The first warmth of spring will signal the start of aphid infestations. These soft-bodied sucking insects rarely kill plants in your landscaping, but they will cause unsightly damage and can spread disease in your garden.

There are many natural predators which will help manage aphid populations, so any control should be targeted on the aphids and not the ladybugs, green lace wings, tiny parasitic wasps and hover flies which are only trying to help.

Remember 95 percent of the bugs in your garden are good guys. Chemical pesticides kill indiscriminately and the short-term advantage they give you will be overshadowed by the loss of beneficial insects.

In my garden, the roses are healthy and strong because we use the organic practice of feeding the soil instead of the plants. Healthy soil means strong growth and a large population of the organisms that will fight pests and disease.

Twice a year we add a new layer of compost to the rose beds. The roses also benefit from compost tea used as a soil drench and a foliar spray.

Aphids will always start on tender young growth. Avoid over doing it with nitrogen fertilizers.

Every time we eat a banana in our house the peeling is placed at the base of a rose bush. The plants benefit from the potassium in the banana peel and aphids seem to avoid the bushes with banana peels. Don't worry the peelings are invisible on the soil within a day.

This is one of those tricks you'll just have to try to believe. It works.

It was once believed that gardeners should keep water off rose leaves at all cost. Hogwash! One of the best methods I've found to keep aphids, rust and mildew off my roses is to wash my bushes a couple times a week with the garden hose. It physically removes aphids and the spores, which cause fungal problems. Make sure you leave time for the rose bushes to dry before sunset. Wet leaves invite fungal problems at night.

It's always good practice to inspect your rose bushes regularly for signs of aphid infestation. Aphids secrete a sweet sticky substance called honeydew. If allowed to stay on leaves it will serve as a growing medium for sooty mold that is black. Ants love honeydew and will actually farm aphids and protect them to insure a good source of honeydew. If you see ants on rose bushes, it's a sure bet there is an active aphid infestation.

Insecticide soap and neem oil will also help control aphids, but beware; they will also kill beneficial insects.

If you follow these simple chores, your roses should give you beautiful blooms from late March through December.

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-Loren Nancarrow