Learning how to water plants to increase growth in pots, container or garden - especially how to water roots and tubers. Specialities: root growth or tuber growth of lawns, fuchsias, geraniums, dahlias and begonias.

10 June 2011

Troubleshooting Holes In Rose Leaves

holes in rose leafNever ever seen holes in my rose leaves before. Leaf cutter bees bite large chunks out of leaf edges. But this? A complete mystery. The way some of the leaves have holes chewed in their centres upto the veins (these have been left intact), resembles slug, snail, chafer beetle, or sawfly damage (see last year's sawfly problems on euonymus).

Rose slugworms are the yellow-green larvae of a sawfly. But they only usually feed on the lower leaf surface and cause light brown patches to develop. There is no such evidence. It really is a mystery.

provado sprayAnyway, whatever the cause, healed edges of holes indicate pests have gone - at least for now. Sprayed with thiacloprid 'Provado', anyhow - a systemic (travels around plant within sap) insecticide which gives protection against most rose pests for upto two months. Situation needs watching closely.

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