Barbara,

Although I don't have a midge problem so far, I understand the misery of the situation. I also would consider giving it up if I had midge. However, I would try PatriciaE's tactic of winter mulching with newspaper. This entails covering every square inch of ground under the drip lines and a foot beyond, while the plants are fully dormant and all the midges are in the soil. I would try that before shovel-pruning. If the paper was applied after the midge had started the new season, I think they would just pupate in the mulch over the paper.

Did the midge prevent the once-bloomers from blooming? I had thought that wasn't usually the case.

Is GrubEx labelled for rose midge? If not (and if the winter mulch doesn't work), I would try Merit soil granules in early spring. Maybe that would at least allow you to grow once-bloomers successfully.

I suspect that shovel-pruning the worst roses would just cause the midge to move to the other roses. I posted a list of "midge-resistant" cultivars based on a survey at a nursery, and everybody chimed in with "x is not resistant in my garden."

With sympathy, M

They will find a different place.

How often did you spray with the merit/cyfluthrin insecticide? Once a week was needed over 5 weeks for me this year, horrible, I know, but I haven't seen a bloom on Leana all season until the last two weeks. The little **(^*^%%&s even got into my pots. I'm going to apply another treatment on Labor Day.

I feel your pain. It does seem it is one step forward and two back. When I had my terrible infestation of Midge it was in one bed of several that I had and primarily afflicted the Rugosas with sporadic damage on several Moss roses and some Bourbons. I used newspaper and mulch and it worked for me but I put it down far and wide, well past the area infected and did it in the winter when there was no chance of my mulch being infected with pupa. I did not use any chemical insecticides. I have no idea what eats midge but something has to since it is a native evil as far as anyone knows. I dont know when you put down your paper but it has to be when the Midge is dormant and you need to treat the whole bed..or beds. I have no lawn to worry about. I dont know what you do about that. It is generally conceeded that spraying is not effective on midge unless you do it every few days(3 or 4)-they cycle really quickly and of course the level of infestation builds during the summer to its peak in August or there about. Drenching the ground is supposed to be the method of choice or using granular products that drench everytime you water. I was fortunate and the one treatment worked. Since then I have occasionaly seen an isolated match-stick or bent bud that could mean I have a few around but the days of no flowers and mass damage is gone. This year it was the attack of the rose slug-always something.....

patricia

Michael, thank you. I did apply the newspaper while they were dormant. I did not apply it in the long spruce border; I simply ran out of time. The remaining areas with shovel prune candidates had newspaper put over the soil and mulch applied over the newspaper. Are you saying don't mulch over the newspaper? Ugg. That would be ugly.

Grub EX is Merit. Or anyway I used the product that states it is Merit. Maybe it isn't called GrubEx. Thanks for your sympathy. I'm inclined to think a soil treatment does not kill the pupuae (is that right? where the devils pupate?). However, it does seem to help minimize JBs. I don't think these devils eat until they reach tender tasty rose tips. Then they gorge themselves!

Diane, I started spraying every two weeks along with my regular fungicide spray in spring with leaf out. I have noticed an increase in midge damage when the weather gets over 85 degrees, typically in the 90s. Therefore, when that hot spell hit I started spraying weekly. I have even considered every three days but that thought is just horrifying to me.

As to spring bloom on once bloomers, I can only say they bloomed. It seems like there were not as many blooms as in the past, but this could be my imagination. If once bloomers are denied growth over the summer, will they bloom in the spring? I should think that after a few years of this they would not. In any event, I have heard so many say that once you have rose midge you will always have rose midge. I am giving serious consideration, if this statement is true, to give up on roses all together.

Thank you both.

Barbara

I wasn't saying not to mulch over the paper, just that PatriciaE's scheme is to keep them in rather than keep them out of the soil. Maybe it won't work for others.

GrubEx used to be Merit, but Bayer, who has the patent, apparently took it away from Scotts, so GrubEx has been something else for several years. You may have an older package that is Merit.

