Part of the care and cultivation of roses is to prevent and treat any diseases that may come up. The types of diseases that may plague a rose are bacterial, viral or fungal. Most are treatable, if they do appear, but preventative measures are the most effective way to keep diseases at bay.
Keep your roses healthy by offering them rich, well-drained soil, proper fertilization, and deep watering! Avoid getting the leaves of rose wet when watering, to prevent fungal growth. You can place a soaker hose at the base of plants to help with that problem; a soaker hose wets the roots, not the leaves. Planting a variety of species in your garden can prevent a disease from wiping out all your roses at once. Sometimes, a particular type of rose is more susceptible to a disease than another. Diversity protects the whole garden. Choose healthy roses to plant in the garden: look for plants without any spots and that show signs of new growth. When planting roses, be sure to observe proper spacing, to prevent wet leaves from sticking, which encourages fungal growth, and to give space for aeration. A strong, healthy rose is better able to fight off any disease that may attack.
Occasionally, despite best efforts, disease may strike a rose. In those cases, swift action is needed. Cut any diseased plant material off immediately and remove it from the garden entirely. Diagnosing the problem can go a long way towards solving the issue as well. Learn to recognize the common types of viral and fungal diseases that can attack roses. For example, black spot, true to its name, leaves black circles with fringed margins on leaves. Powdery mildew, on the other hand, leaves a white, talcum-like film on leaves. Rust is another common fungal ailment that shows up as red spots on the underside of leaves.
There are many products on the market for attacking the diseases that affect roses. Two recommended products are Bayer All-In-One Rose & Flower Care and the environmentally-friendly Green Light Rose Defense, both of which will help take care of many rose diseases. Through proper care, a healthy rose bush can fight off disease without the aid of any products. However, occasionally a disease is stronger than the plant and must be attacked by the gardener. In this case, recognition and swift action will help nip the problem in the bud quickly and without much harm to the plant!
