Lori,

In your area, the main consideration is black spot disease. Tea (not hybrid tea), China, and Noisette roses are relatively resistant and will do well for you. Many of the once-blooming roses are easy and very rewarding-- Gallicas, Albas, and old Ramblers. There are a few modern roses that are resistant (see old threads here about that). To garden without regular spray in the South, you must choose only the most resistant roses. To garden with organic spray, you still have to avoid the more susceptible varieties and spray very faithfully.

The organic sprays that are somewhat effective against black spot (and quite good against powdery mildew) are plain sulfur, antitranspirants such as Wilt Pruf, and Cornell mixture. Micronized sulfur is the most effective, and it is quite safe to handle. It is what I use. My current recipe per gallon: 2 Tb Bonide micronized sulfur, 1 tsp dish soap. Optional 1-2 Tb plain liquid seaweed and 3/4 cup skim milk. See the FAQ for more information on organic sprays. Spraying sulfur every week, you can still lose some foliage, but most roses will grow and bloom well.

Add on to what MichaelG said, good sun light exposure is very important to keep the roses healthy, as well as regular water and light fertilizing. Whenever I have time, I do foliar feeding of liquid kelp/seaweed mixed with regular milk (for mildew control if needed) about every two weeks to boost their disease resistance. Kelp meal, sometimes incorporated in organic fertilizer like Rose-tone, is also good. Other than that, I donÂt spray them with anything else.

Keep in mind that they may not be totally 100% disease free, and it is normal as with all plants, but the highly disease resistant varieties with proper culture would be well foliaged, and not looking like a thorn bush.

In central Texas I've had pretty good luck by alternating sprayings of 50/50 mix of skim milk/water (for powdery mildew) then at two week intervals spray two TBSP baking soda, two drops dish soap to a gallon of water (for black spot). This way the sprayings are not too arduous, one each per month, and the roses really take care of themselves.

Keeping the soil very healthy, adding some vinegar once per season to the soil, a 2" addition of good homemade compost annually in the fall, and random grooming is about all I do. The sprayings can be a little labor intensive, and if I'm really busy at work, sometimes they don't get done. As long as the soil is good, and the earthworms active, the diseases don't become much of a problem.

If I have a basket of leaves that had black spot, I don't add them to my compost bin. I only use good grass clippings and leaves from the fall.

Occasionally I get a bag of alfalfa pellets and throw about 4 cups of them in a 60 gallon trash barrel full of water. Let them steep for about 5 days, then use the 'tea' to water the plants, roses included. The leftover alfalfa goop goes into the compost bins because it often contains viable seed. I just don't like them sprouting in the rose beds.
Cheryl