Maybe Aerosmith said it best:

Dream on, dream on
Dream yourself a dream come true
Dream on, dream on
Dream until your dream comes true
Dream on, dream on, dream on...

yah gotta hand it to Stephen Tyler

So you guys are big Steven Tyler fans,huh? Interesting....
-t

I have heard since banana's are full of potassium, if you bury them around your roses, you get better/fuller blooms. That was from one of J&P customer reps.

FJ

There actually is an alarm pheromone of aphids, called beta- farnesene, which was offered in last year's J&P rose catalog. I think people had mixed success with it. I think bananas got into the act because they contain a compound with a similar name, alpha-farnesene. There is no evidence, to my knowledge, that alpha-farnesene repels aphids. If you want to test the repellency of beta-farnesene, ginger root and chamomile are especially rich sources.

Personally, I think aphids are God's gift to the organic gardener because organic controls for aphids, such as a strong stream of water, actually work - but, I'll bet banana peels don't.

Here's one I thought is funny and probably as effective as banana peels and aphids; it's from Growing Roses by Jack Harkness. Maybe I'll try this with jb's but I wish I had a gardener - oh, wait, I am the gardener! :)

(talking about a conversation overheard between a Siamese gentlemen who came to visit him and a friend from Singapore staying to visit also)

Siam: What do you do in Singapore, with those unpleasant insects who come out at night, and walk up your rose stems biting off every leaf they see, so that in the morning you come out into the garden and see nothing but leafless stalks?

Singapore: Oh, that is easy. All you need is a box of dung. You put it in the bed one evening. These creatures have depraved tastes. They will all go into the box of dung instead of attacking your roses.

Siam: Splendid! You have caught them! All you need do is put the box of dung on the fire next day and destroy them utterly!

Singapore: No, no, no, no! You give the box of dung to the gardener and tell him to pick the insects out and destroy them. Then you can use the same box of dung the next evening.

OMG Karl...I swear I just CRACKED UP OUT LOUD...my kids are like...

"what?...What's so funny mom?"

LOVE it.

Ronda

I have heard of it, and I think I'll try it this spring.

Oh, I don't know about aphids, but I usually suggest to folks who are having a hard time with getting their roses to bloom --

By all means get your soil checked.
In the meantime, blend a rotten banana with a ½ c. water in an old blender. Scratch the soil up around the rose and pour the concoction in the scratched area and blend into the soil.

If your rose is in serious need of attention and your blender is an old one that you don't use for food, add a tiny amount of Miracle Grow for Roses with the rotten banana slushy, feed it to the rose, add just a little water and stand back.

It works every time! I've had folks seek me out even years later to tell me how wonderful my rotten banana concoction is.

Actually, it's really a bandage to keep you enjoying your roses until your soil tests come back and you know what is needed to keep your roses happy throughout the season.

I just notice aphids on my potted rose bands this morning. I mixed up a soapy solution in a glass, tore off a piece of paper towel and soaked it, and let it drip on the offenders. They were quickly dispatched. This wouldnt work for big beds, but a spray would. This was easy and got the solution just where it needed to go.
Judith

LOL, Karl! I am still laughing....

terryjean,
I was born in the late 60's, grew up in the 70's and 80's. I am a product of the times.

Am glad I could put a little humor in your day.

I tried putting banana peels around my roses but animals take them (even with chickenwire).

Another thing about aphids, in much of the country they come only two or three times a year and each stay lasts only a couple of weeks or so. Part of this is due to the formation of unpleasant-tasting phenolic compounds, called catechins, in maturing rose buds. When the sepals on a rose bud start to open, the catechin concentration starts to rise and the aphids depart. The gardener is then inclined to think his organic controls - for example, banana peels - have worked.

