Mini creatures on my rose
 

Maybe a few of you will remember my mini roses that were drooping - they soon came back to life and looked gorgeous after advice I was given.
Well they're suffering again! Even though a trusted friend was looking after them and did her best, I returned to find them looking dry and crispy, although they seemed to have been watered as they should.

They're covered in a canopy of webs, which I assume is from a spider, or in this case hundreds of teeny tiny spiders. Could these be affecting the plant? They're not much bigger than a milimetre long, with a dark brown body and light, translucent-looking legs and heads - are there any other creatures that make webs - it's a blanket sort of web - or are they newly-born spiders?

There are also little black dots on the leaves - is this a related problem? I don't really want to kill them if they're spiders but there are hundreds of them - will they affect the plant in any way? If they're not spiders, how should I get rid of them?

I think I will take my roses with me when I go away in future...

Mercy

The creature description is approximates to red spider, and the webs and
damage seem to match. I assume that the rose is growing indoors from your
comment on watering.Red spider are very destructive pests and thrive in a
dry atmosphere. If the rose is indoors a spell outside may help it recover.
I would expect the adults to be browner than you describe and there should
also be much smaller whitish juveniles on the leaves.
..
Red spider have developed resistance to a range of insecticides, commercial
growers control them with a parasitic wasp(?). Mist sprays are recommended
but you've really got to maintain a moist atmosphere from the start.
-I'm having some success with'Doff'. Dimethoate and Polysect were
ineffective on my lot.
Regards
David T

"Mercy" wrote in message
...

Maybe a few of you will remember my mini roses that were drooping - they
soon came back to life and looked gorgeous after advice I was given.
Well they're suffering again! Even though a trusted friend was looking
after them and did her best, I returned to find them looking dry and
crispy, although they seemed to have been watered as they should.

They're covered in a canopy of webs, which I assume is from a spider,
or in this case hundreds of teeny tiny spiders. Could these be
affecting the plant? They're not much bigger than a milimetre long,
with a dark brown body and light, translucent-looking legs and heads -
are there any other creatures that make webs - it's a blanket sort of
web - or are they newly-born spiders?

There are also little black dots on the leaves - is this a related
problem? I don't really want to kill them if they're spiders but there
are hundreds of them - will they affect the plant in any way? If
they're not spiders, how should I get rid of them?

I think I will take my roses with me when I go away in future...

Mercy


--
Mercy

In article , david taylor
writes
The creature description is approximates to red spider, and the webs and
damage seem to match.

Only approximates though ;-)
These things have dark bodies, red spider tend to have lighter bodies
with two black spots.
Best distinguisher between spiders and red spider mite would be speed -
red spider move around slowly, baby spiders move fast.

I assume that the rose is growing indoors from your
comment on watering.Red spider are very destructive pests and thrive in a
dry atmosphere. If the rose is indoors a spell outside may help it recover.
I would expect the adults to be browner than you describe and there should
also be much smaller whitish juveniles on the leaves.
.
Red spider have developed resistance to a range of insecticides, commercial
growers control them with a parasitic wasp(?).

It's not a wasp. Not sure what it is without looking it up, but it seems
to have larvae like miniature red caterpillars.

Mist sprays are recommended
but you've really got to maintain a moist atmosphere from the start.
-I'm having some success with'Doff'. Dimethoate and Polysect were
ineffective on my lot.

Same experience as you with dimethoate.

"Mercy" wrote in message
...

Maybe a few of you will remember my mini roses that were drooping - they
soon came back to life and looked gorgeous after advice I was given.
Well they're suffering again! Even though a trusted friend was looking
after them and did her best, I returned to find them looking dry and
crispy, although they seemed to have been watered as they should.

They're covered in a canopy of webs, which I assume is from a spider,
or in this case hundreds of teeny tiny spiders. Could these be
affecting the plant? They're not much bigger than a milimetre long,
with a dark brown body and light, translucent-looking legs and heads -
are there any other creatures that make webs - it's a blanket sort of
web - or are they newly-born spiders?

There are also little black dots on the leaves - is this a related
problem? I don't really want to kill them if they're spiders but there
are hundreds of them - will they affect the plant in any way? If
they're not spiders, how should I get rid of them?

I think I will take my roses with me when I go away in future...

Mercy


--
Mercy



--
Kay
"Do not insult the crocodile until you have crossed the river"

Thanks both of you for the advice and info. I posted this on the 'roses' section too, and a guy said he thought they were spider mites. There are little weeny babies that are white and bigger, darker coloured ones. Most of them are gone (so are all but five of the leaves, unfortunately) but I've been advised that a few good sprays will get rid of them.

Do you think they would have been on the plant already? There's no chance they hitched a ride in some compost? I recently re-potted them, and soon after that the first web appeared.

Thanks,

Mercy