"Jon" wrote in message
...

I have two of the above roses that I purchased recently. I planted into
large pots to the depth there were in their pots with a small handful of
blood,fish and bone. I have also fed them with diluted liquid tomato feed
but I have noticed that the flower buds have started to droop over and the
stem behind the bud has thinned and turned brown, and the buds have died
off. I have cut the roses back and have continued watering and feeding
them as advised by the garden centre I purchased them from. Has anyone
heard of this before and what is it called? I have learned that these old
roses only flower once a year, so have given up hope for any more blooms
this year. Any advice or information would be greatly appreciated.

Looking in The Rose Expert by Dr. Hessayon, there is an illustration of a
brown bud, although it is not drooping. The text says that young buds are
dead and withered. There are small brown spots on young leaves, which
become distorted. The culprit is the Capsid Bug, a bright green insect
which moves rapidly when disturbed. *If* this rings bells with you, the
advice is to spray the soil and plants with Fenitrothion.

I should mention that my book is 13 years old, so it is possible that
Fenitrothion is no longer produced. However, I would have thought that
another systemic insecticide would do the job just as well. I suggest you
peruse a few labels at your local gc.

Spider