Thanks, Michael. I bought the granules this year and have a package left. I'll check the ingredients. Maybe I picked up something I thought was Merit.

Patricia, thank you for responding. Your advice about the newspaper gave me hope, and I do think it helped. It simply did not have the total results I wanted. I have grass. Well, really grass and weeds in what resembles the LAWN. That charge is dept. 3B (the DH). He mows and that's about it. And yes, though my beds/borders are good distances apart, it is possible, even likely, that midge flew or were carried by the wind. Still, I have a rose somewhat isolated from the rest with no infestation whatsoever.

And I agree that getting rid of the serious offenders will only steer the midge towards another rose. However, I have a garden with roses, not a garden OF roses. I'm thinking that in those borders that are PRIMARILY roses, replacing a few with shrubs or perenniels that draw beneficial insects might make for a healthier garden.

Please, please do not think I am pointing a judgmental finger at those of you with Rose Gardens. I've seem some of them and they are awesome, a real beauty to behold. Every garden/gardener is different and mine is getting out of hand with maintenance. I still have areas that were not weeded this spring.

It pains me considerably that I cannot give away some of these sp candidates. One of the greatest joys of gardening is sharing. But, I simply would not be willing to risk passing along my plight to some poor unsuspecting soul.

I'm sure this story is not finished. It will take true grit, IMHO to carry out my threat of shovel pruning. Still this is what I'm thinking. Where is the flaw?

Barbara

Barbara, I use granular cyfluthrin. i'm not convinced that Merit is the trick, it is cyfluthrin. And a once a week thorough drench of the soil with the merit/cyfluthrin. Including it in the fungicide spray isn't effective. It doesn't help to spray the plants you have to apply the treatment to the soil.

So discouraging isn't it. I dont think tip damage will bother the once bloomers. I have more of those than anything and I frequently pick off the tips all during the summer to promote bushyness in the new growth if I am not planning a major pruning. Midge is hardest on the repeaters since they continue blooming on the new growth of the year and that is the tender tasty stuff that Midge loves. I was fortunate that my worst damage was in a newer bed with very little underplanting but I did remove perenials from nearby beds, knocked and washed the soil off and potted them up for a season so I could treat those beds too. I bagged and tossed the common stuff. I pruned back the afflicted plants during the season of death and bagged or burned that as well. I was brutal. This was a problem that had built up over 3 years. I had not recognized the signs and let it get out of hand. I have over 500 roses and I do recognize the scope of work involved. I am a beat up middle-aged lady with a bad knee and Asthma but I managed to get it under control. It is not possible to eliminate midge entirely. I suspect like cockroaches it is one of those things that would survive a nuclear strike but it can be controlled. I wonder why it is suddenly such a scourge everywhere. Something is out of wack.

patricia

Diane, actually I tried that last summer. I think it was sold as an ant killer.

Soil drench is something else. Could I use a hose in feeder? I remember doing that with the diazanon back when I had some. I measured the time it took to fill a gallon jug with my hose then walked around with the hose end feeder counting 1-mississippi, 2-mississippi. Course, a watch with a second hand would have been better and more accurate. The things we do for our roses! I did a soil drench the hard way previously by filling gallon jugs and walking from one rose to another. It took me 2 days. I had fewer roses then.

I really would like to see lady bugs and praying mantis again. I haven't even seen a dragon fly this year.

Thanks for your help-all of you. I really like this forum. I couldn't get more sympathy and free advice from my mother (GRHS).

Barbara

Patricia, 500 roses? And I complain about my measly 100. More power to you! You are probably younger than I, though more experienced. I'm a young gardener that's long in the tooth.

If you say once bloomers aren't affected by midge, I'll take your word for it and leave them along. That's a relief!

Reason for the "scourge"? That's a tough one. It would be easy to blame non-organic gardeners; however, as crazy as it seems, it could just as easily be organic rose vendors. Course there are State laws that govern selling plants, but those laws are not all equal. I suspect I imported midge in a potted rose plant from one of those organic rose vendors. It does not help that many, like me, are ignorant of all the many pests that plague roses. Unless the midge is attacked quickly and ruthlessly (as you did), it can easily get out of hand. Arriving in a potted plant seems most likely since they went from the east coast to the west coast in a relatively short period of time.

