Latest news with #blackspot
The Sun
4 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Gardening pro's 3 key jobs to do this weekend to stop rose black spot – including £3 bloom boost
WE love a rose in the UK - and traditionally our gardens are stuffed full of beautiful blooms that have been bred for thousands of years. But how frustrating is it when you spot the rose leaves going yellow and starting to fall - or the beautiful buds refuse to open and shrivel up instead? 3 3 Black spot is the nemesis of all rose-growers - a fungal disease that first appears as black spots on the roses' leaves. Then the leaf will start to yellow - and fall off - usually spreading further down the plant. And although it doesn't kill the rose - it can weaken it - making it susceptible to other pests and diseases. Spores can overwinter on fallen leaves - and then infects the soil and then the plant next year. Fight against it by making sure that all the fallen leaves are thrown away - not put on the compost. And make sure the rose is pruned to allow enough air to move through the branches. Although proper hard rose pruning is generally done in late winter or early Spring - a light prune now won't be a problem. Also - mulching over winter can help. And make sure you're watering the base rather than from the top of the leaves. Give your rose a dose of proper liquid rose feed - Westland do a decent high performance liquid plant food which helps build resistance to disease. You can get it at Tesco for £8.99. Or Temu is selling Doff Rose and Shrub Feed for £2.89 - which helps maintain healthy roses. Finally - try and choose roses that are resistant to blackspot. Everyone can spot the pot plants - but you have 20-20 vision & high IQ if you can find five red roses in just 19 seconds The general advice with roses is not to plant them in the same soil that a previous rose was in. It can - in extreme cases - cause replant disease - which is where the rose will struggle to grow. You may even find it dies. It's because the roots won't establish properly. But the RHS recommends that you line the planting hole with a cardboard box with a hole in the bottom. By the time the cardboard box has rotted into the soil, the roots will have established. But if you're fed up of black spot, powdery mildew and rose rosette diseases - then have you considered growing a wild rose instead? They might not be quite as extravagant and blingy as the cultivated varieties - but wild roses - known as 'Species Roses' in the catalogues - do a very good job of growing without any human intervention at all. In fact - they're the roses that all our bred roses originated from - and almost thrive on neglect. Charles Shi is in charge of the Wild Rose Garden at Kew - designed originally by Capability Brown in 1900. As part of it's restoration, he and his team travelled as far afield as China and Vietnam to bring back roses that are so new, they haven't been named yet. He told me: 'One of the great things is whilst they flower for a short amount of time - wild roses make up for that by being very resistant to disease. 'Even if they get smothered in aphids they're absolutely fine. 'They're also more hardy. And the early flowers are followed by hips if they're not deadheaded, which feed the birds over Winter. 'It's so important to conserve them - as they could have medicinal compounds that could cure cancer - we're discovering up to 100 compounds every year in our research - which are being used in medical trials. 'They also play a crucial role in ecological conservation by providing food and habitat for pollinators and wildlife.' Some of Charles' favourites include... Rosa Soulieana - which he's nicknamed The Sleeping Beauty Rose - as it's like the one in the book that surrounds the castle. Smells of Cinnamon and up to 4m high. Rosa hirtula - from the Hakone, Japan, at the foothills of Mt Fuji - The only rose with a tree-like habit, with beautiful spiky hips Rosa x odorata 'Mutabilis' A bushy shrub, about 1.8m in height, with purplish young foliage and almost thornless stems Rosa laevigata - has dinner-plate sized flowers.
The Independent
23-05-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Growing roses? Here's how to deal with the most common problem gardeners face
Just as your roses reach their peak, a common fungal foe may be lurking, ready to sabotage their vibrant display. Black spot, easily identified by the dark brown or black blotches that appear on leaves before turning them yellow and causing premature leaf drop, can quickly spread, especially in damp conditions. This infection can significantly weaken the plant, sometimes leading to complete defoliation. The fungus responsible, Diplocarpon rosae, survives the winter on fallen leaves and within the stems and buds of the rose plant itself. Come spring, it releases spores that infect the new growth, perpetuating the cycle. If you notice the telltale signs of black spot, swift action is crucial to protect your roses and ensure a beautiful bloom throughout the season. But there are many things you can do to prevent and treat it, says Neil Miller, head gardener of Hever Castle & Gardens in Kent, which has more than 5,000 roses in bloom in June and July. The Gardens and is staging Hever In Bloom over two weeks in the summer, featuring garden tours, flower arranging workshops and other events. Here are Mr Miller's top tips: Good garden hygiene 'Roses tend to get black spot once the rain comes in the summer – it encourages the spread of this fungal disease. It can spread from year to year. The yellowed leaves fall to the ground and the spores stay in the earth and can transfer to new rose growth the following year. 'Practising good garden hygiene is the best way forward – collecting and incinerating fallen leaves in the summer to prevent the spread, and cutting out any diseased stems. 'Keep clearing any fallen leaves, ensure you cut out any dead wood, keep dead-heading the blooms and mulch every year.' Remove diseased leaves 'You can pick off the spotted leaves (wearing gloves) to remove the source of reinfection. And remember, each fallen leaf must be removed from the ground – ensure you collect every one. It only takes a leaf or two, over winter, to keep the problem going into the following year.' Let air circulate Miller says: 'When you plant your new rose bushes make sure they're planted in an area where air is not restricted – you need a free-flow of air around your bush.' Think organic Miller advises rose growers to try to incorporate organic measures like apple cider vinegar spray, or even a milk spray and lemon juice. 'Fungus tends not to enjoy being sprayed with apple cider vinegar, so that's good option – it's also safe for the all-important bee population.' Feed them 'Another key to promoting healthy roses is to feed them with a granular slow-release food at the start of the season and after the first flush in July. Take your feed and draw a little circle with it around the base of the plant, make sure the feed doesn't scorch the leaves,' he says. Use a mulch If you mulch around your roses it will help stop the spores from splashing up from the ground. Choose disease-resistant varieties 'Rose selection is very important. So when you're leafing through your bare root catalogue this autumn, look out for rose species that are either specifically bred to be disease-resistant like the peach shrub rose 'Dame Judi Dench' (David Austin) or select the older gallica or rugosa varieties which tend not to suffer from black spot,' Miller advises. 'In the Rose Garden itself we have removed plants over the years which have been particularly susceptible to disease and have selected more modern varieties that repeat bloom throughout the summer, rewarding visitors with an incredible display. 'Among our current favourites are 'Absolutely Fabulous' – a wonderful yellow rose that looks healthy year on year, 'Lucky', and 'Audrey Wilcox'. 'We removed 'Rhapsody in Blue' two summers ago and planted the more resistant, and floriferous 'Timeless Purple' in its place. 'Timeless Cream' has also performed very well for us over the past couple of years.' However, the RHS warns that the fungus is genetically very diverse and new strains arise rapidly, which means that the resistance bred into new cultivars usually fails to last because new strains of the fungus arise to overcome it. Hever In Bloom runs from 23 June - 6July.
