Monty Don, the presenter of Gardeners' World, has offered his expert guidance on tackling black spot on roses as the UK continues to enjoy sweltering temperatures. The scorching heat will persist today after the hottest day on record for May was recorded on Monday (May 25). These conditions can present a specific challenge for roses in gardens.
Understanding Black Spot
Black spot is a fungal infection that causes dark patches to appear on the leaves and stems of rose plants. It thrives during spells of warm, humid, and damp weather. Affected foliage often yellows and falls off, weakening the plant over time.
Monty Don's Advice
The 70-year-old gardening expert explained that dealing with black spot depends on personal tolerance levels. 'A lot of plants get black spot, but it doesn't affect the flowering and doesn't affect the health of the plant. It's just unsightly, and that, personally, I can tolerate,' he said.
'If it's defoliating completely, if a plant is suffering and looking bad, and other roses near it are not suffering from it, then that's because the plant is particularly prone to it, so just get rid of it.' However, if black spot has affected all your roses, Monty warned, 'you've got a problem.'
The Only Practical Method
Speaking on the BBC Gardeners' World Magazine podcast, Monty suggested: 'The only practical thing you can do is, don't water overhead. You can't stop the rain, but don't wet the leaves; keep the leaves dry. So water at the base, gather up all the affected leaves that drop and burn them, don't put them on the compost.'
He continued with further advice for winter preparation: 'In winter, rake the ground around the plant thoroughly to disturb the spores. Leave it bare over the winter months, then mulch it thickly in early spring. And the cold, if we get a really cold snap, that will affect the spores that will be in the ground. But the truth is, if you live with roses, you live with it to a certain extent.'
This tip comes after a Senior Lifestyle journalist recently tried another of Monty Don's tricks to remove moss from lawns without a rake. Angela Patrone's lawn had been overrun by moss and weeds since winter, so she used Monty's tips on reviving it through scarification and aeration.
