Aphids on roses
Three aphids are common on roses: rose aphid, potato aphid and the small cotton aphid, and UC IPM manages all three the same way. In most of California UC IPM calls them a problem for about six weeks in spring and early summer, until heat reduces their numbers. Hose colonies off early in the day, keep ants off the canes, and let syrphid, lacewing and lady beetle larvae and parasitic wasps finish the job; UC IPM says broadly toxic insecticides are rarely justified in the garden.
At a glance
- Damage
- Buds and shoot tips coated in green or pink aphids, honeydew, distorted buds
- Type
- Sap feeding
- Settings
- Garden, Under glass
- Threshold
- None set — tolerate light to moderate numbers (UC IPM)
- Ally
- Syrphidae
- Rate
- Wild — attract adults with open flowers
How to confirm it
Large aphids, green or pink to red-brown, crowded on rose buds and shoot tips. The cornicles (the two 'tail pipes') are long and black and the tail between them pale yellow; potato aphid, also common on roses, has pale cornicles.
Identification, lifecycle, degree days and every control option are on the full Rose aphid profile. Not sure it is this pest? Answer four questions about the damage.