Rose buds being half eaten in an urban courtyard

[Lburele]

Hi. I’m an avid gardener, but a novice with roses. Gowing them in my hot, hum

id New Orleans garden is a challenge, but I’m giving it a shit.

Something seems to be eating the tips of many of my rosebuds before they have a chance to mature. I’ve kept a close watch on them and have seen two katydids and one lizard (who was hopefully hunting katydids). I have not seen any other pests of any kind.

I can use insecticides, but I’d like to figure out what I’m dealing with first and explore alternatives if possible. Any advice would be appreciated.

[roseseek]

That could easily be katydid damage. They are, after all, basically grasshoppers and will eat anything “plant”.

[Rosejoy]

Welcome to the forum, Lburele,

It almost looks like this bloom was malformed because of environmental conditions, sometimes extreme heat causes blooms to abort usual development. It was hard to tell from the side photo you posted. Katydids will eat buds and leaves.