HELP! MY ROSE BUSH IS SICK!!!

[trevaland2004]

Hi all! I am a newbi here and really really really don't know anything about rose bushes... I have 2 of them and at 1st the both produce lovely flowers and then WHAM! Bad stuff starts happening...

For the 1st bush... It was a VERY large bush when I met my husband... It was HUGE! It hung over our 6' fence in the backyard and looked terrible. So I cut it back. WAY BACK... And now everytime the new growth comes the stems bend in half and looks even worse... Does anyone know how I can fix this problem???

Now for the 2nd bush... Again this bush is so pretty in the spring. And then black spot comes and all the leaves fall off and it looks terrible... I tried some of the chemicals that are recommended for black spot from the local store but that stuff made me physically ill... I can not use it... I threw the whole bottle away... Does anyone have any other suggestions on what I can use on this?

Any information will be greatly appreciated! I want my roses to be beautiful again!
Thank You!
Treva[/b]

[Kisal]

Welcome!

If the rose that you cut back is a climber, then it's natural for the canes to "bend" as they grow. It will need some kind of support to climb on, such as a trellis, fence, or arbor. You may have to tie the young canes to the support until they get established.

Black spot is caused by a fungus. Sometimes roses can be plagued by blackspot because they don't get enough sun early in the day. Whenever the leaves become wet, whether from overhead sprinkling, rain, or even dew, they must have an exposure that allows the leaves to dry quickly. I once had to move all my roses from the west side of my house to the east side in order to rid them of black spot. You must clean up any debris from the ground around the bush -- do all of your roses to prevent the disease from spreading -- and in the fall, prune back the plant to healthy wood. You can find more detailed instructions here:

http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/plantdisease ... 0-617.html

You should always wear protective clothing (long sleeves and long pants) and a mask when spraying chemicals!

HTH!

[trevaland2004]

Thank you so very much for your response! And you are NOT KIDDING about the gloves, long sleeves, long pants, mask, I may also consider goggles and apron etc! YICKES That stuff was NASTY! I will give your advice a try and I hope that you have a lovely day!
Treva