By Jonezee
Flintshire,
Wales 
How difficult this weather is for gardening! The wind and rain are so destructive to the lovely flowers and young plants. I have managed to protect some from the elements, however my rose bush - 'In Loving Memory' is suffering. I don't know if it is the weather or a bug. I can't see anything, but I have sprayed it several times, but the leaves are full of holes. Can anyone shed any light on the matter? Also I should be grateful if someone could tell me if I should take of some of the buds as they form, because there are as many as five or six in a cluster on each stem. This has not been a problem in the past, usually the buds form singly and then form into a huge flower head. See my picture page. Please can anyone help?
16 Jun, 2011
Answers
As I said I have looked but cannot see anything on the leaves. I did have some greenfly, but only on the buds not the leaves and the spray has dealt with that.
17 Jun, 2011
Well it won't hurt the plant to leave the buds on and see what happens. Are the leaves going brown as well as having holes in them? that could be rose slugworm - there will be small caterpillars munching away underneath the leaves. Sounds like a sawfly or a caterpillar anyway. Look underneath the leaves to see if you can find the culprits there and spray them with a contact insecticide in the evening after the bees have gone.
16 Jun, 2011