How often can you spray roses for rust?

Garden Experts

Hello Mr. Kötter, I am interested in knowing how often you can spray roses for rust. In the spring, I did this every three weeks and there was no appearance of rust. Then, the cherry harvest started and between going to work and harvesting cherries (we have two cherry trees that this year, once again, had a record harvest), I didn’t have time to spray the roses. Now, we have the problem: the rust has conquered the roses and the buds and blooms partially stand alone with almost no leaves because we remove and pick these up after we were not in the garden for several days. There are older roses mixed in and we don’t know their variety as we inherited them over from the previous owner. A part of the roses are beautiful with large blooms and a wonderful fragrance. Another small bloom variety has a glorious display of colours from beautiful dark pink to yellow – if only all the roses were like this! I have considered many times parting with the “rusty” ones but then they once again have beautiful buds and blooms and I just can’t bring myself to pull them up and throw them away. We have garden soil that goes to clay at various depths. The roses are given rose fertiliser in spring and once again in June/July. In the autumn, we use brushwood to cover them up and in the spring, rose soil is spread out when we fertilise for the first time. Maybe you can give us some remote advice.

The GARDENA gardening expert

Basically, you are taking good care of your roses, G. Family. But as far as the approach against rose rust, sooty mould and mildew, there are only these three possibilities:
From the start, only plant healthy varieties if possible, namely at a location ideal for roses. Where that won’t work or is not desired as is your case – and for good reason - then the optimal airing for the plants must be made through appropriate design of the rose surroundings. This allows them to be able to dry quickly after a rainfall and lowers the infestation rate. Also pay attention that all “mildew catchers” (such as old Phlox varieties, etc.) are not located near the roses. This is not all-prevailing because even dew can be enough for the fungus to spread to all rose leaves.
Here, the only help is regular use of fungicide against these three rose diseases. Pay particular care to the changing of active ingredients so the fungus does not form resistant strains. The active ingredient is listed on the packaging of the fungicide. Therefore, not only change the compound but change the active ingredient as well!