Rose Flowers and Buds Look Terrible in the Spring

Q. One of my roses wilts even though it’s getting watered regularly. It does get morning sun. My other roses do not do that. What’s going on?

Tough to tell because thrips are so small but this looks like Western Flower Thrips damage to roses. of the flowers and flower buds wont open and if they do they look horrible AND its in the spring....suspect Western Flower Thrips (WFT).

A. This sounds like Western flower thrips damage to the rose petals. Thrips are very tiny insects that rip and shred rose petals to smithereens. You cant see them unless you use a magnifying glass. They will spend the winter, waiting, for new growth to come out before they attack. As soon as the rose buds form, they attack the soft petals.

Thrips rip and shred soft plant tissue and “lap up” the fluids released by the rips like a dog “lapping up water from a bowl”. When these insects are in high numbers, they attack rose flowers while they are still in their buds causing them to remain closed, never to open, but damaged. They also attack nectarine fruit when they are very small causing scarring of the fruit.

Western Flower thrips also attack nectarine fruit causing scars and sap dripping in crystals from the fruit. Sometimes the damage is so bad from high numbers that the fruit is inedible.

            The usual remedy is to remove all the flowers and rid the plant of this pest land then spray with a dormant oil if it is early in the season. But Spinosad sprayshave been effective in keeping thrips at bay. It doesn’t kill them like other more toxic sprays do but is a safer alternative because Spinosad is considered a “natural” product.

Sticky Roses in the Spring and What to Do

Q. I have roses with sticky leaves from the aphids feeding on them. I need to get them under control before they start to become a problem. I found some Insect and Disease Control sprays at the nursery that have worked in the past. Any opinion about them?

Aphids in the spring on rose buds, leaves and flowers suck plant "juices". From these plant juices sucking insects like these aphids release a sticky "honeydew" that full of sugar that attract ants and bees. 

A. They do work and if you’re not opposed to using insecticides then use them. If you look at the list of ingredients, those pesticides which control insects and others used for disease control contain both an insecticide as well as a fungicide. You usually do not need both ingredients.

            In climates where the humidity is high (not the Mojave Desert), rose diseases like black spot, powdery mildew and botrytis are prevalent. In these climates, it’s probably a good idea to apply a multipurpose insecticide plus fungicide spray. In our climate, diseases are less of a problem due to our lower humidity. If it were me, focus on an insect control chemical rather than a combination of two chemicals in the desert. Why apply a fungicide if you don’t need to? 

Woodchips Vs. Rock. Which Do I Chose?

Q. You mention woodchip mulch instead of rock on the soil surface for plants, but I find woodchips provide sanctuary to roaches and other pests that cause other problems. For this reason, I prefer to use rock.

The value of woodchips are they rot when wet and provide nutrients to plants. They don't provide any nitrogen. They aren't green but they do provide other nutrients which add organics back to the soil.

A. The main value of woodchips applied to the soil surface instead of rock is to provide “organics” back to the soil as they break down or decompose. Rocks will break down, but they end up “mineralizing” the soil instead of adding organics back to it. This “mineralizing” may take 3 to 5 years after planting, but some plants will become yellow during that time while others do not. Some plants grow best when organics are continuously added back to the soil instead of minerals.

Woodchips rot when moist and change the color of the soil from light brown or tan to dark brown.

Insects like roaches and pillbugs are “decomposers” that help break down woodchips into smaller pieces; earthworms are frequently next in this process followed by microorganisms like bacteria and fungi which further break them down into plant nutrients. If you have a lot of woodchips applied to your landscape, expect to find a lot of decomposers as well. These “nuisance critters” must be managed so they don’t become a problem or they might.

Plastic irrigation boxes attract roaches and spiders when surrounded by woodchips and wet. An occasional insecticide spray in the box will control these nuisance insects.

            These “nuisance critters” are attracted to water, food and warmth. Use your favorite insect spray inside irrigation boxes and keep woodchips from two to 3 feet away from the foundation of the home. Applied water shouldn’t be any closer to the foundation than this anyway. Remember, plant roots follow where the water is applied. No applied water, no root growth.

            Your home is inviting when the outside temperatures are uninviting. During late spring and early fall, apply a “barrier spray” to repel these insects away from your home. Your favorite barrier spray applied to the foundation of the home helps repel “nuisance critters” when they need a change in temperature. The same principle applies to strawberries and other soft fruit like tomatoes touching the ground.

Saving a Favorite Peach by Grafting

Peaches can be grown on their own roots by cuttings or by seed. Of course growing a peach from seed introduces all sorts of diversity that you may or may not want. If this is a favorite peach then vegetative propagation....propagation without sex...is preferred. Vegetative propagation be done through the rooting of  cuttings is probably the best and easiest to do if their own roots are good enough for its natural size or location. Rootstocks may be selected for decreasing the size of the mature plant, disease resistance, high salts in the soil and other reasons. For peaches the most usual reasons are for different soil types.

Grafting and Budding

Sometimes grafting the plant is recommended. Commercially, grafting the old fashioned way (side grafting, approach grafting, bench grafting) is seldom recommended. Instead, a practice called "budding" is preferred. Budding removes (cuts) a bud from the desired tree and inserts it into the seedling of another, the rootstock. This inserted bud is wrapped in stretchable plastic until new growth coming from it is seen. Once you are sure it is growing strongly and will not die, everything above this new growth is cut away....removed. The new plant is a "grafted" peach tree consisting of its rootstock and new growth (scion). 

