Q.Rose Buds Wilt Before Opening
My roses look healthy and they have lots of lovely buds but as soon as they open they start to wilt and die. Why is this? One is a prolific Ena Harkness and the other a Peace. Please advise! I have some black spot on other roses and this is treated regularly.
It sounds like you may have some Thrips on your roses. They are very tiny and hard to see with the naked eye. They are also very hard to get rid of because they attack the buds of the roses very early and hide within the bud. They suck their nourishment from the petals of the buds and thus also prevent them from opening. I have done battle with them before and you have to keep after them due to them being deep into the buds. There are a couple courses of action to take. One is to buy some Bayer systemic rose food and treatment. Feeding the roses with this granular mix will allow a systemic insecticide to go up through the roots and into the foliage and blooms. I have used the Bayer Tree and Shrub for this and it does work well. Another method is to spray the top foliage and buds of the rosebushes with either Ortho Bug B Gon Max or Sevin for 4 to 5 spraying cycles 5 days apart.
