Just like other plants, roses are vulnerable to certain diseases too but with proper control, you can reduce the damage and help your roses recover quickly.

The best way to protect your roses from diseases is to maintain good standards of garden hygiene such as clearing up fallen leaves which will rot and bring disease to your roses. You should also burn all your rose prunings and NEVER compost them as they can cause disease to your plants.

Here are some rose diseases that you should be aware of:

Balling is a condition where the petals of your roses turned brown and clung together, causing your flowers not to open. The cause of balling is prolonged wet weather while the buds are developing. The best solution to this rose disease is to remove balled flowers before they rot and allow disease to strike.

Proliferation is a disease where the stem continues to grow through the open flower. You will notice a new bud or a cluster of new buds above the flower. This condition is most likely caused by a virus or frost which damage the stem while it is growing. You can easily control this disease by cutting of the affected stems. If the whole plant is affected, you will have to dig it up burn it.

Black spot are patches that develop on the leaves and stems of your roses. The leaves will turn yellow and drop. The cause of back spot is the intrusion of a bacterium that overwinters in the soil during the growing season. If left untreated, your rose will die back. The best control for this problem is to remove all the infected leaves and stems then burn them. Do NOT use them as compost. After that, spray your roses with Bordeaux mixture.

Powdery mildew is easily identified as the white grey powdering on the leaves and stems of your roses. If left untreated, it can cover the whole plant. Fungi and congested growth are the main cause for this disease. The best way to handle powdery mildew is to spray your roses with fungicide. Also improve the air circulation by replanting your roses so that they have more space around them.

Rusts are the orange spots which can turn black on the undersides of the leaves. They can be fatal if left untreated. Rusts are caused by fungal spores which are more prevalent in humid weather. The best way to combat fungal is to use fungicide and improve the air circulation around the plants.