Roses are one of those plants that can make any garden look stunning, but they are also rather vulnerable to fungi. One fungus, Diplocarpon rosae, can cause black spots to form on the leaves of roses, which in turn leads to yellowing and leaf drop. However, there is only one easy solution to this.
Taking to TikTok, Sophie, who posts as @lookinsidemygarden, shared one simple hack to preventing your roses from forming these black spots – underplanting them with salvia. She explained: “When the salvia warms up, they produce sulphur, which is a natural fungicide.”
Explaining how she implemented this in her garden, Sophie continued: “Last year, all of my roses were underplanted with salvia, and I didn’t have any black spots.
“Although many salvias will survive the winter, sometimes they don’t make it, but the good news is it’s really easy to take cuttings from salvia so that you will never be without them.”
These cuttings you can keep in the greenhouse over winter, meaning you’ll always have a free supply of these salvia, which will certainly come in useful when it’s time to plant your roses.
Taking to the comments of the video, one fan asked: “Does it matter which Salvia?” To which Sophie replied: “It’s the greggii or microphylla.”
Another fan shared their appreciation for the hack, commenting: “I may declare my everlasting love for this tip, or just say thank you.” While a third added: “Thank you, great tip.”
A fourth wrote: “I love roses, but whatever I try, two or three always have black spot. Probably have to wait for next year now, but thank you so much, in anticipation.”
