lol Carol I love the: "born pregnant". It made me really giggle at the same time it made me feel a little sick.

Al and I just purchased a bunch of green lacewings and ladybugs through Amazon. I wasn't sure where else to try? They were pretty inexpensive compared to the cost of many poisons and I figured they reproduce. ;-)

Severe- My problem bug is currently spider mites. They make me want to cry and scream. Thankfully or not they are sort of staying away from most of the roses. However the are running a bit wild on our crepe myrtle and other larger trees/shrubs. I think this is because the sprinklers hit the smaller plants more thoroughly each morning. The aphids I have been mostly thumping off and squishing while we wait for the "hired guns". ;-)

Carol, you nailed it with the born pregnant! I have some, but they are only on Spice. (So far). They were terrible last fall. I was surprised. I guess I thought they were more early spring.

Aphids. Strong squirt with water or squish or wait for the ladybugs to come in or just wait, they'll leave soon.

Exhale.

Thank you, all! Yeysy! :)

I DID release a few lady-bugs around the roses - I got them for free at Pikes.

Off-topic:

I managed to kill 4-5 of them as I also released a few in a small pot where I have a plant with a HUGE sentimental value for me.

This plant had been invaded by some small black things glued on the leaves...I sprayed with vinegar...and this attracted tons of fungus gnats.

I did not know what they were and I eventually cut the plant back completely and sprayed the top soil with Worry Free pesticide.

I just didn't want to risk having any creatures on it.

I repotted it and rinsed the remaining top soil really well...and then I relased the ladybugs in there.

I found all of them dead the next day.

It must have been the pesticide because I saw other ladybugs I released in other placed (including around my roses) who were moving around just fine.

So yeah...it looks like these pesticides can work a number on many insects even when you think it's all gone.

Surprise, surprise though - it still didn't kill all fungus gnats! Those are nasty.

Now I am waiting for the plant to grow back up as there are only a few small stumps left of it, sticking out of the ground. :-(((

I will try to put gravel on top of the soil to suffocated any remainig eggs.

It's amazing how that pesticide killed my ladybugs but not ALL fungus gnats.

Urrgh.

I will be using this in my IPM 101 course, severe novice, with your consent.

Wow...killed the lady bugs...left some of the gnats. Good going on buying lacewings/ladybugs!!! That was a great idea!

Guess I should have said "hatched pregnant" LOL

Carol

You can dissolve the mosquito dunks in water to take care of your fungus gnats - totally organic , won’t hurt any beneficials.

Thank you all for the reassurance about aphids.

Unfortunately, I can't quite exhale yet because yesterday I noticed one more trouble: yellow marbled leaves at the base of Good as Gold.

It did not come like this from the nursery, it was perfectly fine almost a month ago when I planted it; but it just developed these leaves at the base over the past few days.

Is this a virus? D I do anything about it?

Are you overwatering your roses? I don't think it's a virus.

Carol

Right hand specimen looks like the start of blackspot. Hard to diagnose the left hand specimen. I use ladybugs, & apply them directly using a twig to the aphid congregations.

Carol,

I planted this rose about a month ago and I don't think I am over-watering.

I aim at "once a week" and check the top 2 inches of soil with my finger.

HOWEVER: now that you made me think of it.... we did have a lot of rain during the first few weeks after I planted.

One week-end I watered without knowing that there was going to be a lot of rain during the next few days...and then I kind of got worried that the rose might have taken too much water.

After that, I held off the watering but today, after about a week of sunshine, the rose sounded like it wanted some water again.

It was acting a bit droopy in the sun today.

I checked the soil and it felt somewhere between vaguely damp and just cool; almost dry, but not scorched.

Is it time to water again?

Maybe it was the recent extra rain that caused those yellow leaves at the bottom.

Further up, it looks fine.

As for black spot - I hope not because I even sprayed preventatively with fungicide.

Otherwise, Good as Gold is pushing quite a few new blooms and growing fast.

Dick Clark next to it has finer leaves, but it grows slower and now that it's done blooming with the buds it came with - there's no new bud in sight. Maybe it's putting all energy into growing nice foliage.

I am curious to see who will be the winner between these two in the long run.

My third rose is a Cl Pinkie planted in a different part of the garden and I hope the sun is getting there (dappled in the morning, and 2-3 hours of direct full-sun mid-day) will be sufficient over the long term. Sometimes I fear it won't, granted how greedy for sun roses sound, based on what I have read.

Sun2shinie(Z7 Central AR)

Spider mites are easy to get rid of ... just wash the plant with a strong stream of water three days in a row to break the breeding cycle. After that, you only have to wash the plant once a week. Btw ... the once a week is a "rule of thumb". Plants and bugs can't tell time, so when you seed spider mite damage again, wash the plant ... lol

There should be different ways to get rid of insects on the roses. spray away them with water, or plant Marigold (tagetes) close to it, or spray a mix of soap/water.

Severe, I saw a great post about wilting growth. (it was the ah ha moment I needed!) I think it was Vap who stated that some times they will wilt when there is more growth on top than the roots can support. I found that to be the case with a few of my younger plants. I planted them and they shot up! New growth everywhere, but they would always wilt, even after a rain...I ended up cutting them back a good bit and not letting them bloom until they were more established. Problem solved. I don't know if that is your issue, but just what I needed!

Thank you, Sveltana ... Marigolds draw spider mites. The mites can infest and kill a rose in less than a week. We'll see if my experiment works. I have to find a way to break the breeding cycle.

gaglzone ... you are right on about the root mass not being large enough to support the top growth for a young plant. No need to cut anything off if your night temps cool off. The plant will have time to catch up ...

The reason the plants are wilting is that the transpiration rate ... the amount of moisture that is lost through the leaves ... is higher than the amount of moisture that the plant can move up to the top growth. As the plant matures, the root mass is larger and more effective. Also the plant is more efficient.

Cutting the top growth signals the plant that it doesn't need the larger root mass. Having the distressed plant material at the top simulates the plant to grow more roots. The rose will abandon any growth it cannot support. Then you cut it off ... smile.