Sounds like rose midge, a tiny insect that is one of the most serious and intransigent pests. Unfortunately it is widespread in mid-Atlantic zone 6, if that is where you are.

Yes Michael I am zone 6 :( Thanks for the unhappy news. Oh well, they were good while they lasted. I'll cut them back and see what happens next spring. If they don't bloom or only have 1 bloom I'll move on to the next planting. I guess that is what we gardeners do :)

Rose midges can be controlled with annual use of insecticidal soil granules (Merit), if you want to get into that.

I got hit hard by rose midge this year. Don't think cut your rose down in the spring will help as I understand that the "eggs" overwinter in the soil.

Thanks farmerduck I just read about rose midge online and cutting the roses won't help :( , so I might try the insecticide granules since I have so many roses. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

That's nice to know. Where do you purchase "insecticidal soil granules (Merit)"? I have been using "Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer For Soil & Turf - Granules" from Lowe's, it worked in the past, but this year for some reason even I apply it every 3 months since Spring, it couldn't stop midge issue in my rose gardens.

Michael is not saying use just any insecticide. He is saying use a specific one called "Merit" (and not the one called "Bayer . . .").

Try googling Merit to find out where to buy it online.

Good luck.

Kate

One more question; when should I start treating with Merit? Should I start now being it is fall or should I wait till spring (zone 6)?

Probably fall is not the time to apply granules. I am not an expert on this, but I believe the recommendation is to apply granules at bud-break in spring. The midge pupa overwinter in the soil in cocoons. Only a small percentage survive winter and emerge as winged adults, which fly up to lay eggs on the new shoots. These hatch into tiny maggots which do the damage. There are several generations per season, each larger than the previous. After feeding for a couple of weeks, the maggots drop off to pupate in the soil, at which time they are vulnerable to insecticide in the soil. You can also spray the top growth to catch the active larvae. Recommended chemicals are imidacloprid for the soil and cyfluthrin for the spray. These names appear in the fine-print active ingredients, regardless of brand names. "Merit" is a brand name for imidacloprid.

Thanks Michael! You may not be an expert, but you have
given me quite a bit of useful information.

Thanks Kate, I will find a 30lb bag Merit 0.5 Granular online. I can't wait to use it, I will use one bag now and get another bag next Spring. A lot of my roses have never bloomed this year due to rose midge problem. If I use one bag now, those roses still have a chance to bloom before the snow storms. I really want to see them in bloom. This garden forum is truly wonderful.

Merit is a member of the insecticide family that's causing the colony collapse in our bees. If you have to use it, don't spread it when the garden is in full flower and the bees are less prevalent.

Thanks for letting me know, I wish I have a garden full of blooms now. I am having the worst rose midge problem this year. I have about 10% roses in bloom right now out of 500.