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Re: cane borers

Hi,
Yes, there are quite a few types of borers out there.  A friend of mine had
all three of her summer squash plants killed by vine borers.  I noticed
sawdust-like frass (the poop of the borers) near soil-level where the vines
branched off.  Also, I work at a garden center (let me tell you, it's not
as much fun weeding someone else's garden! :] ) and have seen borers on
some of the chrysanthemums.  I pruned them an inch or so below the
die-back, split the stems, and sure enough, found the culprit--a 3/4" white
wormy thing.  Like Dave said, these things just chew their way through ,
then burrow in until they metamorphose (correct term?) into a moth.  For
prevention, I'd try to keep the roses as healthy as possible by amending
each year compost.  These garden pests know when a plant is weak.  I
transferred some minis from pots on my balcony in to the ground because
they didn't look very happy.  Before they got established, the aphids
swarmed.  Meanwhile, four feet away were two english roses that had been
thriving if only since last spring.  The aphids didn't bother with them at
all.  A few would occasionally land on them but flicking them off ended the
problem.

Alice
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