It is hard to say really. I only know I need to do something drastic that I hope is not equally stupid. Surely there is a beneficial insect that is just chomping at the bit to get hold of one of those tender midge morsels. We will never isolate it; gardening is such a random thing.

Thanks, Patricia, for describing your method. I'll have to take a look at the beds and see what I can do.

Barbara

Robin Rosetta of Oregon State began a study in 2005 that included biocontrol measures directed at the pupae in the soil (nematodes and a fungus), but no results have been published.

Here is a recent study that may be helpful. Merit granules applied in late winter (late Feb. in Portland, Oregon) maintained adequate control throughout the season. Foliar sprays of cyfluthrin every two weeks were less effective. In this climate, midges emerge in April. It was a light year for midge owing to a severe frost in April. They didn't find midge damage until June. See page 63.

Here is a link that might be useful: midge study

I used the merit granules according to the time frame published in the OSU study of the Portland OR rose garden and had fabulous results. I used a granular product by bayer containing imidacloprid (merit) designed for use in lawns. I sprinkled the granules around the rose bushes in late Feb. and didn't do anything else and my midge problem was cured. I have about 60 roses. I am going to do the same next spring. I highly recommend this procedure!
Kathy W.

When the original research was done using DDT to control midge, it was used as a soil drench. Ditto with diazinon. And it should be ditto with Merit - or use granules on the soil. Yes, those little *** do pupate in the ground so that is the place to get them and not once they emerge. And either applying the granules to the rose beds or applying a soil drench ditto should do it - no reason to poison the whole world by spraying.
Since I have mostly once bloomers, midge seems to have given up my garden as a dead end.

Barbara, I have no advice but am very sorry this is causing you such grief. I've seen pics of your roses and gotten glimpses of your garden and hate to think of you giving up on the roses. I hope you find an answer. Annie

Barbara,

I was the King of Midge. But no more. I have been using the Bayer Tree and Turf (I think) which contains both Merit and Cyfluthrin. This is a hose end bottle which has two application settings. Wasn't this a Diane, NJ recommendation? I use the heaviest setting to thoroughly soak the soil in my beds. One bottle is enough for 3 or 4 applications for my 60 roses. It is really easy to use.

Of course, I doubt there are any earthworms or any other signs of life in my soil. But this was a problem which ended all blooming after mid June. I had to choose between worms or blooms...

Harry, it was one of the other CRs in the district that recommended it last year. I'm glad it is working for you. Our next district meeting is at the end of next week, I'll let everyone know if there are any additional reports or other products.

Barbara, yes, I use one of those dial-n-spray hose end units. Easy to use and I just keep that dial-n-spray filled with insecticide for midge.

I don't know what to say except I followed the recommended routine, or thought I had, and it did not work for me. I still have not checked my bag to see what I bought. Dam*! these companies keep changing ingredients on me. I could have sworn the product contained imidacloprid. And yes, I have been using Bayer Tree and something as a spray but not as a soil drench. I will try that. I really just want this pesticide spraying to END.

Old Roser, my worst midge magnet is Leda. I also have it on my Gallicas.

Harry, are you still spraying? Do you see any end in site?

Annie, you are very kind. You might notice most of my photos are from the spring bloom.

Michael, is this study by the same people as you posted last year? I believe the folks last year said to lay down granules in spring and follow through with spraying every two weeks. Now they say the spray is not effective. Interesting.

Thank you all for your advice and support. I really appreciate your help.

Barbara

Barbara, the life cycle of midge is 3 - 7 days. And it looks like if you put down the granules early in the season, that helps a lot. In my observation, midge emerges when the temperatures exceed 80 degrees for more than two days. That can happen as early as April, but I usually don't see active midge until late May.

I haven't sprayed in a couple of weeks, and I only see a little damage in one of the potted plants.

