There is nothing more rewarding to any rose gardener than the blooming of a delicate, vibrant and stunning healthy rose garden. This decorative vegetation, when in full bloom, immediately captures the attention of any bystander. Despite its reputation for requiring lots of time and attention, many gardeners can eliminate a large amount of energy devoted to rose care by simply choosing to plant the right rose.

Disease is the most costly, painstaking and hazardous part of maintenance for roses. This can, however, be bypassed with just a little bit of research before purchasing your rose plant. Like humans, plants have a natural ability to fight and resist the most common of diseases. So, when choosing a rose make sure it is a variety that has a proven track record of resisting the three most common diseases found in roses: black spot, rust and powdery mildew.

Benefits of Disease Resistant Roses

For many gardeners, the constant lookout for diseased canes is not only time consuming, but can become an extremely expensive project. The various chemicals used to combat diseases are expensive and harmful to the environment. Disease resistant roses solve all of the above. Not only do you save money, but a lot of time as well.

Selecting a Disease Resistant Rose

Before purchasing your rose plant make sure you’ve identified which plants, such as AARS award winning roses, have a proven track record of resisting black spot, rust and powdery mildew. Most single row roses are fairly disease resistant. Knock Out, an AARS winning rose, is among the most disease resistant roses on the market today.

To be chosen as an AARS Winner, a rose must thrive for two years of comprehensive testing in 23 gardens nationwide representing all climate zones. AARS Winners are the top performers in 15 categories, including overall beauty, general ease of maintenance, and the ability to resist disease.

How to Manage Insects

There is nothing more burdensome than going through so much hard work, only to discover that irritating bugs have destroyed your roses. To keep those pests at bay, here are a few tips to keep in mind:

The use of summer oil, a type of horticulture oil, can control many potential outbreaks such as aphids, spider mites and thrips. However, since it contains traces of nitrogen and sulfur related compounds, it is not recommended for use in high temperature (exceeding 90 degrees.)

Insecticidal soaps are a type of soap that is formulated to contain high insect-killing properties while being harmless to most plants. They are a very useful combatant in eliminating many bugs which plague roses.

The cheapest and easiest method to manage insect problems is to use a good, strong spray of water to knock off many of the insects dwelling on your plant.

How to Manage Disease

In addition to purchasing the right type of rose, or if you are unsure of the type of rose currently in your garden, these tips should help keep you safe from painstaking diseases;

• Sulfur-based fungicides are the best choice to eliminate fungal diseases. However, like Summer Oil, they are not recommended for use in very hot temperature (exceeding 90 degrees).
• A mixture of baking soda, horticultural oil and water can help control powdery mildew buildup in most rose gardens.
• Antitranspirants form a thin film of wax, plastic or silicones over the leaves and reflect excessive radiation. Doing so ensures the leaves maintaining moisture and combats fungal growth.
• Neem oil, a vegetable oil pressed from the fruits and seeds of neem tree, is perhaps one of the most versatile products to manage and eliminate diseases. Neem oil can reduce and control the spread of mildew, black spots and rust while being completely organic
  
  

Other Ways to Reduce Disease

There are also further steps to take to make your gardening life much easier and rid of disease. Make sure to plant your roses properly: roses should have nutritious soil that’s fertilized and mulched, receives lots of sunshine (essential to having the leaves dried by night-time), good air circulation, and plenty of water. Annual pruning removes any damaged or diseased canes and prevents the onset of infections.