Thrips....Help!!!!

20 years ago

I just planted a rose garden (despite refusing to for many years because we are organic and I did not want to spray anything). A day later I find that they are full of thrips! What to do? I need something that works fast. I went out and cut off all the blooms, bagged them tightly. But, come on, I bought the roses to see the blooms. I know there are beneficial nematodes you can buy, but in previous searches, did not really find the site. Something about hired bugs. Does this really work? Please give me your experiences. I need to get this under control fast before the rest of my yard becomes infested. Any suggestions, please!

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Comments (6)

forestelves
20 years ago
http://search.gardenweb.com/search/nph-ind.cgi?term=thrips&forum=rosesorg&forum_name=Organic+Rose+Growing

search this to find help.
amg_in_sf_area
20 years ago
A long-time organic gardener with a hankering for old roses, I was desperate to find a good source for beneficial insects for my new garden that offered a combination pack at a reasonable price so I could experiment with several insects at once. Most other sites offer single strains at $25 to $30 a pop, or use their own brand labels and no precise descriptions of what is in their product. I ordered only yesterday but will post back about results when I receive the product and then again when I observe any benefits. Fortunately, I am not in the throes of an infestation...

Here is a link that might be useful: Where I ordered mine...
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annafl
Original Author
20 years ago
I got rid of the tree that I thought was creating the problem. It was a small abultilon tree that I planted last year and had just blossomed into a thrip haven. I did order and spray the surrounding area and a great deal of my yard with beneficial nematodes. I have been carefully trimming my roses so no spent flowers fall on the ground, wrapping them tightly in plastic and discarding them. It seems like the problem is better, even only after a week. I found some thrips today, but it seems like it is closer to being managable. I'll see what I think next week.
annafl
Original Author
20 years ago
It's difficult to believe my eyes. When I trimmed the spent roses yesterday, I did not find any thrips. Can I really credit the beneficial nematodes? The other thought I had is that nearby there is a very large gardenia bush that is full of buds. I know gardenias are thrip magnets. Maybe they have moved there. I don't see them, but it will be a week or two before the gardenias start blooming. The saga continues. If the gardenias don't have visible thrips when they bloom, I will be very impressed and be able to really tout these bought nematodes.
girlndocs
20 years ago
I just shovel pruned a mystery HT with creamy yellow blossoms I really enjoyed as cutflowers, until they began getting all deformed. I diagnosed thrips last year and I don't have any other plants with thrips in my garden, so out it went :( I was sorry to see it go, though.

Kristin
annafl
Original Author
20 years ago
Those beneficial nematodes are making a believer out of me. Haven't seen a thrip in quite a while. My gardenias aren't blooming yet, but I don't see any on the surface of the buds.