Persephone wrote in :

On 3 Apr 2007 20:33:19 -0700, "mleblanca" wrote:

On Apr 3, 4:44 pm, Persephone wrote:
I've heard repeatedly that planting garlic between rose bushes
helps keep off pests.

Any experience out there? Would like some real-world input before I
launch my garlic-between-roses campaign.

Persephone


I tried this with garlic chives rather than garlic. It did keep the
aphids
away from the roses: they were attracted to the garlic chives instead!
They were _covered_ with aphids!
I decided that I would just leave the aphids on the roses and let the
hummingbirds/ladybugs/soldier beetles take care of them. And they do.

Emilie
Nor Cal
Thanks to all who responded.

Not sure WHAT aphids look like! After all these years...!

Are they the icky-sticky little things that cluster on the new
buds and the adjacent stems, right at the beginning of the
new growth?

If so, how do you get them off? I just wipe them off with
my fingers (ick) or sometimes a wet paper towel.

If NOT the same, how do you get off the "icky-sticky"
little things described above?

TIA

That's them. Sometimes you can just hose them off (but it just moves
them elsewhere, I suppose). I've used a hot sauce/water mist to remove
them for a while and sometimes they don't return for a long while after a
good coating of that. Beneficial insects are good, too. Buy a bunch of
praying mantises and watch how fast THEY have a feast. I've gotten a
real appreciation for praying mantises in the last few years.