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I have just encountered my first pest problem of the season...oh well......it comes with the turf. I nearly had a anxiety/panic attack when I looked at my new roses earlier today. What did I find....pesky aphids ugggghhh

The first blooms from my jubilee roses were glorious and the next set of buds are just about ready to bloom. Then I calmed down and thought of some of information I read on posts last year.....duh just blast them with water.

I am going to start with my neem as soon as I can. I wanted to give those roses a good chemical free start with out anything but I guess they had an okay start.

Hello everyone I just had to vent for a moment before I declared WAR on all species of aphids I hope everyone is having a great season. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress of apid removal.

Here is a picture of the very first bloom I had from my Jubilee roses......

[img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v211/dyvonnetxgal/CelebrationJubileefirstfullbloom.jpg[/img]

Yes, water works well. You can also plant some marigolds nearby which will attract the aphids away from your roses, Nasturtiums work well for that as well. Not to mention giving your roses a weekly dose of neem oil.

Very well done Dyvonne!! It's a beautiful rose!
You're doing the right thing with the aphids - keep it up.
You want to hear something funny? You say you are just coming to your second flush of blooms, and my rose bushes are just starting to show leaf buds on the branches!! What a difference the climate makes.

Val

Hi guys,

Maybe I could share my little tricks too?

I have planted some companion plant such as garlic nearby my roses last fall, and it seems that this spring I have nearly no aphid attact at all except a yellow rose which generally more prone to aphid due to its color.

Personally, I do not like to use neem oil on my roses, as it stain the leaf and at times when the sunlight is far too strong it burns my roses too.

This year, I have implemented a vinegar spray that I spray around the lawn of my roses (not on my roses) afer inspecting my roses early in the morning before work. It seems the spray drives butterflies and aphid away from my garden.

Ingredients:
1 part of household vinegar to 4 part of water. (I use bulk bottle of 8%concentrated vinegar that is for cleaning purposes). I apply it 3 times in a week.

Cheers,
Pixi

Thanks Val. Wow, about the climate difference. Yes, it was fun with the first blooms. I gave a sweet little girl in my son's private school K class one of the DA blooms and a couple from my Icebergs wrapped in a pink ribbon. You should have seen the smile on her face. She deserved it, one day she picked a flower and then just came up to me and said she picked it just for me. Her parents were taken back that I would actually bring her roses but they said she was thrilled when she got home to tell her brother and sisters. I'm looking forward to a great season. Oh, JPIXI thank you very much for sharing the spray formula. I do actually have chives growing in my herb garden. I realized last year during the summer why am I still buying the silly fresh herb sachets from the Grocery store when I could learn how to grow them myself. It is Sooo Much Cheaper Thank you for the compliment on the roses. I'm going to do my best this season.