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I have a pot of miniature red roses, lovely buds, but they are all turning black and of course, falling off.

What have I done, or what must I do to stop new buds from doing the same?

There are 20 black buds, and the pot size is 6" across; I water it when I stick my finger in and the soil feels dry. The pot is in it's original pot from the store.

Please help these poor buds.

Patt

I'm not a rose grower, but since no one else has come forward, from my reading, it seems like the likeliest culprit is rose midges.

Here's a nice little article on diagnosing rose problems:

https://www.olyrose.org/pests.htm

If you scroll down a ways you will find this

(Problem) Roses fail to blossom or existing buds suddenly turn black and die. The foliage and the stem surrounding affected buds may also blacken and die. (Cause) Rose midge, a fly larva that is white and 1/12 inch long. The larvae feed in clusters at the bases of rosebuds.

Note 1/12" is very tiny. These will be hard to spot, look carefully at the bud base.

WOW! I will have a look. I was given this plan directly from the flower shop, but who knows how long it was in the shop around many influences. Thanks, I will take a look and report back. I truly appreciate you reply.

Patt

I can see those tiny winged buggers crawling in the soil. I did a Google and I found something called Merit granules, but all I see at this point is large bags for sale. Any suggestions?

Patt

Nope... the reason I don't grow roses is that I'm an organic gardener and don't use poisons or synthetic chemicals in my garden. But roses seem fussy and hard to grow without chemicals. Pretty much the only solution any one seems to offer for the rose midges is repeat applications of insecticide to soil and foliage. Not my thing.

The little winged guys in the soil are the adults, the larvae are what eats the buds and does the damage. Here's an article about the rose midge with pictures:

https://www.sactorose.org/ipm/84rosemidge.htm

I did find one place where they suggested putting plastic over the soil would help keep the adults from getting to the top of the plant to lay eggs. They have a new generation every two weeks!