Monday 12 October 2015

12 Oct : Roses


The Queen of Sweden has been afflicted by an attack of rose sawfly. I had thought that the little caterpillars munching away at her leaves would explode into clouds of butterflies and that I was creating a haven for wildlife so nobly averted my eyes from the denuded stems but, alas, an idle moment alone with Professor Google and I discovered the error of my ways. In despair I phoned up the David Austin Roses helpline and had a heart to heart with a comforting lady whom I assume was sitting in an old chair in a potting shed surrounded by rose catalogues and rooting hormone powder. There was nothing for it, she advised, but a good old spray of Rose Clear Ultra to get rid of the little blighters. I thanked this helpful lady and went outside to look at my Queen of Sweden who is blooming away despite her travails. Noblesse oblige I suppose.

9 comments:

  1. A classic case of Pest Plight if ever I heard one. (I'm still snickering about Potting Panic.)

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    1. I am still embarrassed that I thought that they were going to be butterflies. Such ignorance! *facepalm*

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  2. She's looking rather beautiful.

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    1. Thank you! A rather frou-frou pink frock for a Queen!

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  3. Under duress, plants often throw out flowers in a desperate attempt to make seeds (before the worst happens.....!) It could be a good idea to curtail flowering to conserve the plant's strength if significant amounts of leaves are missing, but then I'm more used to gooseberry sawfly (which leaves plants completely leafless) than the rose version.

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    1. I take the point and I had planned to cut the roses back after this late flush. Luckily there are still quite a few leaves on so the infestation is not disastrous. The sawfly affect the young leaves and so I shall spray as soon as regrowth occurs in the spring.

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  4. Thank you! It is such a gorgeous shell pink.

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