APHIDS & Roses

hyborn, Nov 24, 3:38am
Help please for the last 3-4 years Ive been battling with aphids on my roses last year I changed spray and used two different ones alternating between no joy they keep coming back big time. This year I decided to go back to soapy water with oil and some apple cider vinegar in it but still seem to be battling them I breed Aphids I do it well! Ive just finished spraying all my roses for about the 7/8th time this season - any ideas people would love to just spray once a month Thanks
brightlights60, Nov 24, 9:36am
I have been growing them for 30 odd years, and the beginning of the season is the worst part. I only ever spray 3 times max per season. The trick is to get them at the beginning, and carefully follow the instructions (doesn't matter what brand of spray you use) carefully. That's the key. Spray in no wind, early morning or late evening, a good few hours before any rain. When the growth is new, that's when the old aphids love love love your roses. They will come back in around 3 weeks and then maybe again. In early years I used to just cut off the highly infested early growth and get rid of the aphids that way, but if you get constant infestations, you just have to either spray regularly, or blast them with water or soapy water religiously. Whatever you do, you have to do it regularly to get rid of the little buggers. I also chuck all my lemon peels around the base of the plants and encourage preying mantis who love them.
hyborn, Nov 24, 6:39pm
Thanks brightlights60 gosh I might have to re prune my roses they are just so covered I even sprayed the ground yesterday when I sprayed.
wasgonna, Nov 24, 6:49pm
Kiwicare Organic Spraying Oil.

Brilliant stuff and the only way to kill the little sods even if already infested. Start with 20mls per 1 litre of water and spray roses all over, especially new growth, until dripping wet. After a couple of days the aphids should be yellowish, this means they are dead. You can then hose the roses to dislodge them if wanted. Repeat spray at first sign of aphids.

Available at Mitre10, etc.
wine-o-clock, Nov 24, 6:52pm
dead aphids will still cling to the plant-pick some up to see if they are still moving
brightlights60, Nov 24, 9:12pm
Just spray with something good, and I agree, the Kiwicare range is really good. When the aphids are dead, in a day or so, give a good blast of the hose and get rid of all the bodies and crap they leave. Gives the roses a chance to regroup. Check the instructions on the bottle, I think its about 3 weeks and then do it again. In the old days, gardeners were encouraged to do "spraying regime". Nowadays with a lot of the formula's used in the sprays being exactly the same as years ago, (check the ingredients in new brands, normally the same as the old) the bugs are becoming resistant. The thinking is now, especially with farm crops, is to spray sparingly only when needed. Gives the plants a chance. You need to be vigilent with aphids, you will get rid of them eventually. Google what they hate and plant that inbetween. I have a huge cat mint hedge in front of my roses, plus I keep putting compost out of my revolving bin in my vege garden. This is because roses are gross feeder, and it encourages birds and beetles which in turn devour the aphids. Hope this helps.
curlybear446, Nov 24, 10:48pm
Don't feed your roses any synthetic fertiliser such as Nitrophoska Blue etc. What this does is. it creates forced growth. long fleshy yummy stems. just the recipe for aphids. They love it ! Stick with sheep pellets and natural compost. This will help the rose bush develop harder growth, more resistant to pest and disease.
brightlights60, Nov 25, 12:05am
This:)
kinna54, Nov 25, 6:10am
I was told by a chinese friend to spray mine with this mix. detergent, cooking oil baking soda. and chopped garlic. He said to put it all into a bucket of water and let it steep for a few days, strain and spray. I was dubious at first, and it was a bit smelly, but it seems to be working. roses look the healthiest they have in yonks. He told me to spray this solution around every 10-14 days.
PS he also said to dig the garlic residue into the soil around the roses as it absorbs into the stem of the plant and helps fight disease. I am definitely an amateur gardener, but I must admit this seems to be working.

Also I didn't fuss with quantities I just used heaps of all of the ingredients until it looked like I had enough liquid to fill the sprayer.
macandrosie, Nov 26, 9:22am
The best thing for aphids on roses is giving the plant a really deep drink of water. Forget the sprays! They tend to attack roses when they have become dry &/or are to close to the house & miss the rain. Try it first anyway.Also you could throw a bucket of water over it that has a little dish detergent mixed in.
juliewn, Nov 26, 11:17am
A gardening tip from an old gardening book, that I've found works beautifully.

Grow some kind of vegetable close to your roses - I grew radish plants, and left them to go to seed.
As they change and begin to go to seed, the sugars in the radish/other vege plant change, making them attractive to aphids. I have masses of aphids on those plants, and none on my roses.
Plus, there's a couple of pluses - when the radish flowers come out, as they're single flowers, they're ideal food for butterflies, as they're able to get onto the flower, which they're not able to with double flowers due to their light body weight.
Then, as seeds form and dry, you can either gather them to make your own homemade mustard - it's easy to do, or you can leave them for seed eating birds.
Then, some of the seeds will fall and begin to grow so you have free plants for next time.
Thanks Mother Nature :-)

Also, feed and water your roses, and other plants, well - bugs are less likely to be attracted to strong plants. I only use my homemade comfrey fertiliser, and the plants grow strongly with this, with lots of flowers. From a climbing rose I grew from a cutting two years ago, I've so far trimmed off 72 flowers that have finished, and there are many more coming.
cantabman1, Nov 26, 7:08pm
Strongly agrees, the healthier the plant, the more it resists infestations of insects; I also use Seasol, which I cannot reccomend enough for the healthiest plants on the block.!
bluefrog2, Nov 27, 12:04am
Water your roses with liquid fertiliser regularly. There are fewer aphids on healthy rose bushes.
Apart from that, my mum swears by washing off the aphids every time she waters the roses. Water at least every other day, and use your fingers to rub aphids off the young buds.
hyborn, Nov 29, 8:52pm
Thanks will give that a try
hyborn, Dec 4, 10:02pm
I wish I could water like that but being on rain water it just isnt a option I used to use the washing machine water but now I have shoulder issues that wont be happening
hazelnut2, Jul 12, 11:06am
Plant more aphid-attractive plants near your roses. We have self-sown parsley this year. and hardly any aphids on my roses! As the parsley was producing flowering stems, the aphids were clustering there. I just picked off those stems and dumped them in the green bin The aphids love helibores too, so when I remove those flowers I kill off generations at a time!