22,153 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
Put your hand behind the stem, and support it, while washing with water.
Or you can just brush/squish them. If you leave them, as ozmelodye says, birds will eat them.
Don't use pesticide. That's like trying to swat flies with a sledge hammer.
Don't use oils in hot weather, or when hot weather is expected. You will burn the foliage, and do far more damage than a few aphids.
Don't worry. Between birds, predatory insects, and rising temperatures, they will soon be gone.
When roses are attacked by aphids, they produce a chemical that repels further aphids.
"Author: MILES P W
Author Address: WAITE AGRIC. RES. INST., UNIV. ADELAIDE, ADELAIDE, S. AUST.
Title: DYNAMIC ASPECTS OF THE CHEMICAL RELATION BETWEEN THE ROSE APHID MACROSIPHUM-ROSAE AND ROSE BUDS
Published in: Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, volumn 37, pages 129-136, (1985).
Abstract: "Dynamic aspects of the chemical relation between the rose aphid [Macrosiphum rosae] and rose buds.In warm weather, M. rosae (L.) walks off buds of hybrid tea roses during a critical period coinciding with the opening of the sepals. This behavior could not be related to histologically detectable barriers to feeding, nor to changes in the water content of the tissues or in their composition with respect to total soluble carbohydrate, amino nitrogen or phenolic compounds; major changes in tissue chemistry, effected by spraying the bushes with urea, did not affect the time at which the aphids left the buds. Tissue sap expressed from stems and sepals showed a significant increase in catechin content after, rather than during, the critical period. Once expressed, however, sap from buds at the critical stage showed a sharp in vitro rise in catechin content over a few hours, up to levels approximating those against which the insects discriminated in choice tests. The insects could well be sensitive to a developing capacity of tissue to accumulated catechin, possibly in response to their feeding activity."
Funny you should ask. Been meaning to pose the same question since I picked one up 3 weeks ago. Searching this forum turned up some helpful prior feedback. http://www.gardenweb.com/gardenweb/query/montezuma/topic=roses
As the lone specimen of Montezuma at Lowes, it stood out for its healthy foliage & coral salmon half-open bloom with a detectable fruity fragrance. The name rang a dim memory bell & the sale price of $8 proved irresistible. A nicely branched, properly pruned, grafted potted rose with 3 buds & one fresh bloom at the time, it's tagged as grown by Dewar Nurseries, a wholesale grower in Apopka, FL. http://www.greenhousegrower.com/business-management/dewar-nurseries-making-the-grade/ Like all new arrivals, it went into isolation in a sunny spot where I could keep an eye on it before introduction to the garden. The coral buds opened slowly to salmon blooms that expanded to include a wash of golden pink & held on the bush a good 10 days with the warm days & cooler nights we had. Coral America & strawberry-salmon Rosarium Uetersen/Seminole Wind were coming into bloom near the house & the hues of all three played well together. Snapping off the spent blossoms, noticed more buds coming along & just counted a dozen that will likely open in the next few days. Looks promising...
My old Taylor's Guide to Roses mentions Montezuma "comes very close to the grandiflora ideal...good all season bloom...slightly fragrant...4-1/2-5'...upright, very vigorous, compact and well branched...disease resistant and winter hardy...canes moderately thorny...leaves medium green, leathery, semiglossy".
Blackspot can be controlled by spraying in a tank sprayer a product containing propiconazole (Banner Maxx and other brands) or tebuconazole (Bayer Disease Control for Roses, Flowers, and Shrubs) at two week intervals. Or you can wait it out, as summers in inland Texas are usually too hot for BS to spread a whole lot.
mmjau, new rose growth is often red. It is only when it is coupled with a few another symptom that you should expect RRV. See the below photo for an example of a rose from my garden that definitely had the virus.
Fish as a foliar spray can burn rose leaves, especially in hot weather. Otherwise, no problem with the simultaneous application, since Rose Tone has a low percentage of fast nitrogen--just some urea in the chicken manure.
About mycorrhizae, the additive is not needed in garden soil, because roses will collect it from the environment, but maybe it would speed things up if this is a new garden area. Either of the application methods you describe should work. If you apply much phosphate fertilizer now or at any time, the rose roots will spurn the symbiotic fungus.
I missed this thread when it started last winter. I watch a couple of TGs in a no-spray garden here where they are pruned as shrubs, just cut back in spring to 3-4'. They are big but not huge monsters. The problem is that the laterals grow 4-6' and flop under the weight of blooms, often breaking themselves. Perhaps the trick would be to combine fairly hard annual pruning with a trellis of moderate size. These plants show pretty good blackspot resistance. Of course, the flowers are huge, gorgeous, and fragrant.
I wonder if the rampant growth reported by some is associated with hot summers, which we don't have here.
Some large Austins do take well to shrub pruning, for example 'Heritage', which made a beautiful 6x6' shrub for me, despite throwing an occasional 8' cane. (I currently have another one as a short climber on a support.)
Everyone's opinions will vary and the best thing you can do is experiment a little and see what works best for you.
Wirosarian, I've read that piece and have to say that I've recently stopped putting the styrofoam packing peanuts in the bottoms of the pots. I haven't noticed any difference in how the roses do so I will not be adding them from now on.
Vasue: thanks for your advice. the soil here is somewhat sandy I believe. Not beach sandy obviously, more desert like. I'm actually new to the area so I don't know a whole lot about it. The new home is in a development which is built on land from a former mine. I'm pretty sure there has been a fair amount of fill added, but it still looks sandy with lots of little rocks. So for planting soil considerations while potted, I guess I should look for something well draining? Not really sure.
Summer, I was looking at the Wayside website but was put off by so many negative reviews online. I had been thinking of Tranquility, Molinieux & everlasting amethyst hydrangea. I'm just not in the mood of dealing with a hassle if the plants are disappointing. Have you ordered from Wayside?
Yes, I have ordered a lot since I saw John's thread. :-) I received 12 of them so far, and 10 more are on their way, and my rose friend at work just asked me if I wanted to order with her again today, I put down for 3 more. Lol
There are some photos of the roses I received on John's thread . The roots were huge, and the roses all have David Austin's rose tags on them. Some of them are own root roses. I am pretty happy about the roses I received so far, the roots are much bigger than the ones I ordered from David Austin Roses in TX, and I paid about $120 for 4 DA roses 3 weeks ago.
The 10 roses on their way are 6xTranquillity, 1 Alnwick, 2x Carding Mill, 1 Heathcliff.
Happy shopping! :-)