black spot

by renee
(springboro, oh)

My rose bush has black spot, all over! If i try to remove only the affected leaves, I'd be removing them all! Should i cut the bush down to the ground now, or wait till the end of the summer?

Doug says let it grow as best it can for the rest of the summer. I can't tell you whether you should cut it back to the ground in the late fall (after all leaves have fallen off) or leaving 12-inch canes for overwintering because I don't know what kind of rose you have. Or, how you've planted it. But don't prune it back until the leaves fall off or hard frost has knocked everything else back.