My roses seem sickly how can I cure them?

Question

I am no plant expert but my roses seem diseased. The lower thorns seem completely colorless and dead. The leaves have dark spots on them. Someone told us that it might be a fungus but can anyone give me a second opinion and more importantly how to cure them?

Answer 1

Sounds like "black spot", a fungal disease that is difficult to cure, but not necessarily going to kill your roses. I have a beautiful red rose bush that gets black spot every 2 or 3 years, and the rose bush always survives it, but it is unsightly. Usually on the years that I AVOID black spot, it is when I have kept the rose free of all weeds and keep other plants away from the bush. If you have good air circulation around the rose, keep the bush fertilized and weeded, and water only the ground around the rose, rather than wetting the entire plant, you may have better luck in the future. In my experience, once the black spot sets in, it is hard to stop.

Answer 2

Black spot seems to be the reason your rose plant is not thriving.  Wearing garden gloves cut off as many  leaves and branches as you can.  Then with a spray bottle filled with water and a few drops of mild dish soap spray the rose bush every day.

After you cut off the leaves and b ranches  clean your shears with rubbing alcohol and do not use them on other plants for awhile.  This disease can spread if we are not careful.