BLACK SPOT AND GREEN FLY ON ROSES

Firstly let me say it is so nice to know that people are taking notice of the warnings now. We have so few bees this year it is tragic.
There are various ways of keeping your roses blackspot free...
Feed the soil they are growing in. Make sure they have composted manure dug in around the base twice a year. First in March and then again before the second flush around June.

Prune roses and make cuts that slope away from the buds - using sharp, CLEAN secateurs. Remove the dead, dying and diseased wood by late spring and burn it or dispose of it. (Do not put in your compost!) keeping the shape open to allow a flow of air.

Treat infections with powdered sulphur, which is deemed organically acceptable and will not harm bees.

I also found this information which might be useful if you intend to purchase any more roses....

[Some cultivars are partially resistant to black spot but in a bad year all varieties may succumb. Generally, many of the older cultivars and more yellow than red or pink cultivars are susceptible to the disease. So checking catalogues and choosing resistant varieties, such as 'Bonita', 'Royal William' or 'New Dawn', and growing a mixed planting should help. Rose varieties less than five years old should be relatively disease resistant.]

For many years I have used ordinary washing up liquid greatly diluted in a spray bottle and gently sprayed the affected areas for greenfly; Black spot ??? not sure if it works for that too;. However this year I am in Portugal and used the same treatment and the roses are now in poor condition; I think the very hot sun has had a reaction to washing up liquid; my advice is to use it sparingly and in the evening when the sun has gone down