Holy roses?
Seemed so last year.
But this year?
Hardly.
I bought this Knock-Out to plant in Rose Dog’s memory because it’s supposed to be hardly hardy.
As well as drought tolerant, self-cleaning (whatever that means), disease resistant, and requires little to no maintenance.
My kind of plant.
It survived its first winter.
Me = excited.
But it turned into a skeleton almost overnight.
Nobody and nothing mentioned anything about rose slugs.
Which are really the larvae of sawflies.
Which are primitive wasps.
Ugh.
Like little green caterpillars that hide under the leaves and blend right in unnoticed.
And have a party.
Eat the light right out of the plant.
Steal its energy.
Weaken it.
Maybe kill it?
Because no leaf means no photosynthesis.
Right?
Holey roses!
Of course, if I had read the book on rose care, I might have had a clue.
Apparently, one needs to stay alert and take action at the first sign of attack.
And the best way to do battle is to painstakingly hand pick and destroy the enemy.
With possible help from a horticultural oil spray.
So if you’re looking for me, I’ll be perched on the rock in front of the bush.
Picking.
Squishing.
And meditating.
Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. ~1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)
Linking up today with L.L.
And with Laura.
Oh, your poor rosebush!! Nasty little blighters munching into their rose leaf salad. Several moves ago we had a lovely L-shaped bed of roses that did quite well and I loved them. In our current location, however, the property is entirely surrounded by towering evergreens that keep the soil acidic, shaded and starved of nutrients — not what roses like. I still wanted to try, and have had hardy Explorers and David Austins, but only one of the latter has survived… one called ‘Heritage’. It doesn’t thrive, but every summer it produces a few beautiful pink blooms on a spindly plant, and I’m grateful for small mercies. 😉 I hope yours survives. The blooms are gorgeous.
Those pesky bugs darn them to ruin such beauty. I hate that! Im so glad you captured such a beautiful photo of it though.
Blessings
squishing is such an appropriate term …
I’ve never had much success with roses. Although I do understand that vintage varieties can be pest-and-disease-resistant. One gardening book I read suggested finding hardy roses in old graveyards and taking a cutting home. Perhaps with your affinity for graveyards, this might be a promising adventure for you. 🙂
Oh, no! I love those knock out roses and have frequently coveted some of my own. If I ever do invest in some, now I know to look for these little buggers! And what’s this about an affinity for graveyards?
Our lot is covered in oaks, which do their own number on the soil Ph and nutrient level.
I grow two roses–only two, gifts from my office when my mother died–in big big pots on my front deck. All my “grandma plants” (by which I mean anything nonnative) is in a pot on the deck.
And I pick bugs and squish them, too. 🙂
Sandy, your rose is the most exuberant pink I’ve ever seen a rose wear.
Such vibrant color! I like the idea suggested above to get roses from a graveyard; never knew! Go for it– squish those little buggers!
Stay alert! I love that — great advice, in so many ways.