Combat & prevent rose rust: 6 home remedies

Rose rust is a common and protracted fungal infection. Fighting rust takes patience and the right measures. Natural home remedies are an environmentally friendly weapon in the fight against the disease.

Rose rust damage image

Rose rust is a fungal infection that is mainly caused in Central Europe by two rust fungi from the genus Phragmidium. The disease can be recognized by tiny, circular leaf spots with pustules in which the fungal spores form. The color of the spots depends on the season and the development of the mushrooms.

Spring:

1. Propagation wave

• first: small, shiny, orange-red leaf spots on the upper side of the leaf
  
• shortly afterwards: bright orange spots on the underside of the leaves, cup-shaped fruiting bodies with spring spores

Summer:

2. Propagation wave

• tiny, orange-reddish leaf spots with pustules (spore beds) on the underside of the leaf
  
• Spore store filled with bright yellow summer spores
  
• When viewed from the upper side of the leaf, appear as yellow-orange-brown spots

Late summer / early autumn:

• Formation of black winter spores
  
• appear as dark spots
  
• overwinter on dead leaves and stems

Note: The transition from summer to winter spores is fluid. That is why yellow, orange and black spots appear from late summer.

Remove infected parts of the plant

Before using natural home remedies on the infected roses, cut off the infected parts of the plant. On the one hand, they can no longer be saved; on the other hand, the fungus then quickly spreads from these places over the entire rose bush and the pressure of infestation increases. This can ultimately result in the rose losing and / or shrinking all of its foliage.

Fight rose rust

Natural home remedies can help fight rose rust, but only at an early stage of the infection. In addition, not all agents have to work equally well on all roses. If you do not notice any improvement, you should change the home remedy.

Field horsetail (Equisetum arvense)

For one Horsetail broth Do you need:

• one kilogram of horsetail stalks (alternatively: 150 grams of dried stems)
• 10 liters of cold or lukewarm water
• Sieve or linen cloth for filtering

First, put the chopped stems in a container with water. Let the mixture steep for at least 24, but preferably 48 hours. Then cook the broth for one to two hours. Then strain and cover and let cool.

Fight rose rust:

• Dilute the broth in a ratio of 1: 5 to 1:10 with clear water
• Pour rose with diluted broth and sprinkle
• Apply several times in a row on three consecutive days, at the same time, in the morning when the sun is shining

Garlic (Allium sativum)

For a tea or garlic broth you will need:

• 300 grams of fresh garlic
• 10 liters of water
• Sieve or linen cloth for filtering

Pour boiling water over the finely chopped garlic. Let the tea steep for half an hour. Then filter off the garlic pieces and let it cool.

Fight rose rust:

• Spray the roses with the garlic tea every two weeks

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

For a cold water pull-out you need:

• 200g fresh yarrow flowers (alternatively: 20 grams dried)
• one liter of water

Add the flowers to the water and let the mixture steep for 24 hours. Then knead and strain the flowers. Then squeeze out the remains of the flowers well.

Fight rose rust:

• Spray the rose and the surrounding earth
• three times on three consecutive days

Note: Since yarrow strengthens the rose, the cold water extraction can also be used as an admixture to other spray mixtures.

Worm fern / bracken (Dryopteris / Pteridium)

You can make fern manure from the leaves of worm fern or bracken. For this you need:

• one kilogram of fresh fern leaves (alternatively: 15 grams of dried leaves)
• 10 liters of water
• Wooden barrel (alternatively earthenware or polyethylene)
• wire mesh
• old sack or something like that
• Stone to weigh down

First put fern leaves in the sack, tie it up, put it in the water and weigh it down with the stone. Then cover the barrel with the wire mesh to prevent animals from drowning. If the blistering has stopped, you can use the liquid manure after a week.

Fight rose rust:

• Sprinkle the rose undiluted several times with the fern broth
• preferably on cloudy days or at dusk

Tip: The addition of crushed horse chestnuts or green walnut shells during manufacture increases the effect.

Washing-up liquid and cooking oil mixture

For this mixture you will need:

• 100 milliliters of cooking oil
• two packets of baking powder
• a few drops of detergent
• three liters of warm but not boiling water

Mix the cooking oil with dish soap and the baking soda. Pour the mixture up with water. Then stir the mixture with a wooden spoon and let it cool.

Fight rose rust:

• Spray rose every two to three days
• ideal time: in the evening

Note: Since the dish soap and cooking oil mixture can damage the roots, cover the soil around the rose with foil before spraying.

Valerian (Valerina officinalis)

For this admixture you need:

• 10 drops of valerian (flower extract)
• one liter of water

Mix the valerian drops well with the water and then add the mixture as an additive to the respective spray mixture.

Prevent rose rust

Since rose rust uses the plants as a host plant from spring to autumn, prevention is the best measure against the infection.

Selection and plants

• plant resistant varieties (ADR roses)
• choose a sunny location
• leave enough space between the roses (good air circulation)

care

• Fertilize roses regularly (potassium, little nitrogen)
• water directly at the roots
• Do not wet leaves

Note: If you take these tips to heart, strengthen the roses and allow the leaves to dry off quickly. This removes the moist environment from the rose red in which the mushrooms feel particularly comfortable.

Remove leaves

Remove fallen leaves regularly, especially in autumn. Because the mushrooms resp. their black spores overwinter on fallen leaves. Then dispose of the rose leaves in the household rubbish so that the spores are not spread by the wind. If the rose is infected, the leaves that are still attached to the stems should also be removed in autumn.

Strengthen roses

In addition to the right fertilizer, natural home remedies can also strengthen the roses:

• Water regularly with field horsetail and nettle liquid manure
• Sprinkle roses weekly with field horsetail broth
• Put garlic between the rose bushes (contains "natural fungicides")

frequently asked Questions