A natural way to healthier roses




BEST BUDS—Rose-Buddy is a non-toxic, natural  formula that encourages  healthy  plant  growth,  eliminating  the  need  for fertilizer, fungicide and pesticide.

BEST BUDS—Rose-Buddy is a non-toxic, natural formula that encourages healthy plant growth, eliminating the need for fertilizer, fungicide and pesticide.

Jack Becker’s quest to build a bigger, healthier rose bush began in 2001 when he lived in Westlake Village. From there, his idea blossomed.

Working from his home in the Three Springs neighborhood, Becker says he discovered a natural way to treat roses that eliminates the need for fertilizer, fungicide and pesticide and helps the plants grow larger, thicker and with more fragrant flowers.

Becker, who lived in Westlake until 2004 and now resides in Seattle, calls his product Rose-Buddy and says it contains 36 ingredients from herbs organically grown in several countries. When combined with sunlight, the ingredients stimulate photosynthesis when applied to plants, Becker said.

“This is the way plants were intended to grow, through the power of nature,” Becker said. “You don’t need all of this other crazy stuff. (Rose-Buddy is) nontoxic, so it’s safe for pets, children and the environment.”

Becker continues to test the product and has so far learned that it works well on citrus, cactus, aloe vera, apricot and peach trees, and indoor flowering plants such as African violet.

“We haven’t had time to experiment on other plants. We’ll find out over the course of time what else it works on,” Becker said.

In Westlake Village in 2001, Becker’s peach tree had become sickly, covered in peach leaf curl fungus that eventually destroys the tree. Becker cut off a branch and took it to a hardware store, where he was sold a fungicide that contained 100 percent copper.

“I couldn’t believe this guy wanted me to put copper on my peach tree. We eat those peaches,” said Becker, who was working in the designer apparel industry.

After researching other fungicides, Becker learned that most of them contained heavy metals.

“These are toxic. I thought there must be a better way,” he said.

He and a scientist friend began experimenting with various natural medicinal herbs. After several years and various concoctions the peach tree began to thrive. Becker put some of the mixture on his roses, which had black spot.

“It started going away,” Becker said. “We knew we had done something but didn’t know what.”

He continued using the mixture on his roses and noticed the leaves multiplying and the flowers enlarging.

“It boosted the immune system so the roses were strong enough to fight against any invading pest or fungus,” Becker said.

Next, Becker planted a cactus cutting in a clay pot and applied the mixture.

“I never saw cactus grow like this,” Becker said. “It was sprouting buds like crazy.”

Becker met with faculty at the UC Davis horticulture department to discuss the merits of turning the mixture into a commercial product.

“They said what we did was great but that nobody would buy something that complicated and expensive,” Becker said. “Then we showed them pictures of the roses and they were amazed.”

In 2004 Becker moved back to Seattle, where he had grown up, and continued experimenting with his product on roses at a nursery. The plants grew larger and sprouted more fragrant flowers, Becker said.

The combination of herbal ingredients happened by chance.

“We could have been going for 10 to 20 years and never found this combination,” Becker said.

One of the challenges has been price. It’s expensive to import organic herbs, and the manufacturing process is very involved, Becker said. The herbs are distilled using steam and then squeezed drop by drop to create a potent mixture, he added. A gallon of Rose-Buddy sells for about $50. His customers are primarily gardening enthusiasts and rose lovers.

“The peach farmer who wants everything for a nickel because he has to sell to Safeway and make a living is not buying RoseBuddy,” Becker said.

He was recently contacted by the Canadian Rose Growers Association, which plans to test Rose-Buddy in the spring and release results to its members.

“Canada has banned pesticides and fungicides,” Becker said. “In the United States we have lobbyists so we’re safe— we get to keep our chemicals.”

Ingrid Shields heard about Rose-Buddy last spring while searching the Internet for natural products to use on the black spot on her roses. Shields, who lives in Virginia, has 65 rose plants. After using Rose-Buddy, Shields noticed the plants looked healthier.

“I was not spending my summer spraying as I did before with some other products,” Shields said.

Becker recommends using the product every 30 days during the growing season, applying it to the roots as well spraying the leaves and stems to stop black spot, rust or mildew.

“The more sun you have the faster you’ll see results, especially in California where you have a lot of sun,” Becker said. “In two to three weeks you will see a major difference in the leaves, the vitality and vigor of the plant.”

Becker sells his product over the Internet.

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