Daily gardening tip · Northern hemisphere · Saturday 19 September 2026 · early autumn
Rake Fallen Rose Leaves to Stop Black Spot
Clearing away fallen leaves from beneath your rose bushes now is a quick way to protect your plants from fungal diseases next spring.
5 minuteseasydiseases
Look underneath your rose bushes for any fallen, yellowed, or spotted leaves.
Gently rake or hand-gather all of these fallen leaves from the soil surface.
Put the collected rose leaves into your household trash bin instead of your compost pile.
Wipe down your rake with a disinfectant to avoid spreading any fungal spores to other parts of the garden.
Why it works
Black spot is a common fungal disease that survives the winter by living on fallen foliage. If you leave these leaves on the ground, the spores will sleep in the soil and splash back up onto your roses during spring rains, restarting the infection.
A hardy, drought-resistant perennial with fine, woolly-haired leaves and disc-shaped yellow flower heads. Typical of sandy or rocky soils in the Western plains and mountains.
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