hill.barbara•18h agoProlific Poster

My neighbor's wildflowers beat my fancy hybrid roses this spring...

I spent $60 on two 'disease-resistant' rose bushes from a big box store last April, watered them every other day, and used the special fertilizer... they barely made it to June before the black spot got them. Meanwhile my neighbor just tossed a $5 bag of native wildflower seeds onto a patch of dirt behind her garage and ignored them completely. Her flowers are already covered in bees and butterflies while my roses look like they're holding on for dear life. It's got me wondering if I should just give up on the whole manicured garden idea and go with something that actually wants to grow here. Has anyone else switched from high-maintenance plants to native stuff and regretted it?

2 comments

2 Comments

hannah24017h ago

Did the black spot hit before or after you stopped spraying fungicide?

ninah1014h ago

I mean, is black spot really that big of a deal? I've had it pop up on my roses before and my plants just kept doing fine without any spraying. @hannah240 might be overthinking this whole thing, cause a little fungus never killed a garden. Maybe it's just me but I see people worrying about it every year and their gardens still look good. Unless you're trying to win some fancy show, it's probably not worth the stress. My neighbors have had it for years and their flowers come back every spring like clockwork.