Roseseek explained at length in a post by Pullarius “I am wanting to make a rose for food and fragrance” (I am wanting to make a rose for food and fragrance) how to make a standard or tree rose. I am wondering whether training roses to a small trunk and raising foliage higher off the ground and further from other plants would help resist blackspot etc diseases. Would it be worth the attempt considering the new risks to the plant eg. wind damage?
The idea of a ball of blooms at chest level, where I can see and work with them, has appeal.
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It probably won’t make a lot of difference. A friend who used to live in San Diego had a Sweet Chariot standard in a pot. In her front patio, it mildewed terribly. She moved it to her hotter, sunnier rear patio and it cleaned up just fine. If you think your black spot infection is due to spored being splashed from the ground to the foliage, perhaps it may have a bit of merit. However, I’ve seen many standards with black spot so it probably won’t make a lot of difference. Yes, blooms at chest level for pollinating would definitely be advantageous.
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