Do you spray insecticide? Killing off aphids invites thrips,in my experience.

I don't spray insecticide. But I have used systemic. I could try not using it.

You can sprinkle and scratch in a granular insecticide containing imidacloprid around the base of your rose. Do this well in advance of bud formation. It's pretty effective. I have only a handful of roses that get thrips, but not very badly (Evelyn, The Prince, and Augusta Luise), so I only use this stuff maybe once a year at most. Aphids don't have any effect one way or another in my garden. Diane

I've fought this battle several years now. The first bloom, the one that is coming now, is not affected. I wonder how your bush is doing on that first bloom this spring. The thrips we have are called chili thrips, not sure if you have the same.

I got the following information from the Huntington Library and Gardens in Southern California: In my zone 10a, they aren't a problem until the real heat sets in, high 90's. When that is forecasted, remove damaged foliage and flower buds before spraying. Bag that material as any existing thrips will fly out of an open trash can. Use Capt. Jack Dead Bug Brew or Conserve (which may be stronger). Spray late in the afternoon or early evening after bees are gone and wind is down. Do not spray flowers as it could harm bees. I would think any systemic would harm bees as well.

I've also read you can use a concoction of dish detergent and water in a spray bottle (1Tbsp to 1 liter warm water, shake to dissolve dish soap) or ultrafine horticultural oil. Both work when they cover the body of the insects but you have to cover both top and underneath leaves.

Thanks @Diane Brakefield! I can do that now--no buds have formed yet. I have other pink roses that do not get thrips, so maybe the plant itself had them when I bought it? I have no clue. Perhaps it won't be an issue this year as well, but it was so frustrating last year! Also--jealous of your Augusta Luise! I have a friend that is making me a cutting of it this year so I am looking forward to it.

Thanks @socks I did exactly that last year to no avail. Perhaps it was just last summer, however, and this summer will be different? We will see.

PDX, I doubt that your plants came with thrips. For certain roses, it's always an issue--like Evelyn, and they don't have to be pink or light colored. The Prince is very dark and he gets thrips worst of all. I have four Evelyn plants and they all get thrips, yet other light pink Austins like Eglantyne are not bothered at all by those nasty things. I use a brand called Bonide, suitable for all shrubs. It's the cheapest and available on Amazon. Be sure to water in the stuff after scratching the granules in, and follow directions as to amounts, etc. Good luck. Diane

Captain Jack's was useless for my roses. Three of the Evelyn's were bare root and are 18 years old. No thrips came on them, I can assure you. I have lots of bees which do well in my garden. They are most interested in my many lavender plants, penstemon, buddleia, veronica, and others. They really aren't interest in my roses. Diane

Sorry, here I am again. You don't have chili thrips in Portland, do you? They are a warm year round pest. Here in Idaho, zone 7 next door in Boise, we have no chili thrips. Poor California--they have them. Diane

I had this problem last year in my garden, it attacked most of ny roses. like it was said above, spinosad can work. the trick is to start spraying when the buds are a pea size. after they are infected there is nothing that can he done. this year i will use Diane’s recomendation above for my bolero and lady gardner ans spray the rest once buds start forming. spray every week. also true that they only show up for the second flush when temperatures are warmer

There are also biological nematodes that you can mix in your soil that inhibit thrips but don't attack beneficial insects. I'm waiting to see what happens this year. Last year a couple weeks after thrips arrived, minute pirate bugs arrived (on their own) and the thrips got under control.

Librarian, mine was an infestation. all my secind flush gone. it dowsnt help that mist of my roses are white or pink 😭

Thrips are horrible here. Have you tried blue cup traps?

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3816744/omg-blue-cup-thrips-control-actually-works

It seemed to work the years that I did it, but I didn't like the look of blue cups around my garden.

