What's eating my charlotte rose?

Charlotte Rose, a medium-sized David Austin shrub with cupped lemon-yellow blooms, is chiefly threatened by aphids, rose sawfly, thrips in the flowers, and slugs on young growth. Aphids are the most consistent pest. Its moderate disease resistance means good hygiene and prompt action on aphid colonies keep it performing well.

Clusters of green or pinkish aphids massing on shoot tips and bud stalks; leaves curl, honeydew coats surfaces Spray with insecticidal soap or neem oil; introduce ladybirds; remove the worst-affected shoot tips early to halt colony spread

Gregarious larvae skeletonise individual leaflets, leaving a pale papery layer; affected leaflets quickly brown and die Hand-pick larvae from undersides of leaves; spray pyrethrin if infestations are heavy; monitor from May to July

Silvery streaking or browning on petals; poor flower quality; tiny dark insects visible inside open blooms Remove heavily damaged blooms; apply spinosad spray to buds before opening; blue sticky traps to monitor adult levels

Ragged holes in young unfurling leaves and soft new shoots close to the ground; slime trails Apply ferric phosphate pellets; create gravel barriers; hand-pick at dusk or after rain