1. Rose Garden Pesticides
The Chemicals Available to Keep Your Roses Pest-Free

2. Today’s Topics Pesticide Hierarchy
Systemic, Translaminar, and Contact Chemicals
Identifying the Common Pests
Insects
Funguses
The Available Insecticides and Fungicides
Online Sources of Pesticide Labels
Shopping the Internet for the Best Price
A few words about Resistance Management

3. Today’s Topics (Cont.) Specific Chemicals for Specific Pests
Insecticides/Miticides
Fungicides
Ready-to-Use (RTU) and Over-the-Counter (OTC) Products for the Smaller Garden
Bayer Advanced Garden Products
Others

4. Pesticide Hierarchy

5. Systemic Chemicals
Apply to the foliage as a spray or to the roots as a drench
Moves (typically, up) through the plant’s vascular system
Phloem cells – like “arteries” through which sugars and other plant products move
Xylem – tubular structure for the transport of water and dissolved minerals --think tree growth rings
Chemicals stay within the plant – don’t wash off
Downside – systemics don’t enter the blooms

6. Translaminar Chemicals
Trans = across or through, like transatlantic
Laminar = layered
Translaminar = through layers
Sometimes referred to as locally systemic
Applied to foliage as a spray, these chemicals are absorbed by the plant
They move through foliage from one surface to the other
Great for spider mites which feed on the underside of leaves and are nearly unaffected by systemics

7. Contact Sprays Applied to foliage, buds and blooms as a spray
Remain on the surface of foliage and blooms
Not absorbed by the plant
Pretty much the only way to protect blooms
Downside – contact sprays wash off in the rain

8. Identifying the Common Pests
Insects
Japanese Beetles – May through August – devour blooms and leaves
Aphids – entire growing season – attack buds and tender foliage – often accompanied by ants (“farming” the aphids)
Thrips – entire growing season – create blemishes on blooms – especially light colors
Budworms – later in the growing season – bore holes in buds
Spider Mites – when it’s hot and dry – suck the chlorophyll out of leaves – defoliate bushes

9. Identifying the Common Pests
Funguses
Black Spot – all season especially when damp – forms a black spot on leaves which then yellow and fall off
Powdery Mildew – all season – superficial white or gray powder on surfaces of leaves – uncontrolled will prevent blooming
Downy Mildew – cool with high humidity – purplish red to dark brown irregular spots on leaves – uncontrolled may result in defoliation – long purplish areas on canes - may be systemic in roses
Botrytis – all season especially when damp – creates blemishes on blooms, bloom rot and premature shattering
Rust – all season – tiny orange and red spots on leaves – looks like rust – uncontrolled can defoliate bush

10. The Available Insecticides and Fungicides
Where to learn about them - other rosarians, ads in rose magazines and newsletters, rose forums on the Internet, and rose care websites like:
And links from

11. Get the Labels And the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)
Sources of labels:
On the chemicals’ containers
Manufacturers’ websites – for example
– offers labels and MSDS for all registered pesticides – search by product name
– another site like cdms.net – however, requires simple registration

12. Read the Labels! And the MSDSs Typical label format:
Product name, active ingredients and toxicity – CAUTION, WARNING, or DANGER
Safety information – personal protection equipment (PPE), etc.
Use restrictions and application instructions
Applicable crops/plants – pest/disease that is controlled – application rates
Storage and disposal requirements

13. Shopping the Internet MERIT 75 WP 2 OZ COMPASS 8 OZ AVID TETRASAN 1 LB
ROSEMANIA
$65.00
$219.00
(2 OZ $69.99)
$105.00
$99.95
ROSECARE
$65.98
$289.00
$349.95
1 QUART
B&T GROWER
SUPPLY
$225.00
$93.00
$89.60
PEST
PRODUCTS
$59.90
SAVE ON
CHEMICALS
$142.00
6.4 OZ
$203.00
$269.00
$79.00

14. Resistance Management
Resistance management in the garden is a problem akin to certain antibiotics losing their effectiveness in humans due to repeated or improper use
Repeated use of the same pesticide allows the target pest to mutate and adapt and become resistant to the pesticide
Each insecticide and fungicide has a specific mode of action (MOA) in the way it disables and kills its target pest
If these MOAs are alternated from one spraying to the next the target pest is very less likely to adapt

15. Resistance Management (Cont.)
Or, if chemicals with different MOAs are mixed in a single spraying the target pest is unable to adapt
The Insecticide Resistance Action Committee (IRAC – in its latest publication identifies 28 insecticide MOAs
The Fungicide Resistance Action Committee (FRAC – has identified over 40 fungicide MOAs
Dr. Ray Cloyd and I decided that the large number of MOAs should and could be consolidated to be of more use to rosarians – we came up with 6 insecticide MOAs and 6 fungicide MOAs