I've also noticed that some roses are much more/less susceptible to thrips than others. For example, Desdemona is almost immune. Winchester Cathedral is pretty good. Bolero and Earth Angel are horribly susceptible. Abraham Darby, Sonia Rykiel, Aloha, First Crush are very susceptible. The flowers look like they've been blow-torched at times. With First Crush and Earth Angel even the leaves were blasted (I got rid of them after a few years). Radio Times, Alnwick Castle, and Scentuous are not too bad. Of course there are a number of roses that are in the middle.

Ceres 😭

@Diane Brakefield thanks for all of the advice! I do have the Bonide stuff, so I will use it. My partner has Captain Jacks and swears by it, but I'm with you on this. I don't mind the thrips themselves so much--just that they cause the blooms to be deformed and often never even open! So frustrating. We don't have chili thrips here in PDX thankfully. And like you, I plant a lot of things for the bees and insects which they love. They only rose of mine they seem to like ever is Lady of Shalott and so I don't treat that one (it doesn't need it anyway).

By the way, how does your Augusta Luise perform in Idaho?

@librarian_gardner_8b_pnw I have to keep on the lookout for the minute pirate bugs. I am hoping against hope that thrips are not an issue this season at all (last summer here in PDX was a nightmare). We will see.

@noseometer...(7A, SZ10, Albuquerque) oh boy. I have many of those listed that are susceptible. We will see what happens this year. The blue cups/oil combo is interesting (albeit very unsightly). I am happy to try any of those things, however, if they work.

Pdx, wait til you see AL in Dianes garden!😉

Thanks so much, Vapor. PDX, Augusta loves it here in Idaho, though I use a drip system on all my roses because it's desert dry here. She's a very vigorous and bloomy rose. The blooms are huge and display many color changes. She smells good, too, but I can't describe scent worth a darn. These photos below I've posted before since nothing is remotely in bloom right now. It looks like a late and very dry spring. I'm concerned about our drought. Diane

@Diane Brakefield it's nice to see your posts here. I always love your AL photos.

We're going into the third year of a drought here, too. We just installed an automatic watering system so that we can be more water efficient than hand watering. I'm worried about fire season, and honestly, the future for all of us out west.

PDX, thrips were worse for me last year than ever before. Our spring was drier and sunnier than normal and I'm wondering if that encouraged the thrips. I live very close to farmland and open pasture so I'll always get them traveling to my garden. Fingers crossed that the minute pirate bugs jump into action on time again this year. I had a couple of weeks of damage last year before I started noticing the minute pirate bugs.

Thanks, Librarian. I'll be posting on the seasonal thread very soon. I'm just exhausted right now, slaving away on the roses. Our dirt is like dust. In a normal year, we only get about 10 inches total of precipitation, which we didn't make for 2021. So far, we finally had one decent rainfall, and that was several weeks ago. My violets are hiding underground and should be blooming now. I think I'll hand water everything in a day or two, and then have the water turned on in about a week. I heed to finish cleaning up and pruning, a huge job. Yes, thrips like it dry, and so we should have a good crop of them this year, the devils. Diane

😭

@Diane Brakefield - as always, your photos are gorgeous and ...trouble! Just when I thought I could go through a season without adding to my pot ghetto or my wish list, and had convinced myself I didn't NEED an AL, it is shown to be available at Long Ago Roses, and then I see your photos! haha! Your Augusta looks like my mother's peonies.

Thank you, Nose. I'm sure you can squeeze AL in amongst your pots, but she's a big girl and royalty, so she deserves pride of place. I'm sure your AL will be a beauty, and I can't wait to see her in your garden. And I'm not sorry I posted those pics. Diane

Noseometer, if Long Ago shipped to Oregon, I'd be ordering it now! Fingers crossed I can get one from Palatine next year. They sold out before I was able to complete my this year. Diane's photos of AL are so incredibly beautiful.

Diane - I would faint if my new AL looked anything remotely like yours!! Yours are the epitome of how stunning that rose can be!!! SWOON!!!