I was wondering if any of our members have Organic Growing Tips for Roses. This year I’m putting in my first small Rose Garden with 4-Minatures Roses, 1 Container Rose, and 1 Climbing Rose . So if you have some good advice. I’m all ears. I know Roses are fussy and need extra care for insects and fungus. But I don’t want to have to use pesticides!!! Thanks ahead of time for your help in this matter.
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I grow roses organically. Last year I used WiltPruf (an organic anti-transpirant) and found it very effective against blackspot. The best method though is to stick with roses that are less disease prone. I usually avoid Hybrid Teas and stick with Old Garden Roses. The main problems with minis is spider mites. They will cause the leaves to drop and sometimes to yellow and are very hard to detect. The best method I have found in dealing with spider mites is a good strong blast of water. It will knock off a lot of leaves, but it will also knock off the spider mites.
Repeated every few days, it will eliminate the problem. Another tip I have read is to plant garlic around roses. The garlic is supposed to build up sulfur in the soil which is a natural fungicide. Aphids are another common problem with roses. I either hose them off or let the lady bugs come and pig out which they eventually do. Hope this helps.
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I am an organic landscaper. Go to www.biconet.com and look at their zerotol. It is a hydrogenated nitrogen that will kill your fungal diseases on contact. No toxicity value. Then spray your roses with compost tea to reintroduce the good bacterias on the leaves.
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Just because it is concentrated doesn’t mean Zerotol is dangerous or TOXIC when used correctly and EVERYTHING has MSDS sheets on it-so please don’t be an alarmist!!! That’s the better p[art of our govt at work. I lecture proffesionally on organic products for the gardens and own an organic landscape company- I go to GREAT lengths to not be alarming and to be very common sense about products that are available now.
You know, Hot Pepper Wax is organic- but I’m pretty sure you’d get sick as all get out if you drank it straight….and you could hurt your eyes by splashing it into them! And yes, if you don’t use rubber gloves and behave carefully when you use Zerotol – you just might get „skin burn”- where the top layer of your skin turns white for a couple of hours (yes, ouch) because of quick die off of the area- then it heals and you’re O.K.- as opposed to TOXIC chemicals that enter the epidermis and travel into your blood system as they were programmed to do as nerve toxin. Zerotol is SAFE, it is effective and it is quick and it doesn’t leave an ugly white film and the plants can be re-innoculated with healthy microorganisms that NATURALLY fight off fungi by spraying with compost tea afterwards.
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