Question
QUESTION: Hello.  I have a Belinda's dream, Angel Face, Grandma's yellow, and John F. Kennedy that are producing buds that turn brown. Some buds finally open, but have brown crispy edges and some do not bloom at all, they just stay closed and dry.  I use bayer systemic insecticide and fertilizer every six weeks and a fungicideinsecticide spray once a week.  I water them deeply twice a week.  I live in zone   7.  It has also been in the upper 90's and 100's for a couple of weeks already.  Thank you for your time!

ANSWER: There is a tiny insect called a rose midge which lays its eggs at the base of the rose bud in the early spring. When the eggs hatch they eat the bud which kills it. If you sprayed when you saw the damage then the buds would have been killed already but you would have got the worms. Pick off all the dead buds and the rose will make new buds which will flower normally for you.

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QUESTION: Thank you again.  I'm not sure of a better way to prevent rose midges.  I thought that the Bayer systemic insecticide would take care of that problem for me.  How do I keep this from happening again?  It seems to have been happening the last couple of bloom cycles to several of my plants. What do you suggest as a preventative measure?

Answer
I seem to be getting quite a few questions in regards to the effectiveness of this spray. Gardeners say they still get what it is supposed to cure. The best insecticide for tiny insects is a systemic type. This type gets into the sap of the rose so when the insect eats part of the bud, it is poisoned and dies. Orotho used to pt out a spray called Orothene but with many of the stronger insecticides being taken off the market, it may have gone too. But is used to be a good one. Just make sure it is a systemic type spray.