As spring comes to a close and we roll into summer, the roses bloom in New Jersey. Over the past three years, I've been adding roses to our garden and am generally pleased to have done so. Although not care free, once planted, the work required is certainly managble. Check out a few of this year's flowers, below.
The main annoyance has been an annual appearance of sawfly larvae around the time that buds develop and begin blooming. Sometimes called, rose slugs, they are tiny green worm-like creatures that look like caterpillars. They eat holes in leaves and leave vein-like brown structures. The damage does weaken the plant but usually no permanant damage is done and roses recover for summer blooming.
Sawfly larvae are easy to remove in a way safe for people and for our environment. Hand collect them from the underside of leaves and drop them in a bucket of soapy water. Voila.
Aphids are another annoyance, but also easy to remove. Take small pieces of paper towel and gently slide them around the infested parts of the plant--usually buds and stems. Purchasing ladybugs to live in the area can be helpful too, as they are a natural predator.
Enlisting the kids for each task works well over here. They are the perfect height to glimpse the bugs and little fingers make fast work.
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