Pomona, what an incredibly helpful post! I love your listing of the roses that tend to do well without disease, and I concur – those Hybrid teas are pretty but I think the reason so many are sold is good marketing more than good performance. You look at the old roses and the Austins and such and they do just beautifully without any real pest control needs. I’ve never met anyone who actually enjoys spraying for pests, so why do we torture ourselves?

Here, Black Spot can defoliate a rose if it’s bad enough, but you’re right – it usually isn’t a terrible condition.
.-= Genevieve´s last blog ..How to Treat Rose and Flower Pests Naturally: Organic Control of Black Spot/ Powdery Mildew, Aphids, and Caterpillars =-.

I think one of the most important (and easy) natural rose care tips is: plant roses other than those poor inbred tortured hybrid teas! I love some of the hybrid teas, but it is a fact that they are the most disease-prone high-maintenance roses around. David Austin roses are a wonderful reblooming alternative, as are many other shrub roses, grandifloras, and floribundas. Tea roses (precursors to HTs) do well in hot climates; hybrid musks are great in semi-shade; Buck Roses are good for cold climates. So are a lot of old roses, though many of them bloom just once. But beautifully. And historically.
.-= Pomona Belvedere´s last blog ..Salvia sclarea: Clary Sage =-.

This post is especially timely for me and probably many other eastcoast gardeners. The wet and soggy June (it rained almost every day here that month) means I have an inordinate amount of insects and fungus in my garden. I feel like all I do lately is try to figure out what’s basically cosmetic and what will actually kill my plants and then treat accordingly. I’m especially intrigued by Serenade, I think I’ll have to see if I can find any around here.
.-= Debbie´s last blog ..Happy Bloom Day! =-.