Oh, roses! I love the smell of roses! Roses are beautiful, and in fact, many gardeners really are big fans of roses! I’m not — roses take too much care, and basically, I am kind of a lazy gardener. The fact of the matter is if you don’t lavish a great deal of care on roses, then they are going to look something like this one does.
The reason for that is that a lot of other things like roses too — diseases, pests. This rose is afflicted with thrips, t-h-r-i-p-s, thrips, is an insect that preys on roses. Flower thrips are almost microscopic insects, only a 16th of an inch long, whose larvae, or caterpillar stage, bore into the unopened rose flower, damaged the petals, and then lap up the juices. The result is misshapen, brown stained petals, or like this one, a water marked petal, or one with holes in it.
Sometimes the flower buds don’t open. I’ve seen flower thrips in daylilies too. The best way to control them is to spray your roses or daylilies with systemic insecticide like Orthene or Dimethoate. Growing a good rose demands a good deal of effort and even hard work on your part. But it’s well worth it.
Thrips…
- Are insects that prey on roses
- Are almost microscopic insects whose larvae bore into the unopened rose flower, damaged the petals and lapped up the juices
- Make a rose have brown-stained petals, water marked petals or one with holes in it
- Are best controlled by spraying with systemic insecticide like Orthene or Dimethoate