Identifying and Treating Common Rose Pests
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HARRIS COUNTY MASTER GARDENER NEWSLETTER • SEPTEMBER 2018 UrbanDirt Everything’s Coming Up Roses! Gardening Events and Information for Texans Identifying and Treating Common Rose Pests by Terri Simon, Master Gardener This summer has been brutal and it has brought out numerous caterpillars and beetles the damage seen can be discoloration, pests that work tirelessly to destroy our plants. I want to thank our chopped off buds, stems or leaves, wilting (caused by grubs or fellow master gardener Christa Kaiser for sending some info in other root feeders), holes or semicircular holes along the leaf an email to me. Christa is our rose expert at the Genoa Friendship edges. Gardens. The arrival of her email is timely. Agrilife.org has more details on identifying and controlling There are 2 classifications of insects that attack roses: sucking the pests listed above. The link for that information is insects that drain plant tissue juices and can also transfer diseases http://counties.agrilife.org/hood/files/2011/07/man.pdf. while doing so and chewing insects that chew tissue and can The July issue of the damage some or all of the plant. American Rose Society was The damage caused by spider mites, which are not insects, can forwarded to me by Christa. imitate the damage caused by sucking insects. Examples of suck- It listed several links for ing pests are scale insects, whiteflies, aphids and leafhoppers. rose pests that can cause Plants damaged by sucking severe damage to your gar- pests can be discolored, have den. I cannot stress enough sticky “honeydew” or sooty the importance of checking black mold or have distorted on your plants daily. The leaves. They can also have a damage wreaked by garden crumbled, wilted look. pests can quickly wipe out your roses. The sooner you Chilli Thrips With chewing pests like leaf- address problems and infesta- Photo courtesy Bradenton-Sarasota Rose Society cutter bees, grasshoppers, tions, the better the chance of your beloved plants surviving and recovering. White rose tinged with pink Photo by Terri Simon cont’d on pg. 3 Upcoming Events ......................................................... 2 Seven Sisters Rose ....................................................... 3 Herb of the Month ........................................................ 4 Greater Houston Plant Conference .............................. 5 Plant of the Month ........................................................ 6 Urban Garden Certificate Program .............................. 7 Master Gardeners in the City ....................................... 8 The Rose Corner ........................................................... 9 The Rose .................................................................... 10 Scenes from the GFG Trial Gardens .......................... 12 Open Garden Days - The Weekley Center ................. 13 Genoa Friendship Gardens ......................................... 14 Gardening Tools ......................................................... 15 URBAN DIRT • SEPTEMBER 2018 Upcoming Events September 2018 Master Gardener Lecture Series Sept. 13, GFG Second Thursday 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Speaker: Christine Hammon, Harris County Master Gardener - Fall Vegetable Gardening. Genoa Friendship Garden Education Center building, 1202 Genoa Red Bluff Rd. Plants for sale in the Greenhouse. Green Thumb Gardening Series - Roses: Planting, Growing & Upkeep Sept. 13, Barbara Bush Library, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Sept. 15, Maude Marks Library, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Sept. 18, Spring Branch Memorial Library, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Sept. 20, Freeman Branch Library, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Greater Houston Plant Conference Sept. 7, 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m., Richard & Meg Weekley Community Center, 8440 Greenhouse Road, Cypress, TX 77433 Tickets available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/greater-houston-plant-conference-tickets-48613162277?aff=efbeventtix Urban Gardening Certificate Program Sept. 28, Vegetable Gardening 101, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., Alice Young Library, 5107 Griggs Rd, Houston, TX 77021 Contact Ute Schaefer, 713-274-0950, email: [email protected] Open Garden Day Sept. 17, 8:30 - 11:00 a.m., Genoa Friendship Garden, 1202 Genoa Red Bluff Rd. Plants for sale in the Greenhouse. Sept. 25, 10:00 - 11:15 a.m., Open Garden Day Children’s Activities. Registration required by Sunday, Sept. 23 to: [email protected]. Weekley Community Center, 8440 Greenhouse Rd., Cypress, TX October 2018 Master Gardener Lecture Series Oct. 11, GFG Second Thursday 10:00 - 11:30 a.m., Speaker: Sherrie Harrah - Plants for All Seasons. Genoa Friendship Garden Education Center building, 1202 Genoa Red Bluff Rd. Plants for sale in the Greenhouse. Green Thumb Gardening Series - Trees: Planting and Care (includes fruit trees) Oct. 11, Barbara Bush Library, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Oct. 16, Spring Branch Memorial Library, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Oct. 