|
| I'm not much one to plant flowers around our roses but that's changing. Something interesting happened this year. First off every year since 2008 we have had moderate to severe rose slug damage here. Our rose slugs are here from May until November... Anyhow this year I decided to plant Marigolds around all our roses mostly because I like there color and they bloom non stop all season... Well I'm happy to report here in August that all our roses that have Marigolds planted around them have VERY LITTLE to NO Rose Slug damage at all... BUT wait! I have one Rose Bush planted in a container that DID NOT have any Marigolds planted near it. AND GUESS WHAT? Rose slugs have had a field day with it all season even though I've been picking them off time to time. And I had to pick more Rose Slugs off that rose today... pics below: Yes I know Marigolds can be a pain in the a**! We planted the exact same kind of Marigolds up at the Grave-site of my grandparents and something kept eating the leaves off the Marigiolds... But they have recovered and are blooming away now... And I know Marigolds can draw other unwanted insect pests to them... But we are not having those problems here so far just good things happening....
Rose we have in a container being eaten by rose slugs...
|
This post was edited by jim1961 on Fri, Aug 8, 14 at 14:01
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by jacqueline3 9CA (My Page) on Fri, Aug 8, 14 at 13:13
| Marigolds are famous for repelling bad nematodes in the soil, so I am not surprised that they also repel above ground pests. Thanks for the tip! Jackie |
|
| I've read for years to plant marigolds around your tomatoes to keep the tomato worms away. A worms a worm so I guess that's why it seems to work for roses too! |
|
| I just wish Marigolds came in blue flowers too....lol That would be awesome! |
|
- Posted by jasminerose4u 8b (My Page) on Sat, Aug 9, 14 at 1:41
| Thanks for this, Jim. Heirloom Roses mentions companions for pest control on their page for companion plants with roses. It wouldn't hurt to grow a few of these. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Heirloom Roses-Companions for Pest Control
|
- Posted by Kippy-the-Hippy 10 Sunset 24 (My Page) on Sat, Aug 9, 14 at 12:46
| In different conditions, but it seems like when I add a new rose to a new location (one that did not have roses before) I seem to have a horrible outbreak of rose slugs. But soon the predators seem to discover they have a new place to feast and the slugs seem to reduce or all but vanish. Hard to be patient, but no spraying for slugs for me, on the other hand marigolds would be fun to plant too |
|
| Rose slugs have started getting on roses that are surrounded by Marigolds now. So the Marigolds are NOT fully repelling the rose slugs. Much less damage this year though... I will try planting Marigolds next year again to see what happens. |
This post was edited by jim1961 on Thu, Sep 4, 14 at 12:58
|
| Thanks for the update -- I enjoy your experiments & the accompanying photos tremendously. My rose slugs only visit for about a month in early spring but they do a terrific amount of damage in that short time. |
|
- Posted by kentucky_rose Z6 KY (My Page) on Thu, Sep 4, 14 at 10:34
| Jim, thanks for sharing your experiment.....marigolds will be added to my spring list. |
|
- Posted by mad_gallica Z5 Eastern NY (My Page) on Thu, Sep 4, 14 at 12:59
| How is your wasp supply? It's rather interesting to watch them hunt. They fly over a leaf, drop down to fly under the same leaf, then move over to the next leaf and repeat the process. Someday I may be there when they find something, but so far I've just seen them hunting. They may like the marigolds, and stick around for lunch. |
|
| mad_gallica, This time of the year the wasps and yellow jackets are more plentiful than our previous months... Actually I was very lucky to capture this picture a couple years ago mad_gallica...
|
|
| I had bad rose slug damage for a few years, but then the Preying Mantis moved in. Damage has been reduced, oh, about 99%. I can probably find a leaf somewhere out there with a few holes in it, but it is going to be a search. |
|
| I have not seen a praying mantis in many years hoovb. We once had them and they were plentiful at one time here... |
|
- Posted by anteakfreak none (My Page) on Fri, Sep 26, 14 at 11:47
| I mixed a few squirts of Dawn (blue) dish washing soap, a teaspoon of baking soda and water in a squirt bottle, and sprayed my leaves. I was really not expecting great results, and it's really been an ongoing battle all summer, but it worked! It was a pleasant surprise. I guess the slugs can't attach properly because the soap makes the leaves slippery. I'm not exactly sure what the baking soda does, but it did not harm my plants at all. I got this tip from a neighbor, who is an accomplished green-thumb. |
|
| The soap probably killed them anteakfreak... One product that works to kill rose slugs is safer insecticide soap... Wet the bottom and top of leaves basically the entire rose bush as I have seen rose slugs crawling on the canes... |
This post was edited by jim1961 on Fri, Sep 26, 14 at 13:29
|
| One caution about interpreting results--mama sawfly does not lay eggs on all roses equally. She likes glossy-leaveed climbers with wichurana heritage, and certain others. So it is normal for some plants to be more heavily damaged than others. |
|
| Michaelg, that's why I'll be testing out Marigolds for the next couple years or so... Since I already know rose slugs can cause moderate to serious to the type of roses I have here right now... This year was great for once hardly any damage at all!... But yes further testing is needed as it is possible it was other factors that caused the RS decline... |
|
| Well I removed some Marigolds from around 2 Double Ko roses about 1.5 months ago. I just checked for rose slug damage on them today and I found lots of rose slugs on those 2 bushes and some damage... I checked bushes of the same type with Marigolds surrounding them and found still very little damage and I could find no rose slugs on them... So next year every rose bush here will be surrounded in marigolds to see what happens... Pics I took today:
These roses which are the same type have hardly any damage at all! |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Roses Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
