First I have a climbing Josphs Coat rose. And the leaves have perfect circular holes in thme.. Does anyone know what could be wrong with it? And second the rose has hips on it the size of gumballs and they arent changing color from green.. I took one off and it had large seeds in it.. Can I use those seeds?? moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic
Circular holes sound like cutter bees. They cut bits of leaf, roll them up, and use them as incubators for the eggs. They don't hurt the plant and are useful, so if you can live with "holey" roses, just leave them alone. The rose hips will turn red or deep orange eventually, and then the seeds will be ripe and ready to plant. You could ask Cheryl or Philip about this, since they are growing roses from seed. Also, you can make rose hip tea by brewing the red hips. It is very high in vitamin C. I don't do this because the birds like the hips, and I leave them on for winter feed.
How good are they?? Because Im deathly allergic to bees and wasps and all other cretures in that family....
Leaf cutter bees are harmless. They are solitary bees, in that they do not have hives nor live in colonies. Therefore, with nothing to protect, they are not aggressive nor protective. The only way you can get stung by a leaf-cutter is to attack her. Leaf-cutters are great little pollinators, and the small damage they do to roses, ash trees, lilacs and a few other preferred plants is offset by their pollinating ability.
