:) Slow down and breathe a little. This will be okay. :)

I wouldn't spray at all. They love soft growth on roses. But, you can try to make your rose growth less soft by not fertilizing with high Nitrogen fertilizers. To deal with the ones you have...I just squish them with my fingers. But...they disgust you...so that won't work. You could spray them off with water. If the hose is too awkward get a spray bottle and send strong-ish sprays of water at them.

Let us know how it goes. :)

The problem with the sprays is that they also kill the Ladybug nymphs that eat the aphids, so, your natural controls never get a chance to feast. I agree, spray them off with a hose.

Thanks a lot @rosecanadian and @CA Kate z9.

I am using Miracle Gro bloom booster plant food which is a 10-52-10. Is the nitrogen too much for my plants right now?

Also, if I spray them off with water, wont they crawl back?

Rose, I use Urban Farms "Rose Garden" liquid fertilizer, which is 4-4-3 and "Calcium and Magnesium Rich", My one Rose in a container is doing fine.... as are the many in-ground in the gardens. I buy it online directly from Urban Farms: www.uffertilizers.com I would think the MiracleGro is fine as long as you don't fertize too often. I fertilize all my potted plants once a month with which ever Urban Farms fertilizer is appropriate..... I have several kinds.

The aphids don't seem to be able to crawl back onto the roses... altho' the older ones can have wings. The older ones lay LOTS of eggs and those that hatch are the masses you're seeing on your roses. More will hatch and you might have to spray again.... and again. I only spray when the infestation is really bad. You want a few aphids left to attract the insects that eat them.

I hope this helps.

Kate

Yes, but I think the real problem is the phosphorous number of 52. I've just been through what you're going through. I was fertilizing with bloom busters MG...and I had an explosion of aphids. They were all over the leaves, stems...blech. So now (thanks to Straw who posts here)...I've ordered K (potassium) on line and am fertilizing with 5-1-1 fish fertilizer with (soon) a bit of potassium. A lot of people here swear by Osmocote for their pots...which I think you should try. :) It's easy and works well!

Ahh! I see. Come to think of it, i did fertilize my roses with the bloom booster 2 days ago and saw an explosion of aphids on one of the roses after that. Maybe that triggered the intensity.

I do use the 5-1-1 fish fertilizer every 7-10 days and it works great. I used bloom boosters to get more blooms (sigh). I just ordered this online -- https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007LZ5Y62/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Is this not good too? This is a 3-20-20.

I will check out Osmocote for sure.

i just use my hose on the cone or flat Setting. Whatever is stronger and kind of wash the roses, specially the underside of the leaves. if you turn the leaves you will see all the little green eggs. As long as you wash every 2 days for a couple of days you can get rid of them w/o spraying. No, they don’t crawl back 😉. Just do it in the AM so the Rose has time to dry.

I agree - just spraying them off with water from the hose nozzle attachment works really well for aphids! Good luck!