Here is a link that might be useful: Aphids and catechins

Ok I dont know if its true but this season Im trying it. YOu might want to watch the vid from this link with gardenrx and Loren nancarrow who wont lead you wrong. Anyway if you dont want to watch the whole vid skip thru to the end where the info on the banana resides.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gyn6Y1yCzo

I tried the banana thing all of last season... Still had aphids on that certain rose...

And high phosphorus fertilizer does not promote more blooms...

http://www.rose.org/phosphorus-fallacies-too-much-of-a-good-thing/

Sorry to hear that Im still giving it a try

I seen that video last year so decided to try the banana thing on a few roses to see if it repelled aphids but no go for me...

Almost every idea or product works for some but not others...That's with everything in life if you think about it...

Let us know how it works out for you hummersteve...

The banana peel thing didnt work for me either,, but another one did . Cayenne pepper recipe if you can stand it.

Cayenne Pepper recipe? I guess you sprinkled it all over the aphids?

If you read the old post by mike_rivers above, you'll understand why everything seems to "repel aphids." The reason is that aphids are going to go away in the late spring whatever you do or if you do nothing.

There is a time when Aphids are going to leave but isn't it worth something if you can keep them away even before it reaches that time?

That's from the standpoint of those people that get tons of Aphids... Aphids are not a problem here to even worry about...

I must be the only one who has had success in this blog with banana peels. They absolutely worked for my roses and have for several years. I put them around the bushes in early Spring (old and dry or new and fresh didn't seem to matter as far as the peels) and had so damn few aphids, I couldn't find them. This year I didn't have time to collect the peels, and holy crap! Aphid Woodstock. I can't think it's a coincidence because the difference isn't just a little bit. It's one extreme to the other.

Bannana and orange peels are said to repel aphids but they attract fungus gnats! Fungus gnats that fly are harmless but they lay eggs in the soil of plants and the larve feed on the roots of the plants. Be careful of bad info!

Currently spotted aphids on a Prayer plant. It looked rough from the get go. I kept it quarantined and stared at it to spot any critters. They are tricky little things. I emailed the seller to complain about its appearance... told them I wasn't usually a complainer but had to let them know it was shipped poorly. This is just to hopefully help the next purchaser get a better plant. LONG STORY SHORT...It started to send out new leaves and look better. I moved it over to its new spot on my display with some plants that would look great with it. The leaves opened up and I found aphids!!! hiding in the unrolled new growth. So fighting that now.

Yes! I had a rose bush with tons of aphids regardless of any spray i used. I read about the banana peels and buried a couple around the bush. NO APHIDS!!!

Karl Bapst continues to crack me up, even though he left us quite a while ago. He speaks the truth. Diane

I love it when these old threads get resurrected. This one has two of my all-time favorite posters: Karl Bapst and Mike Rivers (real name Mike Rathke, a chemistry professor in Michigan). Both now passed... they were both so wonderful.

I have a bannana peel laying by danahue that isn't buried. If this works I'd be curious guess I will bury some tomorrow around various roses.. The Rose Clear has come out and the spraying commenced on the little buggers. I tried Neem Oil but it just does nothing but burn the leaves of my Austins. So we are now back to rose clear. I use another brand called growing success that has been bought out by Westland that is mostly organic. Then I spray soapy water if I'm in the mood but being they aren't fungused and blackspotted up yet the rose clear is the better choice. -- Nothing like your expensive roses smelling like lemon dish soap . lol

I laughed so hard at karl’s comment, actually visioning someone beating the poor little guy with a banana peel

I always bury chopped banana peels、crushed egg shell and coffee grounds around rose bushes, not for repelling alphids, but for conditioning the soil

I just squish or squirt off the aphids..if I see some lady bugs or lady bug larvae or some lacewing eggs or tree frogs, etc.. I just leave the aphids.

I’d be afraid the banana peels would attract chimpanzees, which can do far more damage than aphids….especially when they discover you’ve eaten the fruit and only left the peel. They’ll go bananas on your roses!

Thanks for resurrecting this old thread, Diane.