Question
Hello again! I have yet another problem. Roses are so finicky. I think, but am not sure, that 3 out of 4 of my mini rose bushes have rose rust. I've only had roses since April of this year, so I've never seen a rose with rust in person, but I've seen pictures online. But the reason I think it may not be rose rust, is that all the websites I found said that rust appears in the spring, and I've noticed it within the last week. Is there some kind of rose problem that looks like rust but isn't? If it is rust, how do I get rid of it?

Thanks again!

Answer
Many times in rose books or online, the advice is which is the norm. However rust is caused by dampness and lots of rainy weather and this type of weather usually happens in the spring. But nowadays with our new North American weird weather, that is not always the case. It is July and in the PNW we are just starting to get warn sunshine, so my garden is filled with Black Spot. There is no other rose disease that looks like rust and because the rust is so unusual even in it's colour, that makes it very easy to diagnose. Rust is just a fungus and if conditions are right no matter what the time is, roses will get it. Some roses are more prone to it but once a plant is infected then the others will also get it. To solve your problem any rose spray for Black Spot will do the job. Garden sulfur is another organic solution. When you spray make sure you also spray all around the base of the plant as there will be spores lying there also. Hope this helps.