Does black spot prevent rose from flowering?

Hello all

I have a well established climber which normally produces tons of blooms, but this year, I only seem to have a couple of buds, which are not open yet. The rose is covered with the dreaded black spot and I'm wondering if this is preventing it from flowering. I don't know if this makes sense as it has had the black spot for a number of years and it has flowered in the past. Another theory is that I under planted it with a young clematis in mid April and perhaps this is stressing the rose?
Any opinions are most welcome.
Thanks

 

It will be the black spot that's stressing the rose. It's a little early to expect the rose to be in bloom and most plants are a month behind this year anyway. The black spot won't stop the rose from flowering but you will probably find that the flowers look sickly too. Do you spray the rose at all with something like rose clear? It should be done regularly through the growing season.

All the leaves that have black spot should be removed and burnt or binned (not in a composter), also any that are laying on the ground below it. The spores will lay in the ground and re-infect, so it's a wise move to spray the soil as well. The plant will look sad for a while but if you treat it the rose will produce new growth.

 

Thanks Sheal for your information. Is it OK to remove the leaves with the black spot now or should I wait til the end of the season?

 

Remove then now, if you leave them on they will continue to infect any new leaves.