Why do rose leaves have holes and what to do?

Every gardener who cultivates the "queen of flowers" faces a multitude of challenges each season, from which this beauty must be saved. Controlling parasitic insects and infections is crucial, as an infected plant simply dies.

Quite often, small and large holes form on rose foliage, which are the result of pests visiting the bushes, as well as damage by pathogenic fungi.

Reasons

Beginning in early spring, when rose bushes begin to bud and develop new foliage, flowers are most in need of protection from pests, their larvae, and spores. If pests aren't detected and treated promptly, plants slow down in growth and development, foliage falls, and buds fail to open.

Alfalfa leafcutter bee

Unlike other species, alfalfa leafcutters are not social insects, but rather solitary. Their presence on rose bushes can be identified with the naked eye by the large, perfectly cut leaves. The leaf pieces the bee cuts are used to construct and furnish their nests. Therefore, the insect uses the leaf pieces not as food, but for construction. By removing flowering weeds from your garden, which attract the insect with their aroma, you can get rid of this "construction pest."

Symptoms

The presence of alfalfa leaf cutter on roses can be determined by:

• cosmetic defect in the form of even holes on the leaves;
• damage to foliage that does not cause disease and does not affect plant vessels.

Raspberry weevil

These small, black-gray beetles, up to 4 mm in size, overwinter under fallen leaves in the topsoil and emerge to hunt in early spring when daytime temperatures reach 10°C (50°F). The pest's emergence coincides with the growth of new rose leaves, which are immediately perforated by the weevil. Rose bushes are threatened not only by adult weevils but also by larvae, which live in the soil and feed on the roots.

Female rose weevils lay eggs directly into plant tissue, using stems, leaves, and buds. The larvae grow, eating the plant from the inside, and then pupate. Therefore, if the pest infests a large number, rose bushes can die.

Symptoms

When inspecting rose bushes, pay attention to the following signs to detect pests:

• small punctures-holes that elephant weevils make with their trunks when feeding;
• wilted flower stalks that look as if they were not cut off completely with a knife.

Alenka the shaggy

The rose chafer is a dangerous beetle that feeds primarily on flowers and fruits. After overwintering in early spring, the rose chafer emerges in early March to hunt, beginning its destructive activity on early-blooming plants. The rose chafer's migration occurs between March 25 and June 25, during the peak of rose bloom. The hairy rose chafer actively consumes the pink blossoms of primarily light-colored flowers, chewing irregular holes in the flowers and young leaves. When threatened, the pest secretes a specific fluid that later becomes colonized by phytoplasmas.

Symptoms

When roses are attacked by the hairy Alyonka, the following symptoms appear:

• the appearance of irregularly shaped holes on petals and young leaves;
• the appearance of deformed buds, inside of which several furry black beetles will sit.

Rose borer and rose sawfly

Rose sawflies and rose borers are insects that parasitize berry bushes and ornamental plants. Beginning in mid-March, the insects mate, after which the female lays eggs by cutting a section of the rose bush. The larvae, after hatching, immediately begin feeding on the plant's vegetative matter. This results in stems and leaves becoming riddled with holes, shoots becoming hollow, wilting, and buds failing to open. This disrupts sap flow and photosynthesis. It is very difficult to detect the pests in advance, so their presence is often only noticed after significant damage has been caused to the rose bushes.

Symptoms

Borers and sawflies are very difficult to spot with the naked eye. However, you can identify their presence on roses by the following signs:

• the appearance of small holes on the leaves and stems of plants;
• wilting and discoloration of leaves and buds;
• a void where the stem bends.

Apple gall wasp

A dangerous parasite that lays eggs in the tissue of shoots and foliage, capable of destroying a mature rose bush. Females emerge from fallen, infected leaves in early spring and lay their eggs inside rose buds. The eggs hatch into red galls covered in delicate, fine hairs. When infested, roses stop blooming, become weakened, and eventually die.

Symptoms

Characteristic signs of rose damage by gall wasps are:

• the appearance of specific swellings on the leaves;
• torn foliage disfigured by gall growths.

Cutworms

The most dangerous pests of ornamental shrubs, which rapidly consume the foliage and buds of plants, are cutworm caterpillars. The moths of this pest only fly out to hunt at night, and the offspring continue their activity around the clock, destroying vegetative matter. Females lay eggs on the buds and foliage of rose bushes from early May to mid-July. Just 4-6 days after laying the eggs, the voracious caterpillars hatch. Due to the large accumulation of larvae, the bushes are stripped of their foliage in just one week. They weaken due to a lack of nutrients and a disruption of photosynthesis, and eventually die.

