Elena, why do you say terrible?

Mike said: I can either let you go or find another job for you, if the first reason isn't sufficient.

Unfortunately. I didn't have the authority to say that to this individual and if I did say that I would have been the one out the door or at least be sent to HR for disciplinary action. If I did have the power I certainly would have let this person go. It was embarrassing seeing some of the reports put out. I always felt it reflected badly on our department.

tigerpaws said: Elena, why do you say terrible?

It was a joke.

Elena999 said: It was a joke.

O.K. I'm glad that you didn't say that because you come from Russia and you think people would call you terrible. I know quite a few people from Russia and they are all nice hardworking people. I never judge people on where they come from.

Back to our midges! Given the integrated nature of my approach, pinpointing the single most effective method isn't straightforward. Nevertheless, upon assessing my blue cups, it became apparent that they exclusively trapped midges. Going forward, I have every intention of steadfastly incorporating blue cups into my ongoing pest-fighting strategy against thrips as well.

tigerpaws said: O.K. I'm glad that you didn't say that because you come from Russia and you think people would call you terrible. I know quite a few people from Russia and they are all nice hardworking people. I never judge people on where they come from.

Sure not, being 25+ years in US never experienced that.

Elena, what oil did you use? I've read of different kinds, some more effective than others.

Mike said: Elena, what oil did you use? I've read of different kinds, some more effective than others.

Mike, I initially used bottled Canola oil as recommended by several sources, but my first application was quickly wiped away due to heavy rainfall. Given the density of my roses, reapplying the oil was quite challenging. In a rush, I ended up purchasing Olive oil in a sprayer. I intend to opt for Canola oil in spray form for my next attempt.
Cups: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09T7ZFPKT/
Using Bamboo Knitting Needles Set to hold cups:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MU1AQ1C/

Please somebody tell me to stop it and go back to work!
This is how would Trump answer Mike's question :

Hey Mike,

Let me tell you, I listened to a lot of smart folks and went with that Canola oil in a bottle, just like everybody's saying. But then, outta nowhere, we got hit with this huge rainstorm that wiped out my first attempt. Dealing with those dense roses, it was like a real challenge, believe me. So, I had to make a quick call and ended up with some olive oil in a sprayer – gotta make decisions, right?

But folks, I've got a fantastic idea for next time. We're gonna go with Canola oil in a spray, it's gonna be tremendous. You know me, always looking for the best option. It's gonna be great, folks.

I'd love to hear Christopher Walken answer my questions! Or even just read the phone book out loud! I can just imagine it:

"Hehs a numbuh thaat... Ahee'd like to theenk... is yoouunique.... becoz the nooomerals... ahr an exaaample... of uhliteration: seven six seven... seven six six... six seven six seven."

Elena999 said: Yep, I am terrible Russian!

tigerpaws said: O.K. I'm glad that you didn't say that because you come from Russia and you think people would call you terrible. I know quite a few people from Russia and they are all nice hardworking people. I never judge people on where they come from.

Mike said: I'd love to hear Christopher Walken answer my questions! Or even just read the phone book out loud! I can just imagine it:

"Hehs a numbuh thaat... Ahee'd like to theenk... is yoouunique.... becoz the nooomerals... ahr an exaaample... of uhliteration: seven six seven... seven six six... six seven six seven."

Too funny!!!!

Hi. I've been lurking here and battling Midge for years. The only thing I haven't tried is using tobacco leaves as mulch. I finally caved and used Imidacloprid last year, but using it took most of my joy away knowing how toxic it was to the struggling bee population.

I read Mike's suggestion for Grubex and am trying it this year. It is too soon to say how well it will work, but what I will say is I have more basal breaks than ever before. I have roses that haven't had a new basal break in YEARS ( Invitation, Julia's Rose, ond a one cane wonder Tally-Ho, to name a few) and they have 2-3 on each plant. I have changed nothing else in my routine. I never thought of it, but since basal breaks are tender new shoots, I'm wondering if the midge were eating them in addition to the new shoots up top?

Thoughts?

Hi Jen,

Good to hear from you. A number of us, including a few rose societies, were hoping the new GrubEx formula would work for midge. I'm sad to say I used it extensively last year to no avail. That's why I finally resorted to thick, heavy-duty black landscape fabric (almost like felt) since I just couldn't bring myself to use Imidacloprid, which kills everything. The fabric worked! I cut out large, round "discs" for each rose (over 100 of them), and the midge larvae that fell to the ground on top of the fabric were unable to burrow into the soil to repeat the life cycle.

By late summer I had blooms again, and they continued right until the frosts of fall. I left the discs in place over the winter, and this spring I had the landscapers put the finely ground Sweet Peat mulch right on top of them. If the midge return, all I need to do is sort of sweep the mulch off the discs to expose them to the falling midge larvae again. It's a lot of effort, but my conscience is clear.

To read about that, see this post: The thread "Dreaded Rose Midge" in Roses forum

After trying some pre-cut discs, I decided to make my own larger ones, and this is the fabric I used: https://www.vevor.com/commerci...

BTW, congratulations on the basal breaks! However, I've followed the research on midge for years and am confident they don't eat basal breaks. When the midge larvae finish eating emerging bud shoots, they fall to the ground, burrow an inch or two beneath the soil, and wrap themselves into tiny cocoons. When they emerge 10-14 days they are in the form of winged flies that crawl to the surface, fly right up into the bush, mate, lay eggs, and die. The only eating that occurs in their lifecycle is the tiny new bud tips that the larvae consume.

Hi Mike and everyone. I'm super bummed that the Grubex didn't work for midge. Gah!! :/ What in the world is the reason for all these basal breaks? Grateful, but left wondering...

I'll try the fabric discs - thanks for the info and the link to the fabric!

Edit: Hold up... About a month ago I sprinkled the most horribly vile Liquid Fence product around my roses because last year deer started eating my them (as if midge weren't bad enough). So that is the only thing that is different. It looks like the ingredients are putrescent whole egg solids, garlic, and some inert ingredients. It smells like pure death, but maybe something in there has caused my longed for basal breaks?