you do about this sudden outbreak?  Should you panic?  Bring out the nuclear chemicals you’ve had hidden under the floorboards of the potting shed? Strip the leaves one by one and sanitize your hands between each leaf?

Personally I would advise you do…

Nothing

Seriously – nothing.  Fall and roses go together like well, spring and masses of blooms.  Every year in my garden the roses that get absolutely no disease during the entire year end up with some blackspot in fall.  It happens every year and in all honesty there is little you can do to prevent it.  Even increased spraying may keep it at bay for a little while but not by much.

So if you’ve been trying to fight fall blackspot without success rest assured it’s not you.  It’s Mother Nature and trying to fight her is a battle we will lose every time.

For now just let the leaves get the blackspot.  In a short while they will fall off and then we’ll start talking about some winter chores we can do to clean not only them, but also any lingering blackspot spores.

And enjoy the fall leaf display.

Happy Roseing
Paul

If you have questions or would like to talk about other rose things visit our Roses Are Plants, Too Discussion Forum.

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