The spray alone was not AS effective as the granules alone. The granules alone provided satisfactory control. The spray alone provided some control compared to the untreated plot, but not real good.

It's just one study, and conditions vary. I think I remember a study where granules alone didn't work well, but it may have been in nursery pots.

Yes, Diane, I agree about temperature and midge. I try to stay ahead of their cycle by making sure I spray before the temps start to rise. So far, I have been unsuccessful. Maybe the soil drench will help.

Michael yes, AS effective is right. I got that. But if granules alone will do the trick, I will do that. I suspect earthworms will return with a top dressing of manure added later on in the season after the midge are gone. (If I ever get rid of them.) However, I think timing is important too. They have to go down before the midge emerge in the spring.

I'm trying to formulate a long term plan that will have an end.

Harry, I'm so glad you conquered your midge problem.

Thanks again folks.
Barbara

If you think about the life cycle you can see why just spraying the foliage would not work. Each parent is on its own schedule so unless you spray almost daily you are going to miss some and there you are. Damage is lightest in the early spring because not many made it through the rigors of winter. As they cycle through the generations the numbers build up until you start seeing alot of damage by mid-summer. Midge will affect the once bloomers but should not affect the bloom to any extent you would notice. If you dont treat the area where you grow them that area will remain as a reservoir of infection-however as I understand, midge is not much of a flier and just sort of drifts about in the wind so if the once bloomers are not down-wind....IPM is the way to go here I think. Combine all avaliable methods. Reduce population by barriers and then reserve your chemicals to clean up the residual and then be vigilant the next few years.

Good blooms
patricia

Cyfluthrin had just some help last year Pat Austin 75 percent repeat paul Bocuse right next to it no repeat Catherine Guillot 4 ft away no repeat Kron Princessin Victoria a heavy repeater 60% repeat with many telltale deformed blooms. I used a granular Triazicide when the ground started warming up this spring and have had 3 flushes on Paul Bocuse since then there is small sign of midges still on Kron Princessin but Catherine Guillot has had 2 flushes no sign of midge. Soild drenches are necessary or a granular I found spraying useless against midge. I also did a drench with merit in Early July.

Good heavens, how did the midge find Joe's roses in Manhattan? They must have come in on an infested plant.

One-way ticket, NJ Transit, North Jersey Coast Line... ;-)

I have followed this thread with interest and remember back to when I had a midge problem 20 years ago or so. Then we used Spectricide granules in the soil and adjacent lawn and diazinon spray on the plants. Yes we hit them at both targets, and was successful (being as frustrated as many of you, I may have used the diazinon drench as well!) Being a CR I requested an update from ARS on Rose Midge last year. The head CR responded then and confirmed this again that with the passing of diazinon in both forms, they have been evaluating various products. The current recommendation is to use the Merit/ Cyfluthrin combination in both the granular form for the soil and the spray form for the plants. Bayer and others have found that the pyrethrin is synergistic with merit and they work significantly better together than separately. The products are http://www.bayeradvanced.com/product/Complete-Insect-Killer-For-Soil-and-Turf/granules.html and Bayer Rose & Flower Insect Killer (The latter is the spray form that has the same 2 chemicals as the turf product). I would use the granular even on the lawn adjacent to all beds as well as in all beds. Why gamble with a little wind drift for the larvae to fall. As far as paper covered with mulch, I can't see how this is any different than any other mulch. The mulch on top of the paper will provide a substrate similar to most any other mulch. I doubt that those little larvae will need to burrow any farther than the paper which may be nice and damp. If you wanted to stop the little critters from pupating, you would have to put a hard barrier of some type (probably plastic film or geotextile sufficiently tight so the larvae would not go through). Then you would probably have a heat - (hot root) problem. Bottom line - be sure and use the 2 chemical (merit/cyfluthrin) products. They should give you your best chance of dealing with the midge. I'm guessing that this advice is about what you got from the NJ CR last year. Note that the granular form is only good for 3 months and maybe shorter with high temp and significant rain. Although I have a bag nearby, I haven't checked to see whether its effectiveness is improved by watering or not. Note with sprays, check the heat sensitivity as most chemicals can burn when temps are above 85 degrees. You will probably have to spray all tip growth to driping stage for best effects. - Good Luck