Symptoms

When bushes are attacked by cutworm larvae, the following signs appear:

• irregularly shaped holes on all leaves;
• complete exposure of bushes.

Leaf rollers

The leaf roller's offspring chew enormous holes in the buds and tissues of young leaves at incredible speed, twisting them into coils. Young rose bushes are particularly vulnerable to their activity, as the loss of nutrients disrupts photosynthesis and ultimately leads to their death. The very first larvae to hatch destroy the plant's buds, preventing normal growth. After destroying the buds, the pests migrate to the apices of the bushes, devour the leaves, and roll them into straws. The parasitic moths fly long distances, invading nearby ornamental and fruit trees.

Symptoms

You can distinguish the parasite from other pests by the following signs:

• irregularly shaped holes on young foliage;
• twisting damaged leaves into straws using a web.

Treatment

Pest control should be carried out at all stages of the plant's life cycle, using chemical pesticides and alternative folk methods.

Chemicals

To combat parasites and their larvae, it is necessary to spray with systemic contact insecticides:

• Commander;
• Aktara;
• Tanrek;
• Karbofos;
• Bison;
• Spark - Double Effect;
• Lightning;
• Antio;
• Karbofos.

The advantages of the listed chemical pesticides are: effectiveness at elevated temperatures, systemic mechanism of attack, rapid penetration into plant cells, and resistance to being washed out by rain.

Folk remedies

Traditional methods serve as a protective measure for pest control without the use of chemicals.

Tincture of onion peel with hot pepper

Spraying rose bushes with an infusion of natural repellents will help get rid of many pests on the plants.

Preparation:

• Add 500 onion peels, 1 teaspoon of ground red hot pepper, and half a grated bar of laundry soap to an 8-liter container;
• Pour hot water over the ingredients, leave for three days, strain;
• Spray if there are leaf rollers, cutworms, borers, sawflies and weevils on plants once every three days.

Infusion of yarrow and tomato tops

Tomato tops contain toxins that are detrimental to many insect pests, and yarrow will strengthen the immunity of roses.

Preparation:

• Place 2 kg of fresh yarrow and 3 kg of tomato tops in a 10-liter metal container and fill with water;
• Place the mixture on the fire, bring to a boil, and leave to infuse for 4 hours;
• After steeping, strain the broth, add 2 caps of dishwashing liquid;
• Spray rose bushes against pests every 5-7 days.

Resistant varieties

To prevent potential rose disease problems, the first step is to eliminate the parasitic insects that carry the infection. However, if a pest does infest your rose garden, consider planting resistant varieties in advance, such as:

• Gloria Day;
• Pomponella;
• Music Box;
• Aphrodite;
• Alexander Pushkin;
• Leonardo da Vinci;
• Anton Chekhov;
• Pastella;
• Westernland.

Prevention

Rose garden care includes a whole range of preventative measures:

• For prevention, entomophagous insects should be attracted to the area: ladybugs, praying mantises, lacewings;
• In late autumn, the soil under rose bushes should be dug up to the depth of a shovel, as the larvae of many pests overwinter in the soil at a depth of 15-25 cm. When the soil is dug up, the parasites come to the surface and die when frost sets in;
• Buds, leaves and stems affected by pests must be burned to prevent any remaining eggs from continuing to exist.

Adviсe

By following the recommendations of experienced gardeners, you can avoid damaging rose leaves and enjoy their full bloom.

1. You can protect your rose garden from invasions of the hairy alenka, bronze beetle, and alfalfa leaf-cutting bee using a special fine-grained net that should be thrown over the bushes.
2. The choice of chemicals depends on the capabilities and type of rose leaf pest. Before purchasing, carefully inspect the insecticide packaging, including the manufacturing date and expiration date.
3. At the first sign of pest presence on roses, comprehensive pest control treatments should be carried out immediately. Some pests begin their reproductive cycle within 3-5 hours of landing on the foliage.

Reviews

Gardeners who have encountered the problem of perforated leaves on their roses and have used one of the described treatment methods share their impressions.

Marina Yaroslavl

I've been growing roses for three years now. This year, my roses suffered a serious problem: the leaves became perforated and curled up. By spraying them with an onion peel infusion, alternating with Aktara, I got rid of this problem.

Olga, Ulyanovsk

I've been growing roses for a long time. And I know that without chemical sprays, you can't expect good blooms: the buds and leaves will be punctured, and the plant may simply die. I treat the shrubs every 10 days with chemicals, alternating sprays of yarrow infusion and tomato tops. My roses always bloom profusely, and the foliage is green and glossy.

By giving the "queen of flowers" a little attention and care, and following all the proper agricultural practices, you can achieve luxurious flowering of this exquisite beauty, which will have glossy, rich green, healthy foliage.