Rose Midge Update

I I found your article in the ARS magazine on "Critters" very interesting particularly the paragraph on Rose Midge. I guess I qualify as a large garden with 75 HT, Fl, and shrubs and the balance (150) minis. I have a midge problem big time. I would guess I lost 1/3 to 1/2 of my spring bloom but have to admit I didn't do anything to prevent the damage in the spring. I'm still having the problem and have done quite a bit of research and am trying to put what I have found to practice now hoping for a decent fall bloom for a show. My sources for info were the Ct AG. STATION in Windsor, The UNIV OF CT. COOPERATIVE EXTENSION staff in Storrs Ct and Don Myers. The conclusion is the use of Imidacloprid, which I believe is Merit and Cyfluthrin( and I have no idea what this is). These are the two products you mentioned in your article. I found both of these products in two different formulations at Lowe's. The first was a bag of granular( Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer for Soil and Turf). Label--Imidacloprid .15% and B- Cyfluthrin .05%. The second was a hose end sprayer ( Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer for Soil & Turf) label same as the other. Label-Imidacloprid .72% and Beta Cyfluthrin .36%. I have started to use both but obviously won't know how effective for a month or so. I'm not sure I've given you any info you don't already have but hope it helps.

The article below was taken from Tom Mayhew’s 2006 Consulting Rosarian Report: May in the Rose Garden. A severe infestation of rose midge will leave you with little or no blooms in your garden, so prevention is the key to this problem.

Rose Midge: May is the time of the year that you might start seeing rose midge damage to the roses. The rose midge tiny larvae destroy the tips of new growth and developing rosebuds, leaving the rose with burned and shriveled growth. This results in a “blind shoot” and no flower. The tiny, hard to see, mosquito-like rose midge has a 10-14 day life cycle, part of which is spent in a cocoon in the ground under the rose bushes. A soil treatment should be put down around and under the rose bushes sometime in April or early May (Editor's note: those dates are best for Penn-Jersey District, for CT and New England May or early June are more appropriate dates), and then possibly again in July or August, especially if you see evidence of rose midge activity. Among the possible treatments, two products that actually list rose midge on the foldout label are Bayer Advanced Garden Rose & Flower Insect Killer (liquid) (claims: lasts 30 days, covers 500 rose bushes) and Bayer Advanced Lawn Complete Insect Killer for Soil and Turf (liquid) (claims: 3-month protection, covers 5000 square feet). Both come in a ready-to-spray container with a hose end connection (no mixing). Either of these two Bayer Advanced liquid products could be used as a soil drench for a rose midge treatment. Both contain Merit’s active ingredient imidacloprid, a systemic compound developed by Bayer. Bayer also makes a granular Complete Insect Killer for Soil and Turf, which contains the same active ingredients (imidacloprid and beta-cyfluthrin) as the liquid version of the product with the same name, however, Rose Midge is not specifically listed on the label for this easy to use granular product.

Connecticut Rose Society
Elizabeth Park Hartford, Connecticut

Need Answers to Rose Growing Questions? Call a CR!

Connecticut Rose Society Elizabeth Park Hartford, Connecticut

Need Answers to Rose Growing Questions? Call a CR!

Connecticut Rose Society
Elizabeth Park Hartford, Connecticut