OK folks, just for the record, I'm not as stupid as I thought. I checked the remaining bag of granules that I used this spring. Michael, it is the Scots product containing imidacloprid. I bought 3 and used 2 in the beds and on the adjacent lawn. That, plus our snow and cold weather on April 15 probably accounted for the lesser number of midge in the spring. However, once the hot weather hit-and let me emphasize that I had sprayed every two weeks with imidacloprid /cyflurthin then every week before temps reached 90 degrees-the midge were out in full force.

I think some of you folks are right about spraying. It has little impact. I have done the soil drenches before and saw little or no improvement, but maybe the infestation was heavier then.

Labrea, in my garden among repeaters, the bourbons are the worst offenders and second place goes to the hybrid perpetuals. Maggie, MAC, Louise Odier all have midge more than most others. Still, I don't think midge are variety specific.

Ogroser, thank you. I do not know why my attempts have been so futile. The only thing I know to do is keep going. I used diazanon (I purchased the last bottle before the ban) as a spray and soil drench and this did not help.

I'll try the imidacloprid /cyflurthin as a soil drench this weekend and see if there is any improvement.

Diane, I don't have the dial a spray hose end feeder but I can purchase one. Is there a particular setting I need to use for the liquid concentrate?

Again I am indebted to you all. Thanks.

Barbara

For Ogroser-you are absolutely correct-mulch on paper does provide a nice cosy bed- but the technique is to put down paper during the dormant season to trap the pupa in the ground-mulch to cover ugly paper. It should cut drastically the number of adults that make it out of the soil in the spring. This is basic Integrated Pest Management(IPM) Understand as much as you can about said pest and use that information against it-like life cycles. That way you use less chemical and to a greater effect. It is more cost effective. For people with lawn and underplantings they cant disturb I dont see what you could do except break out the big guns but you want to use them effectively. My understanding of granulars is that they are rather like time release fertilizer-gradually dissolving-but I could be wrong about that.

patricia

I think it is Bayer Complete Insect Killer For Soil and Turf. It definitely had both chemicals. I do not spray the plants at all, just the soil. I had midge so bad that even the Knock Outs were affected. This worked much better than the same chemicals in granular form.

Barb,
I sprayed once in June, once in July and once in August. One more time in September will finish off the bottle. Without the midge around, the Japanese beetles were able to fully satisfy themselves.

harryshoe - As I mentioned in my earlier post, at the time when I dealt with midge, I remembered using the drench - perhaps as a spray from my tank as I sprayed the plants as well. Good observation! I passed your observation on to the ARS folks. Thanks.

For what it's worth, I put black weedblock type of plastic stuff that lets water through tightly around the base of a young plant that I planted where I thought I previously had midge in another plant. I was concerned about it baking the plant as it was a new planting. But it actually did great, and our temps have been consistently in the mid to high nineties. I think that even if the larvae did hatch by getting through this to the soil, they might be kept from flying up to the tips as I understand this is how they cycle.

It can't be emphasized too clearly that spraying is pretty useless. It can only kill the midge that is currently on the plant, not the ones that keep emerging.
What is needed is to get the pesticide down into the dirt. Granules are OK if sufficient water to dissolve them and wet the soil. And a soil drench means getting the dirt wet, not just dampening the top. If doing this by hand, I would think about 2-3 gallons per plant would be about right. Of course, the hose end sprayer is an easier option but don't just spray the ground lightly because it won't work.

Barbara, I feel your frustration and have no answers, just more questions.

"Down in the dirt"....and how does having a well mulched rose bed fit in?
Does thick mulch mean that more chemicals are needed to soak both the mulch and soil?
If you mulch overwinter, should the mulch be removed and used somewhere else before spring and midge hatch?