16. Resistance Management (Cont.)
Your handout contains the two tables that Dr. Cloyd and I derived from the IRAC and FRAC publications
MOA 6 in both tables is what Dr. Cloyd calls the “napalm” MOA – the chemicals in this group kill on contact and leave little or no room for adaptation
I’ve found two useful insecticide partnerings to be Merit and Tempo and Avid and TetraSan
An effective fungicide partnering is Banner Maxx (alternated with Cleary’s 3336F) and Compass

17. Perspective Setting
Pesticide producers view rose growers as a tiny market
Insecticides are primarily marketed to farmers and maintainers of large public areas
Fungicides target turf grass markets like golf courses
We’re just lucky that these pesticides work to eliminate rose garden pests

18. Specific Chemicals for Specific Pests
Insecticides
Orthene – MOA 1 – a translaminar chemical – spray for the control of aphids, Japanese Beetles, and thrips
Sevin – MOA 1 – a contact spray – very effective against Japanese Beetles – has resistance management problems with thrips if used alone – combine with Tempo, Talstar or Conserve
Talstar – MOA 2 – a contact spray – also registered as a miticide – good control of aphids and Japanese Beetles – look also for Bifen I/T – exactly the same as Talstar but less expensive ($59.90 vs $99.99 per quart)

19. More Pest-Killers Insecticides (Cont.)
Tempo – MOA 2 - a highly-effective contact spray – kills just about any insect
Avid – MOA 3 – a translaminar spray – kills adult spider mites
Floramite – MOA 3 – a contact spray – kills all spider mite life stages
Akari 5SC – MOA 3 – a contact spray – kills all spider mite life stages – 60% the cost of Floramite
Merit - MOA 4 – a very effective systemic chemical – kills any insects that are eating the foliage – use as a drench or spray

20. …And More Insecticides (Cont.)
Conserve – MOA 4 – a translaminar spray – probably the most effective attack on thrips
Hexygon – MOA 5 – a contact spray for the control of spider mite larva and eggs – combine with Avid
TetraSan – MOA 5 – a translaminar spray for the control of spider mite larva and eggs – combine with Avid for a translaminar spray addressing all mite life stages
Forbid 4F – MOA 6 – a translaminar spray for the control of all spider mite life stages – minimum resistance management problems – very expensive

21. Now Disease (Fungus) Control
Fungicides
Banner Maxx – MOA 1 – a systemic chemical that attacks blackspot, powdery mildew and rust
Eagle 20 EW – MOA 1 – very similar to Banner Maxx but less toxic (CAUTION instead of WARNING) – same active ingredient as Systhane
Decree 50 WDG – MOA 1 – specifically registered as a botryticide
Cleary’s 3336F – MOA 2 – a systemic chemical that can be alternated with Banner Maxx
Chipco Flo – MOA 3 – specifically registered to control botrytis blight – alternate with Decree

22. More Disease Control Fungicides (Cont.)
Subdue Maxx – MOA 4 – targets root and stem rot – primarily used as a drench in greenhouses
Compass – MOA 5 – a translaminar chemical that controls just about every rose disease, including botrytis, downy mildew, and powdery mildew
Alliette – MOA 6 – an aluminum-based contact chemical that specifically targets downy mildew
Manzate – MOA 6 – a zinc- and manganese-based contact spray for the very effective eradication of blackspot – now sold as Pentathlon
Zyban – MOAs 2 and 6 – a combination of the active ingredients in Cleary’s 3336F and Manzate – comes as a fine powder

23. RTU and OTC Products Bayer Advanced Garden Products
Rose & Flower Insect Killer
A combination of Merit and Tempo
Available in spray bottle, hose-end sprayer and concentrate
2 in 1 Systemic Rose & Flower Care
Granules sprinkled around bush and watered-in
fertilizer
Orthene-like systemic insecticide - disulfoton

24. RTU and OTC Products (Cont.)
More Bayer Advanced Garden Products
All-in-One Rose & Flower Care
Merit insecticide plus Banner Maxx fungicide
fertilizer
Mixed 4 tbsp/quart and used as a drench
Bayer Advanced Disease Control
Concentrate diluted 1.5 tbsp/gallon to spray
Active ingredient same as Banner Maxx

25. Some Other RTU/OTC Products
Safer Brand 3 in 1 Garden Spray – uses fatty acids, sulfur and neem oil (MOA 6) to create an environmentally safe insecticide, fungicide and miticide
Green Light Bioganic Organic Rose & Flower Ready-to-Use – uses plant oils (MOA 6) to create an environmentally safe insecticide, fungicide and miticide
Ortho Orthenex Insect & Disease Control – active ingredients are acephate (Orthene) and triforine (same chemical group as Banner Maxx)
GardenTech Sevin – OTC version of this very effective insecticide (MOA 1)

26. And, Finally…Adjuvants
Adjuvant – serving to help or assist – something to make a spray more effective
Stirrup M – a pheromone (sexual attractant) that draws spider mites to any spray in which it’s mixed
Indicate 5 – adjusts pH of spray water and serves as a spreader-sticker – most sprays more effective in a slightly acidic liquid
Hi-Yield Spreader-Sticker (or any other OTC brand) – makes spray adhere to foliage instead of dribbling off