Fire ants will kill roses

15 years ago

if you are not careful. This rose has been in the pot it was planted in for almost 9 months. the other 3 that were planted the same day in the same medium and the same size planter had huge root balls and they were ALL, including this one, 3 foot tall and covered in buds and leaves.SO you can see what kind of damage Fireants can do to a plants roots.

I washed the roots off and treated it like a bare root (without the pruning) and watered it in really well....It should be ok, but only time will tell. I could not touch it for an hour after dumping it out of the pot.....

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Comments (6)

floridarosez9 Morgan
15 years ago
I have lost many plants to fire ants. Usually by the time I notice they are in decline, it's too late to save them. Years ago, I had a collection of striped double impatience on my back deck. I lost every single one of them to fire ants. I have been looking over the years and still have not been able to replace some of those unusual colors. I'm fighting them right now in my gallon pots of roses that I haven't planted yet.
Kathy
15 years ago
Oh, man -- we're fairly new to Florida and I never realized fire ants would damage roses. I'd better stock up on Amdro.
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particentral
Original Author
15 years ago
The scariest part is that pit had been treated at the first sign of them and I never could get rid of them. I gave up. Here is another view of the area under the pot after the rose was removed...
{{gwi:242783}}

You can see how they had dug out the soil around the pot and it sunk into the ground...and you can see how many ants are still there after an hour.....scary really. Keep ammonia around too cause it kkills them on your skin and pulls out the burn and sting.
Kathy
15 years ago
Oh, my God -- it looks like an outtake from "Them!"

Thanks for the ammonia tip. Coming from NJ, we've never had to deal with them.

What are you using to treat for them?
floridarosez9 Morgan
15 years ago
What works best for me is one of the insecticides that you broadcast in a fertilizer spreader. Do the entire yard at the same time, or they just pack up their children and move. It lasts for several months. I, too, have noticed that when you put the insecticide on the bed (it's not always a mound; sometimes they are underground), they seem to ignore it. When I have a particularly persistent bed, I dig it up with a shovel, and spray them with an ant killer. Be very careful if you do this. If you're not paying attention, they will be up your pants leg before you know it. I try to get the queen when I do this (she's the one with wings).
particentral
Original Author
15 years ago
Amdro is the best we have found and we use the bait so that they carry it into the mound. The hole above was 6 inches deep (or so) and yesterday, it was flat with the ground. They had dug it back up even with the yard and my hubby was asking me why I filled it in since it would be easier to kill them if it was open with the tunnels exposed.....I just shook my head cause I had been at work all day .....