You probably have no idea what a quagmire you just entered. This topic can get a lot of heated up "advice."

Here's the simplest advice I can give you--but I assure you someone will come along and be totally outraged at what I'm advising here.

First, buy only the most disease-resistant hybrid teas (HTs) you can find. Check helpmefind.com for some disease-resistant ratings.

Secondly, if blackspot is the major problem you face (and it probably will be unless you live in some place like California), then you may need to spray a fungicide every 2-3 weeks, depending on how much of a blackspot magnet your region is. For one of the best fungicides, I recommend Bayer Garden Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs (and absolutely NOT any of the other Bayer spray or drench products). You also need to buy a small spray container with spray apparatus on it--about $20 at Home Depot or such places. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS CAREFULLY.

If your summers are extra hot--like the world has turned into a giant oven--you may be able to quit spraying during that time--since blackspot doesn't grow well in such weather. So you may only need to spray a few times in the spring and a few times in the fall.

If your roses suffer from rust and other kinds of diseases, the Bayer may handle that also, but I don't know for sure. That is more commonly a problem of California and some other places out west.

Always water well the day before spraying, and spray in the morning on a day when there is little or no wind--unless you enjoy getting a face full of fungicide that could be dangerous to your health.

Wash your hair and shower and wash all your clothes you were wearing after you are done spraying.

Word of warning: most of the older well-known hybrid tea roses that everybody loves and wants are blackspot magnets.

Good luck.

Kate

First off, there is NO right answer here. You have two choices, spray or live with some diseases. The choice is really yours. Do what you feel most comfortable with. I don't care for spraying for a number of reasons but I have done so in extreme cases. It just a matter of how much you need to have spotless plants at all times.

Both answers above are good ones, I actually agree with both. I live in an area where blackspot is terrible. My Julia Child Floribunda gets terrible blackspot here if I don't spray her and she is very disease resistent to many other posters here. Kate gave great spray advice and I just wanted to add one more thing. The biggest advantage to Bayer Disease control is it will stop black spot once it has begun, others will not. I don't follow a spray calendar I spray when I need to, so if I see a plant start getting blackspot I spray it. It won't remove the spots from the leaves that have it now, they will likely turn yellow and drop off, but it will stop it from spreading thats why I watch my roses closely. My method works for me because I really don't want to spray every other week like the product would recommend.

I'm not in your area, but we get the right ingredients for heavy blackspot pressure here as well. I'm just starting my garden here, and this will be the second growing season my roses will experience. If you want absolutely perfect foliage the whole season, then you just may have to spray regularly. Personally, I'm not that finicky, and other plants come into their own when blackspot comes to town, so even if something defoliates it's not tremendously noticeable. Then again, most of my roses are NOT Hybrid Teas, so.....

But before you commit yourself to a regular spraying schedule, first watch your plants as they grow, and keep them growing well. Some will be more noticeably susceptible than others. Don't just assume that everything will require being on chemical life support to survive from day 1 -- sure, you COULD spray everything all season long, but you might be doing more than is necessary. So see how they do unassisted first, then intervene when necessary. Even if you still do have to spray some, at least you won't be wasting money on fungicides when they're not needed.

:-)

~Christopher

For us, the spraying season doesn't start until the weather warms up so that we have wet leaves and temperatures in the 60s. Black Spot isn't a problem in cold weather.

Immunox offers good control over powdery mildew in our yard, but it needs to be sprayed every week for BS control.

It is a good idea to spray fungicide only products and avoid all in one products that have insecticides that will kill off bees and other beneficial insects.