Rose bush is being stripped

Question

My knockout rose bush did great last year. About 8 weeks ago, the leaves and buds were are stripped. Just the stalks remained. I purchased Bayer Rose Spray and it seemed to help, but now it’s doing the same thing. I had a problem with those green worms on my tomato plants last year, and my rose bush looks similar to that. I can’t see any bugs or worms.

Answer 1

Many times you will not see the culprit bug, slug or perhaps deer unless you go out at night with a flashlight and investigate. Usually deer will munch the canes down too so likely is not deer in your case. I would go after the culprits with a two pronged approach. I would give all of the rosebushes a treatment of Bayer Tree & Shrub Granules and also spray them with Bayer Advanced Complete Insect killer. The spray will be a quick hit at the culprits. The granules feed the bushes to give them some much needed strength and also treat the rosebushes with a systemic that moves up through the root system and into the natural juices of the rose. The culprits may still take a bite or two but that should be their last. Once control is gained you should have that nice beautiful foliage. I would give the rosebushes the granules treatment in early Spring of each year to help get a leg up on any overwintering larvae too.