Something is pruning my roses!
By rosegardens
@rosegardens (3032)
United States
May 17, 2011 10:43am CST
Hello fellow mylotters. I was excited to see rose buds beginning on my year-old bushes, and I think one of them is 2 years old. My knockout began a bud about 2 weeks ago, and every day I am delighted to see it getting a bit bigger and more of them. Yesterday I went into my backyard and noticed a cane on a climber nearby had been snipped but not all the way. I checked the knockout and realized something was wrong but couldn't figure out what. I kept looking, and tried to find the biggest bud but could not. Then I realized the bud was on a slightly taller cane than the one I was looking at, and upon inspection noticed the cane was on the ground same as on the climbing rose, still attached but just barely. My heart sank. I knew that bud would become a rose first, and I have been waiting since the snow began melting to see my roses.
This morning I found another cane had been taken down from the knockout. I think the critter is going after the flowers, but when it cuts the cane it finds there are still no flowers on it. I do not know what evil critter would be sneaking in my yard to chomp on my roses. I have some spray to put on the bushes to prevent the animals from making a dinner out of my plants, but it has been raining so much and we are due for more. It needs a good 4 hours to dry before it rains. I guess I will still go out and try to spray the stuff so I do not lose any more canes.
Have you had any critters eating away at your roses or other flowers before they have even bloomed? What did you do about it? What could be chewing my rose canes?
1 person likes this
5 responses
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
17 May 11
hi rosegarden either it was deer or a two legged downright evil person who had some kind of gru dge. do not laugh.we had one nutcase who
came into our yard and pulled out some fuchsia plants I had just
planted the day before. why? because he phoned us in the nmiddle'of the night, really drunk and yelled, I did it,I pulled out your damned'
plants cause you fired my uncle. I @#$$$%#@%T%#%% you" We called the
police and gave them the name of the uncle so the police could run down the plant destroyer and gave him some jail time for malicious destructin of private property. Honestely it could be a person. someoe who had a mad on against you for some nutty reason known only to him or her.I cannot think of an animal that would be that selective. could be someone who knows that you were looking forward to seeing that bloom.
1 person likes this
@rosegardens (3032)
• United States
17 May 11
Hmmm... I do not know anyone who would do such a thing. The way they are bent, a person would have more than likely got a thorn in their hand.
I am sorry about your plants! My gosh, what a weirdo! We have our share around here, but no one I would think would do such a thing as this. If a human did it, I'm sure they would have dug the whole plant or sheared off all the canes of the roses, instead of being so selective. I have 30 some rose bushes and only 2 have been violated thus far. None in the front of the house, only in the back yard where the majority of roses are.
It is a good thing you have found out who did it right away. It is such a shame to go through all the trouble of planting, pruning, feeding and caring for something to have it snatched from you in the midst of the night.
@rosegardens (3032)
• United States
17 May 11
I know it is not deer. I live in a metro area and the deer wouldn't be able to get into my yard without animal control grabbing it. lol.
I did see a possum the other night, and wonder if that is what is doing this? Or maybe those waskelly wabbits are back.
@rosegardens (3032)
• United States
17 May 11
True! I think they tried to make a burrow in my tomato garden last year. I used to like the little fuzzy too darned cute wabbits until I started a garden. 
@carolscash (9492)
• United States
17 May 11
It could be a deer attacking your roses as I have had that happen. Usually the beetles are what gets into our roses and eats them up. I usually am waiting for spring to see mine bloom as well. I don't like the critters eating at them either.
@rosegardens (3032)
• United States
18 May 11
These darned critters. I surely hope this will be the end. I fought the rabbits over the winter with my female kiwi, the squirrels and birds are eating the tulips and other flowers, the rain is drowning some of my plants, and now I have some other weird thing eating roses and it is not even summer!
I hope you are able to deal with the beetles so they will not harm your crops.
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
17 May 11
Do you have deer? Deer think roses are smorgasbord...
@rosegardens (3032)
• United States
18 May 11
No, there are no deer here. I live in a heavily populated city, surrounded by populated cities. A deer would be noticed by someone and it would cause quite a stir being in the city like that. Besides, a deer would have munched it down and I wouldn't have a single rose or asparagus left. The asparagus look fine for the moment.
