Can my knock out roses recover after voles and sawfly imjuries

Question

We had a vole infestation over the winter and they chewed the roots of many of my Knock Out roses, so much so that a few of them died. I applied Molex around the ones that had some green left on them. The ones that did not die had some green stems that produced leaves, so I thought they would be OK, then the sawfly worm came and made lace out of their leaves. I applied horticultural oil to the undersides and all surfaces. that helped, but I don’t know if these roses will recover, and should I feed/ fertilize them?

Kathy Frederick
[e-mail]

Answer 1

Wow! That is tough duty in the gardens!! I would give all of the rosebushes some Bayer Tree & Shrub Granules as per the label instructions for shrubs/ornamentals. The granules have a fertilizer in them to help the bushes gain strength and they also have a systemic in them that moves up through the bushes to handle the bugs and diseases well. Keep them well watered, not soggy but nicely moist soils. After a week or two, water them with some water that has both a good root stimulator and a product called Super Thrive in the same water together. Water the rosebushes with this mix the next 4 to 5 times they need watering. The root stimulator will help them get their root systems going well again and the super thrive not only helps with that but also helps the bushes deal with the shocks and stresses they are dealing with. I have used this mix the next 5 to 6 times my rosebushes needed water after a bad damaging hail storm with great success. Here is a link to an article on getting rid of Voles for you as well: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/plant-problems/pests/animals/vole-control.htm