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Daily gardening tip · Southern hemisphere · Friday 11 September 2026 · early spring

Check New Rose Growth for Aphids

As spring brings fresh green growth to your rose bushes, it also attracts hungry pests like aphids that can quickly multiply.

Check New Rose Growth for Aphids
10 minuteseasypests
  1. Go to your rose bushes and locate the soft, newly formed leaves and flower buds.
  2. Gently turn over the young leaves and look closely at the stems just below the buds.
  3. Search for clusters of tiny, pear-shaped insects, which are usually green, yellow, or black.
  4. Check for a sticky residue on the leaves below the new growth, which is a sign of pest activity.
  5. If you see only a few aphids, wipe them off with your fingers or spray them with a sharp stream of water from your hose.
A garden in early spring

Why it works

Aphids target tender new growth because it is soft and easy to pierce for its sugary sap. Catching these pests early prevents them from multiplying rapidly and damaging your rose buds before they can bloom.

Arizona Sunflower

Plant of the day

Arizona Sunflower

Helianthus arizonensis

An annual herbaceous plant native to Arizona and New Mexico, found in open, disturbed areas, desert washes, and grasslands. It produces typical sunflower-like heads with bright yellow ray petals and a dark central disk, attracting pollinators.

Read about it →

Gardening news

Gardening news

Poinsettia Conference to tackle growing media, pest detection and energy

In November 2026, people who breed, grow, and sell poinsettia plants will meet in Cambridgeshire for their fifth annual event to discuss planting materials, finding pests, and energy use.

The Dirt · 2026-09-10
New research

Federal agency clears genetically modified chestnut tree for environmental safety

Scientists developed a modified American chestnut tree designed to withstand a deadly fungal disease. The United States Department of Agriculture found that the tree does not pose a pest risk to surrounding plant life. This decision enables further testing to help restore the native species to wild forests.

esf.edu
On this day

Sydney memorial tree dedicated to September 11 victims

On 11 September 2011, a nineteenth-century Hoop Pine tree and plaque were dedicated at the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. The site in the Domain commemorates the ten Australian victims and all others lost in the September 11 attacks.

botanicgardens.org.au

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