Knockout Rose Bushes

Question

I have beautiful blooming Knockout Rose Bushes that are 4 years old. I love them! This year, there are hundreds of super tiny, flitting white bugs among the bushes. Not on the leaves though. The leaves are spotted this year – maybe caused by the extreme windy spring season that we have had. Also, the bushes tend to have tiny white spiders among them and consequently, webs across the bushes. I don’t remember them being like this in their early days. Any thoughts?

Answer 1

The super tiny white bugs could be mealy bugs and the spotted leaves could be either insect damage from some the bugs making tiny holes in the foliage to suck out some of the juices therein. The spiders could well be the start of spider mites. All of which can lead to big problems if allowed to continue. First I would spray the rosebushes with a good Mitacide that will bring the spider mites under control. Then spray the rosebushes with a fungicide to get rid of funguses that may be attacking the roses, if the spots are black it is likely the black spot fungus. Once they get the black spots, they do not go away even after spraying the foliage. The new foliage should be free of the spots if the fungicide used killed the fungus. An insecticide will take care of the mealy bugs. Each problem must be addressed over time and not all at once or the bush will go into shock and start dropping foliage and stop blooming. Go slow and treat each problem over 10 to 20 days intervals between treatments. Here is a link for you too, check out the articles here for some great information: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/flowers/roses/