white fuzzy sacks on my rose bushes: mites

» biogardener - mites

You will find that those little white sacks will soon explode and release a new harvest of tiny mites. I have successfully treated plants infected that way which had been thrown out by other gardeners who did not know what to do.

Take a Q-tip and dip it in undiluted alcohol. Touch each little white puff with it. Repeat daily. The alcohol kills the mites but it does not kill the egges which have not yet hatched. That is why you have to keep repeating the procedure until there are no more mites to lay eggs. It usually takes me a week to get the job done.

To avoid a repeat performance next year, you can protect the susceptible plants by surrounding them with chives or other onions. Plant them sparingly. I use sets of three little bulbs in one spot, because chives multiply quickly. You can also set garlic bulbs or any other onion or garlic plant which can be left in the ground all year round. That method will also keep aphids and borers and black spot away.

That is the organic way of dealing with the problem. There are, of course, synthetic cures, and other people will probably advise you on them, but I do not believe in introducing poisons into the environment.

-- posted by biogardener