Aphids and Aphids!

[Garden Whisper]

I have my roses in large containers now. This is their 2nd yr and doing pretty well . . . except for the Aphids!
I read about planting the garlic or Marigolds but they stink
I did that a few years ago and the odor was strong.
I was thinking about sprinkling garlic powder over my roses and Honeysuckles, early in the mornings.
Does anyone know if that would harm my plants?
It gets windy here everyday around 2:30 PM and am sure the wind would blow off the garlic powder.

[sweetiepie]

First time I have ever had Aphids was last year. Mostly on my potatoes but through the garden. My garden wasn't small. I tried the garlic powder but my garden was to lush and they just stayed. So I tried spraying it several times, (which is usually a last resort for me. It maybe slowed the growth but they continued to grow in numbers.

Then I was told about ladybugs. They worked great. I released every two days for three weeks. I bought one batch and kept them in the refrigerator and used as needed. Aphids were gone in a week but I had the ladybugs, so kept releasing. Later in the season saw them in the neighbors fields. I realize that might not work for your one plant but just thought I would let you know ladybugs work. Way cheaper than spray or me using garlic powder.

[applestar]

May be a little harder with a thorny rose bush, but when talking about a few plants or a small bed of smallish plants, you can enshroud with floating cover-type fabric or insect screen cover (use some kind of supporting structure as necessary) and release your ladybugs INSIDE to keep them from flying off.

You only need them to stay long enough to eat, mate, and lay eggs -- then the even more voracious larvae will hatch and REALLY take care of the aphid population. Some ladybug suppliers will enclose or optionally sell food for the ladybugs that will supplement their diet to trigger or enable them to lay eggs. I've read that they need pollen (and nectar?) from certain type of flowers in their diet.

[imafan26]

Plant fennel at least 10 ft away from the roses, but up to 50 ft will do. It likes to be by itself. Fennel is a trap plant for the aphids. They will attack the fennel and the fennel in turn will attract ladybugs and their larva as well as parasitic wasps, bees, and other beneficial insects to the flowers. If you grow finocchio fennel, you can eat the bulbs too. Fennel isn't really bothered by the aphids.

[Mr Tulips]

I can attest to imafan's fennel tip, but how squeamish are you OP? If you're not, you might find it much easier to just squash them every couple of days as you go about admiring your garden as normal. I do this and have never had them affect my roses, and I know that if I didn't squash them then they would be a problem, because I can see how covered the roses would be if unattended for 2 weeks. - But they're not a problem because I squash them. If you're not keen on getting them on your fingers then using gloves will do. If you have concerns about killing things, then indeed let the fennel do it's part. Honestly I don't think it's as comprehensive as getting your gloves working though.

[imafan26]

While you are out there put out a few ant traps. Where there are aphids there are usually ants farming them. Predators will stay away since it isn't worth it for them to tangle with the ants. I have blasted aphids off with water, just do it every day. I know systemic rose care will work but if you want to be nice to the bees, cut your roses back, and feed them at the same time so they won't bloom for 6 weeks, which is how systemic rose care lasts. Make sure you have enough space between the rose and they get good air circulation, it just helps to keep your roses healthy as they make poorer targets for pests.

I have used fennel for an aphid trap so long that I have not seen aphids for three years except recently on kale, but it was sickly and probably why it was attacked.

[Garden Whisper]

I want to thank everyone for your replies. I don't know how to do it except for doing a reply here.
While I was fighting my aphids . . . I had used the dish soap/water spray . . . next day they were sooo happy with me
Then ran to the nursery and did the forbidden thing. Yep! got the spray and showered my plants.
The aphids still stayed their ground . . . errr . . . my new buds.
Did the squish thing, Yuk!
Was going to find out if the place here where we get our license to fish had ladybugs. Then I seen two ladybugs having a time together and was so happy thinking I was going to be the proud parent of tons of ladybugs.
Then the horrible happened.
I found the dead ladybug on my bud. Tried to see if she would move but no dice.
I looked all over and under the leaves and no eggs.
I think she died from eating the poison I sprayed.
I wanted to cry from what I had done.
At the moment there are no aphids and no ladybugs on my roses.