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Rose bush has bitten and discolored leaves, any suggestions? #869992

Asked May 24, 2024, 5:39 PM EDT

My rose bushes have bitten leaves and some have yellow and black spots, any suggestions?

Harford County Maryland

Expert Response

The leaf holes and scraped-looking areas are from a very common rose insect pest called Roseslug Sawfly. Their larvae, which are somewhere in appearance between a small caterpillar and a green slug, chew leaves, though despite causing an eyesore level of damage, don't actually harm the plant very much. Management options are included in the linked page above.

The leaf spotting, of which there appears to be very little fortunately, looks like Cercospora Leaf Spot, one of several fungal diseases roses are vulnerable to. Some rose cultivars have more innate resistance to certain diseases (like Black Spot) than others. Our rose diagnostic web page has more information and management tips, which in that case would entail regular preventative treatments with a fungicide. If you opt to spray, follow all product label directions; you might need to make repeat sprays every 2 weeks or so, depending on the product chosen. You can forego treatment of course if you prefer, but how extensive the infection will get can be highly weather-dependent.

Miri
Thank you so much for your response, I’ll just need
Oil every few weeks to hopefully contain the spread  of the Black spot.
Sent from my iPhone

On May 28, 2024, at 11:58 AM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:


The Question Asker Replied May 28, 2024, 12:46 PM EDT
Horticultural oil is sometimes labeled for fungicide use, but it is much more effective as an insecticide than a fungicide. An actual fungicide product (like one of the types using copper-based ingredients, for example) would be a better choice for treating black spot. That said, your rose does not appear to have black spot, it appears to have Cercospora leaf spot, which is caused by a different fungus. Some fungicides can treat both, but you'd need to look on the product label directions to verify that both diseases (at the very least, "black spot" and "leaf spot," or something like "rose diseases") are listed as those the chemical will suppress.

Miri
Good info again , I will look into those fungicides 
Sent from my iPhone

On May 28, 2024, at 4:49 PM, Ask Extension <<personal data hidden>> wrote:


The Question Asker Replied May 28, 2024, 5:27 PM EDT

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