Michael asked, "how did the midge find Joe's roses in Manhattan? " Michael, Rose Rosette found the Brooklyn Botanical Garden........They're downwind of our problems.

Ann, I don't have answers either but more questions. Maybe an insect guru can answer. Do midge need dirt-meaning under the mulch -in my case about 2 inches-to pupate. One poster last year suggested that thicker mulch might inhibit them. My beds where I have the most midge damage were treated with granules (imidacloprid), newspapered-this over last years mulch -and re-mulched. I noticed little damage during the spring bloom, but we had snow on April 16th and freezing temps overnight for about 1 week. The major onset of midge was in June and July when the weather got seasonable hot. Now where could the midge have come from? I think Patricia has that answer. I have lawn surrounding my beds/borders. Even though these areas were treated with imidacloprid, it must not have killed all of them. Once their life cycle starts, their population increases quickly. Moving mulch next spring might be a part of the equation along with soil treatment. And, yes, there is always the wind, a constant on my garden.

I feel doomed to forever spray pesticides. Either that or give up on the roses. I don't like either of these alternatives.
Barbara

Putting newspaper over the imidacloprid may have protected this season's babies from the poison-- they may have pupated in the mulch fines over the newpaper. Possibly some escaped the ground into the first growth before the imidacloprid and paper were put down; I don't know what the timing was. Also you could be getting some reinfection from a neighboring yard or woods. The midge can barely fly, and those emerging on a windy day will be blown around.

Imidacloprid is very persistent in the soil. For JB grubs the label says a spring application is effective into the fall. Although Portland didn't have heavy midge pressure that year, the study I linked got good control with only one application of granules before pruning time. I wonder if monthly sprays are needful. Maybe one followup drench after 3-5 months would be enough.

Michael, thank you for responding. Timing was very late this year due to weather and health issues. It snowed on April 16, and all garden work came to a halt for about 1 week. The real work did not start until the end of April. I was still prunning in May after everything had leafed out. Forsythia were late to bloom, but I always lay down grub killer as the forsythia blooms start to fade.
So, you are saying that the midge pupae do not need dirt but can pupate in the "mulch fines". It looks like the newspaper did more harm than good. It would be ineviatable that some midge escaped the poison since there is so much available lawn. It is interesting though that I had fewer JBs this year than last. I guess I did something right, or maybe the late freeze was more responsible for that.

For the record, I did the soil drench this weekend with the recommended Imidacloprid/cyflurthin. Monday there was midge damage but this could have been left over from before the drench. I will wait one week and check again.

I really appreciate all you folks kind and generous support. Thank you all.

Barbara

There would be a lag of a week or two, one generation, because the larvae that damaged shoots over the weekend came from eggs previously laid.

I don't know for sure that the midge can pupate in the mulch, I wass just guessing at why your spring treatment didn't help.

Sure hope you can get some relief.

There aren't many recent refs in the scientific literature to midge, but I did find the following:
From the November 15, 2004 American Nurseryman, a discussion of IPM and midge.
Among the suggestions:
"Remove and inch or two of mulch from the garden in apring. This eliminates many overwintering midge pupae before adult flies emerge.
Cut out winter-damaged rose canes and perform typical spring pruning.because the quantity of product in a soil drench is based on plant size."
Application of a soil drench timing is critical Âas soon as any indication of new growth (which includes bud swell)
Continually watch the rosesÂesp for when a slight wilted tip appears. They got up to thirty (dang, thatÂs a lot) larvae out of a single wilted tip (they took off all wilted tips and checked them under their microscopes). Once the tip is black, itÂs too late. The larvae have dropped already.
In NYC they think they had three cycles of midge a year.

Three cycles sounds about right for this year. Thanks for the info Ann.

Barbara, I neglected to answer an earlier question. I have my dial-n-spray set for 2 Tablespoons/gallon. And yes, you might need two or three applications, as michaelg said, you are between cycles, some are still in the ground, some are just laying eggs, some pupae haven't dropped yet.

