Breaking the Spray Cycle: Choosing Disease-Resistant Roses and Cultural Controls

Choose Resistant Types

Shrub, Hybrid Musk, Floribunda, Polyantha, Tea, China, and some English Roses need little to no spraying. Favorites:

• Knockout, Belinda's Dream, Earth-Kind® roses (Texas A&M list)
• Buff Beauty, Queen Elizabeth, Molineux, Mrs. B.R. Cant, Gene Boerner
• Linda Campbell, Nearly Wild, Golden Showers, Blaze, Don Juan
• Lavender Lassie, Gartendirektor Otto Linne, Mademoiselle Franziska Kruger

Cultural Practices

• Water blast aphids off.
• Marigolds interplanted deter insects.
• Space Hybrid Teas widely in full sun for air circulation.
• Drip irrigation/soaker hoses keep foliage dry.
• Never plant disease-prone roses in shade.
• Shade-tolerant resistant classes: Hybrid Musks (Trier, New Dawn, Dr. W. Van Fleet, Veilchenblau).