GARDEN FANATIC: In quest of the perfect rose

Roses are tolerant, hardy plants, but a constant application of pesticides won’t make a healthy plant. Roses require the basics of sunlight, well-prepared soil, water and fertilizer. Your mission (if you choose to accept it) is control, not elimination, of every pest and disease.

Here are your rose questions to the Plant Man for the second week of June.

Q. How do I get rid of the aphids on my roses?

A. The tender new growth and flowers of your roses are desirable targets for aphids. These soft-bodied insects are easy to control by using a horticultural oil or an insecticidal soap product.

Q. My rose is growing great leaves, but I haven’t seen a flower yet.

A. Some rose varieties will concentrate their energies into growth the first year and flower little, especially if they have received heavy dosages of nitrogen. If your rose is an once-blooming variety it will not bloom the first year. Climbers are also not likely to bloom their first year.

Q. My climbing roses never bloom although I prune them every spring.

A. Climbing roses bloom on old wood, rather than new growth, so I recommend only stripping leaves at pruning time.

Q. My rose leaves look like my grandmother’s old doilies, just like lacework. What’s up?

A. Lacework holes in rose leaves are classic rose slug damage. Spray infested plants a systemic insecticide for immediate control.

Q. What’s causing my rose leaves to wilt?

A. A number of different fungi may cut off the flow of nutrients and water throughout the stem, causing the leaves to wilt or yellow. They enter through a wound caused by the thorns or at a cut stem. Prune out infected canes and spray a rose fungicide at 14-day intervals until control is achieved.

Q. I’m still getting mildew on my roses. Can I spray as needed?

A. Controlling mildew during warm, moist weather is nearly impossible. I recommend using a rose disease control at the first sign of a problem, but only at 7- to 10-day intervals to avoid damaging your plants.

In our quest to grow perfect roses, we provide them with well-tended beds and prescribe a myriad of remedies, hopeful that our plants remain untouched by insect or disease. But even Catharine accepts an occasional imperfect leaf.

She knows the alternative is curing all of the diseases but creating a toxic waste dump in her rose garden. See you next time.

STEVE KAWARATANI is married to writer, Catharine Cooper, and has one cat and four dogs. He can be reached at (949) 497-8168, or e-mail to plantman2@mac.com.