Wine grape grafted onto a rootstock selected for soil types and disease resistance.

Remnants of this "graft" is called a "dogleg" that may visually disappear in a few years.

Dogleg resulting probably from budding.

Preventing Olives from Forming Using Olive Stop

 This is the label information on Alco Olive Stop.

Please read what I copied from the EPA in 2012 on this label and I will give you a condensation of what it says at the very end. What I tell you here does not replace the information on the label. The label of any pesticide is the legal information provided by the Manufacturer and is the most recent information.

Label Information

For Ornamental Olive Flower and Fruit Elimination For best results ALCO OLIVE STOP should be applied when the olive trees are in full bloom and before fruit set has occurred. During periods of extended bloom more than one spray will be necessary to achieve total flower elimination. When extended bloom occurs the first application should be made between 1/2 and 3/4 bloom with a second spray made 7 to 14 days later. If necessary a third spray may be made 7 to 14 days after the second application. In desert or extremely dry areas all fruit can be eliminated even after fruit has reached pinhead to small shot size. However best results are obtained when olive trees are sprayed during bloom prior to fruit set. Mix 4.0 fluid ounces of ALCO OLIVE STOP in 10 gallons of water. To ensure proper coverage add 1/2 to 1 fluid ounce of any suitable non ionic wetting agent to each 10 gallons of spray mix. ALCO OLIVE STOP can be applied through any conventional spraying equipment. For broadcast use olive trees can be treated at rates up to 96 0 fluid ounces per acre per treatment (up to 0.33 lb of 1 NAA equivalent). Do not exceed 96.0 fluid ounces (0.33 lb of NAA equivalent) ALCO OLIVE STOP per acre per season. 

Rates for Ornamental Pear and Ornamental Plums

For Fruit Elimination in Ornamental Pears and Plums make a single application either at full bloom or during the period up to 5 days following full bloom. Apply to achieve full coverage. Mix 3.0 fluid ounces of ALCO OLIVE STOP in 10 gallons water. To ensure proper coverage add 1/2 to 1 fluid ounce of a suitable non ionic wetting agent to each 10 gallons of spray mix. Spray trees thoroughly wetting all foliage. For broadcast use the maximum application rate must not exceed 32.0 fluid ounces per acre per application (0.11 lb of NAA equivalent) for ornamental pears and plums. Do not apply more than 96.0 fluid ounces per acre (0.33 lb of  NAA equivalent) of ALCO OLIVE STOP per season.

What the Label Says

These directions are only for Alco Olive Stop. The reason for this, other manufacturers have their own labels. The rate or amount of active ingredient may be more or less than Alco's.

Ingredient

The active ingredient that causes "abortion" of the fruit when it is very young is NAA (Naphthaleneacetic acid). It is absorbed into the flowers and leaves where it moves to the base of the ovaries and causes the ovaries and fruit to drop when very small. NAA is a synthetic hormone. It mimics naturally occurring plant hormones called auxins. It is used to abort fruit when they are very young, grow roots on cuttings (propagation), cause flowering to start when it might not, and keep fruit from falling off the tree when it might normally fall off. Olive Stop uses NAA for aborting the fruit when very young. This is the reason it is sprayed on trees when they are flowering. The spray concentration used to do this is very important.

Directions for Use

Determine the amount of water needed by spraying the tree with water before it begins flowering. Spray until water drips from the leaves all through the canopy to be sure all of the leaves (flowers) are wet. Write down how much water is needed for each tree. Wait for the tree to form most of its flowers and then immediately spray when there is no wind or less than 1 mph. Protect vital areas of your body when  spraying by wearing washable rubber gloves, face protection, neck protection, long sleeves long pants, and waterproof shoes or boots. Shower and wash your clothes immediately after applications.

Sprayers

Solo backpack sprayer

On the day the tree is in full bloom, put as much distilled or at least very clean water into the sprayer. When the sprayer is half full, add 0.3 fluid ounces of Olive Stop liquid for each gallon of water. At this time also add a surfactant (sticker/spreader) such as Grow More's EZ Wet, Hi Yields Spreader Sticker, Monterrey's Herbicide Helper or Bonide's Turbo Spreader Sticker. Finish filling the sprayer until the desired amount of finished spray is attained. When the spray is applied, the tree should be in full bloom, i.e., the majority of flowers are open. Spray the tree until the leaves start dripping water.

Hose End Sprayers

Select the spray setting closest to 0.3 fluid ounces of Olive Stop for each gallon of water sprayed. Pour enough of the concentrated Olive Stop into its tank to finish spraying all of the trees. Combine this concentrated Olive Stop mixture with enough spreader sticker to make to make a finished spray. For instance, if you are making three gallons of finished spray then add enough spreader sticker in its tank for three gallons. The amount to use per gallon will be on the label. Gently add the concentration to the spray tank so it is evenly mixed. Spray the tree when most of the flowers are open. Spray until the leaves begin dripping water.

Cleaning the Sprayer

If any spray remains when you are finished, spray the remaining  on the ground over the largest area possible. All sprayers are "triple rinsed" as soon as you are finished. This means the sprayers are rinsed with clean water three times. The rinsate is spread on the ground over the largest area possible. The sprayers are put away after triple rinsing.