18, Freeman Branch Library, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Oct. 20, Maude Smith Marks Library, 10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Urban Gardening Certificate Program 1:00 - 3:00 p.m., Alice Young Library, 5107 Griggs Rd, Houston, TX 77021, Contact Ute Schaefer, 713-274-0950, email: [email protected] Oct. 5, Economic Benefits of Gardening Oct. 12, Importance of Composting Oct. 19, Good Bugs vs. Bad Bugs Oct. 26, Vegetable Gardening in the Fall Nov. 2, Creating Healthy Soil Open Garden Day Oct. 15, 8:30 - 11:00 a.m., Genoa Friendship Garden, 1202 Genoa Red Bluff Rd. Plants for sale in the Greenhouse Oct. 16, 10:00 - 11:15 a.m., Open Garden Day Children’s Activities. Registration required by Sunday, October 14 to: [email protected]. Weekley Community Center, 8440 Greenhouse Rd., Cypress, TX Have Garden Questions? Email your questions and photos to: phone [email protected] or Call us Monday – Friday 9:00 am to Noon at 713-274-0950 Visit txmg.org or contact the Harris County Extension Office,713-274-0950 , [email protected] for information. 2 URBAN DIRT • SEPTEMBER 2018 Identifying and Treating Common Rose Pests, cont’d from pg. 1 Chilli thrips are also a threat to roses. Gay Hammond of the Houston Rose Society has an excellent pictorial guide about them online. That link is https://docs.wixstatic.com/ugd/b152c0_82b8 ff9b7c7c424b9d04666ccfc67f21.pdf. If you suspect chilli thrips, Gaye has the answer. Carolyn Parker has a wonderful rose pest identification online with pictures as well. Check out her article at http://www.rosenotes.com/2010/06/rose-pests-bad-bugs.html/. The photos shown are vivid and close up but they sent shivers down my spine. Poor roses. Soon it will be time to put our roses to bed as winter approaches. Remember that the varieties that bloom once a year only require one fertilizer treatment in early spring. From September through Aphids on roses Photo courtesy homeguides.sfgate.com October is the time to do your light fall pruning for the roses that https://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/ need it. Don’t feed your roses after October. Texas A&M has publications/roses/care.html. Remember, spring will be here an excellent reference for care and fertilization of your roses at before you know it. Then the fun starts all over again. Seven Sisters Rose According to the Antique Rose Emporium, the Seven Sisters rose is named because of its changing color palette. This heirloom rose can range from carmine, purple, mauve, pink (light and dark) and finally to a creamy white as the flowers age. It is supposed to have been painted by Redoute in France. Brought to Britain from China or Japan by Charles Greville in 1817, it quickly made its way to America. Settlers carried the rose out west as they traveled. It can grow up to 15-20 feet and is hardy up to zone 6. The flow- ers usually bloom once a year in late spring but can have other flushes throughout the year. Blooms are small but the plant flowers in clusters so it is possible to see the range of colors throughout the bush. Once it has finished a bloom cycle it is okay to prune green growth. Do not prune green growth in the spring since Seven Sisters blooms on old wood. Perhaps one of the reasons I love this rose is because I have seven sisters. I don’t have a bush of my own, but my Seven Sisters Rose Photo by Terri Simon neighbor Jeanette has one so I get to share hers. 3 URBAN DIRT • SEPTEMBER 2018 Herb of the Month - Catnip (Nepeta cataria) by Karen McGowan, Master Gardener With September’s Green Thumb topic being “Roses: Planting, historical usage Growing, and Upkeep”, this month’s selected featured herb is includes documented catnip (Nepeta cataria), a terrific rose companion herb known for Native American repelling aphids and other rose pests. use in the treat- Available in several varieties, catnip, also known as “catmint,” is a ment of colic in short-cycle perennial herb that is indigenous to Eurasia, with indi- infants, American vidual varieties hailing from France, Turkey, Iran, Greece, Yemen, folk remedies, and Tajikistan, and the United Kingdom. Eurasian applications dating back centu- As its alternate name suggests, catnip is a member of the mint ries in the treatment family and reseeds itself readily, in keeping with the familial trait. of diarrhea, cough, All catnip varieties generally reach a mature height and likewise and asthma, among spread of two to three feet. Catnip prefers a dry to medium soil, several issues. Catnip and full sun to partial shade, requiring very little maintenance. As additionally features its name suggests, felines are wildly attracted to catnip, and so, too, reported benefits as a are butterflies. diuretic as well as a Known for its aromatic leaves that attract -- and provoke a variety sedative. With human of reactions from -- cats, catnip is significant as an established consumption, it is repellant to unwanted garden insect pests. Nepetalactone, one of important to note that catnip’s volatile oils, is responsible for the provocation of cats’ sources indicate that often spirited reaction to the herb and also the source of the plant’s care should be taken when utilizing dried catnip leaves, obtaining ability to repel insects.