Ann, thank you. Yes, I've removed some of those wilted tips. They go directly in my pocket or a plastic bag and get deposited into my house trash can. It's good to know I've killed a few larvae. Still, most of the damage isn't recognized until the tips are black.

I wonder if the mulch could be reused in a border without roses? Or if the compost bin gets hot enough to kill the larvae? Three cycles sounds about right, but I suppose it depends upon the length of the growing season and how long the warm weather persists into fall.

Diane, thank you. I think I had my sprayer set to 3 Tbs/gallon. I'll do another application this weekend. I'm more hopeful now that this problem can be solved.

Thanks to all.
Barbara-going out to check growing tips.

Barbara, what's the latest on your rose midge? Here's hoping it's declining and you'll get a good fall flush.

Annie

Count me in as another rose midge victim. I help a friend take care of a bed of 10 rose bushes. At the beginning of the season, we had tons of flowers and then they all went crispy-fried. Do you think that using the Bayer product would be good now that the weather is turning cold? Or would it be better to start next growing season?

Annie, the last time I checked, it was minimal. Most of the biggest offenders had clean growing tips. BUT, there is still another generation of midge out there. I did a soil soak last weekend and will check again this weekend for damage. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The soil soak has been, so far, much more effective than spraying the bushes.

Streptocarpy-DO NOT WAIT! With such a short life cycle (3-7 days) and as many as 30 larvae per midge, these devils can get to plague proportions very quickly. Where do you live? It is always interesting to track the migration of these devils. How do you think you imported them?

I'll tell you all a story that had me floored. I visited my doctor for routine checkup about 3 weeks ago. The office had a number of potted miniature roses in pots labeled Trader Vics. Right at the reception desk was a yellow one with fried tips and one lonely bloom. My doctor is in Baltimore. Check out those roses carefully before you buy!

Barbara

Sounds like I have some granules to spread.

This is a brand new rose bed that was dug in June of this year. Roses were planted in late June First flush was beautiful. Then I started to have problems mid-late July. I tried spraying orthene and that worked about as well as spraying sugar water. I find that Daybreaker and Queen Elizabeth seem to do better whereas 'Oregold' and 'Secret' are just consumed. All the roses came in at about the same time so I imagine that one of the roses must have brought it in. I'm in Pittsburgh. It seems like a lot of us in Pennsylvania have problems with midge.

Ken

going organic sounds like a really nice idea. I can only dream of a 100% organic rose garden.

Then there's the black spot that we have to deal with here which I've never been able to quite control with sulfur or garlic.

Annie thank you so much for asking. Reporting on progress: Last night, I counted 8 roses with midge infestation. Only 1 had more than one instance of wilted/fried tips and that was Reichtpresident v. Hindenberg. He goes. The vegetation surrounding him is very heavy, so it is possible I was not able to get to the larvae. The remainder had only one fried tip. Previous midge magnets Leda, Jude the Obscure, Heritage and Felicite Parmentier were clean as a whistle on all new growth. Of those with signs of midge, only two were side by side. I'm not sure how to evaluate that. I found no signs of infestation in three beds/borders. Only one rose previously untouched by midge had one fried tip. Things are looking up.

Ron, I am so glad that you have solved your problem without chemicals. I use both organic/inorganic (obviously with the spraying) in my garden. I collect compost tea from by compost tumbler and spray that over my entire garden over the summer. I've managed to use 3 gallons of tea diluted 1-10. I think so much of fungus is region/garden specific. I know those of us on the east coast have a very difficult time going totally organic.

About 4 years ago I was spraying with the baking soda, Cornell formula. By July my roses had no leaves and many had canker infected canes. I saw no powdery mildew. Now I have almost no BS and several have powdery mildew. All have leaves. I spray with BM/MZ. And yes, I am seriously considering minimizing my spray routine by culling out the poor performers. I have purposely purchased disease resistant varieties these last few year. But it is difficult to evaluate those roses when one has rose midge. First things first.

You have all been very kind. I thank you.
Barbara