Roses and Petunias

Question

Hello!
I’m experiencing a morning ritual of finding holes eaten thru the leaves of my new, Beverly rose bush. I’m also seeing a few yellow leaves appear. This is a small rise bush, So for this season I’ve put in a clay pot. I’ve not tried anything yet, but this sweet bush is special to me, given by my cousin. It looks horrible!
Now I’m also worried now about my newly bought, Knock out rose bush I just bought. It is still in the store container, but has a great growth in buds. No stress visible yet.

Also in a clay pot, I have putunias that are being eaten – both blooms and foliage. I’ve tried Diatomaceous Earth, but it’s not working.

I love to learn and hopefully get better at gardening each year.

Thank you!!!!!!!!!
Ginny

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Answer 1

Hi Ginny. It sounds like you have some insect issues going on. There are times when we have to pull out some stronger methods of dealing with things. I would recommend spraying them all with a product called Bayer Complete Insecticide. It will typically help you gain control over the problem insects. I do recommend planting the roses in a garden or rose bed if at all possible, as their roots can spread out better and not eventually become root bound in the pots. If pots is the only option, then I recommend planting them in pots that look way bigger than needed, so as to give the root system lots of room. The pots must have drainage holes and when watered should not be allowed to sit in water containing saucers any longer than 45 minutes. Allowing them to sit in standing water will lead to root rot problems. Rose leaves turn yellow and start to fall off when they are either shaded by upper leaves and thus no longer really useful to the bush, or as a matter of self preservation in dealing with heat, over watering or some other stresses. Water the roses and petunias with some water that has both a product called super thrive and a root stimulator added to it the next 4 to 5 times they need watering. This should help them get to performing well once other issues have been addressed as noted above.