Aphids can be washed off with a good squirt of water or squashed with your fingers - a good stree reliever. They don't do any harm to your rose bush.

I'm surprised you hadn't seen them before. They are in every garden, and there is usually a buildup on roses in spring before the first blooms open. Then predators usually bring them under control after a couple of weeks. I agree with Carol's advice. Just break up the worst encrustations, if any, and don't worry about getting rid of them. They are nearly harmless and every gardener lives with them.

Every year, for the first big flush of bloom, the aphids show up -- sometimes in quantity.

Shortly thereafter, a good-sized flock of tiny gray birds (I think bushtits) shows up. The little fellas cover the garden, chirping happily. They stay for perhaps a day, and when they leave, there are very few aphids left to bother with.

Jeri

I had a lot of aphids in the early Spring, especially on Mlle. Cecille Brunner, who seemed to be the most delicious (to aphids). But I forced myself to wait for ladybugs, who did eventually appear, and their larvae took care of a lot of the aphids. But the real heroes were the Syrphid Fly larvae. They looked like tiny green caterpillars, and they just vacuumed up those aphids in no time!

I also spent a lot of time trying to identify what I thought must be a special kind of aphid - like a white pearly dome on the leaf. It turned out to be what they call a "mummy", the REMAINS of an aphid that been vacuumed or otherwise eaten by a predator. I'm glad I waited the situation out, because I learned so much during the course of it.

Laura

Aphids multiply incredibly rapidly (the babies are often born already pregnant with their own babies to come). They suck the sap out of lush, newly developing new growth.

That's why they show up on roses shortly before the first flush of bloom in late spring/early summer.

After that the stems start hardening off and the aphids go looking for other food sources.

Thank you all for your responses, I had been worried :) There were so many aphids on one of my lupines I couldn't believe it, and the plant did seem to suffer health-wise, so I was very worried when I saw them on my roses near the buds!

So a good squirt of water and some patience, eh? Much cheaper and healthier than the sprays I see in the stores that cost $10 per bottle!!! C'mon birds and caterpillars :)

Thanks again!