Hello, I am trying to start a new rose garden and was worried about pests, especially japanese beetles and thrips/aphids.
Would planting roses with little to no fragrance help deter pests? I seem to remember the beetles in the past going for my most fragrant roses. Will I still get lots of pests with low fragrance? If that is the case I will just stick to my favorites, which are very fragrant and hope for the best. Thanks for any help-
I doubt fragrance figures into the aphid equation. Thrips are more attracted to lighter colors, or so I’ve always read. Perhaps it’s their damage is easier to see with lighter colors? I can’t discuss the beetles, thankfully, as they don’t exist here on the West coast. I would imagine if you have the Japanese Beetles present, they’re going to attack anything they eat. They might hit the more scented ones first, but if you don’t have any highly scented ones, they’ll likely settle for “second best”. If you’re going to invest the time and other resources into growing roses, you should probably maximize your pleasure and just grow what you love. I wish you all the best with them!
Welcome to the forum Wally. I have taken care of many large rose gardens for decades. Truly the lighter colored roses show Thrip damage, but Japanese Beetles are around for such a relatively short period of time, don’t let that deter you from buying your favorite fragrant roses. Thrips are my most frustrating insect because I live next to acres of grass. Everytime the grasses are mowed Thrips are attracted to my roses, they are so much harder to control.