We have 3 rose bushes and last year, spectacular. This year, less than spectacular and something is eating the leaves out. I haven't seen anything living on the plant, so I'm at a loss as to why our leaves have holes everywhere. Oh yeah, and the flowers all died. Ideas?
My first thought would be that Japanese Beetles are the culprit eating the leaves as far as the flowers its hard to say without pics/or knowing what type of rose. They may simply be done blooming or they could be getting eaten as well. There are numerous products that you can spray for JB - Sevin is very popular. There are also alot of products specifically for roses. Post a pic if possible.
I've included some photos of the bush. All three are suffering the same fate. Didn't happen last year, not sure why this year.
i never worry about partially eaten leaves unless it's really severe or i actually see the culprit and it's some really nasty bugger - like the japanese beetles. it's not time for them here, yet, and i think, being further north, it'll be even later when they become active in your area. they generally stay on the buds rather than the leaves of roses anyway, so jb's are not likely to be the problem. that does look pretty severe - could be that whatever it is/was is an early-season issue and you won't have any more problems this year. as for blooms - did you prune the bush at all?? if not, then that's why lack of blooms. some types like to be hard pruned each year to give the best flower show. i wouldn't do a hard prune now since it's the middle of the season...you could do some bit of trimming back and you may get a late season showing. i usually prune in spring - right before they come out of dormancy. the pruning can be done in late fall/early winter once the bush goes dormant. unless you can id the culprit, no way to really give an assist.
The holes on your rose leaves is created by a sawfly larva called a pear slug. They feed on the underside of the leaves, so they are not usually noticed, unless you look. You can control them with insecticidal soap. Their larva stage is short (pupated) and you may not see any of these critters. Watch for them next year though. I also notice that your roses have a fungus called black spot, which will cause the rose leaves to drop. This will not kill the rose, but it does weaken it. After the rose has bloomed, cut the cane at the first or second leaf node. A new shoot will appear and the rose should produce another flower. Ian
