What a spectacular Spring Bloom we experienced. Since we didn’t have a late spring freeze, roses in the Upstate were beautiful. If you want to prevent black spot, be sure to spray with some type of systemic and contact fungicide every 10 to 14 days, especially in wet weather. Contact us if you need more information.
Japanese beetles are here. They are attracted to rose blooms and secret a pheromone to attract their best friends. There are several ways to control them: in the morning, with a container of soapy water, use your hand to shake them into the container. This technique works because the beetles are groggy and will easily fall into the water. You can spray them with some type of insecticide (do late in the day to avoid spraying pollinators). Accordingly, you can spray your rose leaves with imidacloprid, acephate, or pyrethrins.
A newer organic product that you might try is BeetleGone or beetleJUS! (available at Gurneys.com). These products are Bt subsp galleriae; other Bt products will not work on beetles, this is a special strain of Bt. The beetles eat the leaves on which this Bt is sprayed and it will kill them. Japanese Beetles are around for about 8 weeks, with most of them gone by August.
