Question
I have been trying to grow roses, although I have some plants that are doing pretty well, I still have certain plantes that have black spot on the bottom leaves mostly, when I see them I remove them. But I live in Niagara Falls and it has been raining a great deal, what can I do naturally to protect my roses?

Answer
The fungal disease called Black Spot, usually attacks roses when the conditions are right for it and lots of rain is perfect conditions, so there isn't much you can do once you see the spots. Some roses are far more prone to BS than others so I would keep an eye out next spring for the ones that have it now. What has proven to be the best for BS is an early spring spray with dormant oil and sulphur used just before the rose leafs out. Then another one in the fall after all the leaves have fallen off. I wish there was some natural organic solution but all have proven to be of no use at all. Some gardeners have said that they see a difference when they sprinkle baking soda round the base of the rose in the spring so you could try that. . Organic gardeners simply have to select roses that have excellent disease resistance. There is a series of roses put out by Kordes in Germany which have very good disease resistance. A nursery in your area called Palatine Roses is the supplier of them.