They're probably tobacco budworms, which prefer petunias and geraniums, but do go for roses sometimes too. The little brown moth lays her eggs inside the flower buds, then the worms eat from the inside out. BT would work if they were eating foliage, but since they hatch inside a bud, no chance for them to eat the BT; hence the difficulty in getting rid of them. The most effective method is to pick them off. I quit growing petunias because they were such a rampant PITA.

Deanna

Here is a link that might be useful: Tobacco Budworm

The picture on the link is kinda dark, but that sure looks like it. The roses are opening, but the petals are all chewed up. I'll just keep deadheading and picking the caterpillars off.

Last night it got down in the 40's so I put 5-gallon buckets over the rosebushes. What should I do with them before winter gets here? Cut them back (how much?) and cover them with mulch? Use buckets? Burlap? Dig them up and store them in pots in the basement (which never drops below 40)?

Thanks

Sheila

What zone are you in? If you are reaching forties already (like we have in 5a,)you probably have a freezing winter. You should wait until Spring comes before doing any major pruning back. It is a good thing when rose canes survive winter! :o) In Spring you will want to prune or remove broken, diseased or damaged canes.

For winter protection, the big thing will be protecting the graft union of any grafted roses you have. A nice, big shovelful of mulch over the crown should be suficient if your graft unions are buried.

I have some baby roses that are still very small. The potted ones will go in my unheated garage with bags of leaves for insulation. The outdoor ones will get similiar protection, just because they are so small. The Big Boys will sink or swim on their own merit, in my yard.

...that roses are usually very "frost-hardy," so they tolerate the forties just finer. It is the extended periods of hard freeze they don't take kindly to. Save you protection energy for the truly cold days, and best wishes! :o) If their roots are amply protected, any winter-killed canes should regrow in the Spring.

NW CT is zone 6 (I forget a or b). We get hard freezes - this February lows were in the single digits (even some 0's, maybe even below) for a while. Cherish is grafted, I read on the pot to mulch over the union, but I don't know whether to cut back or cover the canes? The other one is a miniature (Zorana? or something like that - I forget), small enough that I can dig it up and bring it in the house. Would 60's be too much of a shock for it, if I brought it outside in the pot on warm days in the spring, didn't replant it til nights were back in the 40's? Of course, at some point it'll get too big, or I'll get too lazy to keep doing that :-)

Maybe I should start a new thread? Thanks

Sheila