A well known headache for any rose growers Aphids. These pests feed on any young green shoots and flower buds. There are over 4000 different types of Aphid so if you have spotted an infestation you can be sure that you have more than one type!
Aphids, whether dealing with greenfly or blackfly are all sap suckers so they feed on nothing but your plants nitrogen rich sap. After doing so they excrete a substance called 'honeydew'. Interestingly if you spot ants running up your plants it's a sure sign you have aphids they are after the Honeydew that they 'farm' from the aphids.
Good housekeeping is important especially in greenhouses, polytunnels or conservatories. Giving a good wash down and clean 2 to 3 times a year and regularly weeding and removing dead growth are both ways to discourage aphids amongst other pests.
The damage done by Aphids can cause stunted growth in young plants, leaf curling, and mould. More seriously they can spread viruses which is a death sentence for your plants. Any plant that has been identified as having a virus must be bagged and binned to prevent the virus from spreading.
There are numerous ways to control aphid growth.
Firstly they have many natural predators, best know being the ladybird. A ladybird can eat up to 50 aphids in just one day! You can buy ladybird larvae online but it can be quite a costly method. Other natural predators are lacewings, hoverfly, and wasps (finally a positive) to name but a few.
There are certain plants that aphids really don't like and so growing them as companion plants next to the ones they do can be a great deterrent. It's generally strong smelling plants such as Nepeta (cat mint), Nasturtium, Lavender, Basil, Alliums (chives, onions, garlic), Marigold and fennel that all work well to put them off. They can also hide the scent of the plants that they do like. Try planting lavender between roses, the two plants look great together.
They can also be 'rinsed' off with water by spraying the plants down with a hose.
A home made spray can be made up by mixing 1 part cider vinegar to 3 parts water, to make it even more effective add a teaspoon of washing up liquid which helps the mixture adhere to the aphids.
If your infestation is bad enough there are specific bug sprays such as Neudorff Pyrol Bug & Larvae killer and Roseclear Gun which are extremely efficient at ridding them and if your farming ants have gotten out of control there's Deadfast Ant Killer Plus spray RTU.
Finally remember to encourage birds to your garden. They are a gardeners best friend when it comes to pest control. By putting nesting boxes such as The Gardman Multi Nest Box or placing a feeding station such as The Gardman Complete Feeding Station Kit you can invite our feathered friends to come and live in your garden.
Sophie X
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