What is eating my roses

[Selkiesarereal]

I bought a lovely new rose bush earlier this year which was planted in a pot. Rather surprisingly it is already blooming which is fab but what is not so fab is that something is munching away at the leaves but no idea what.

I have looked around for slugs but no sign of anything and other plants in surrounding pots are fine so what could be targeting specifically my roses?

Most likely rose sawfly.

Mine are being eaten by little caterpillars but you can see them on the leaves

Leaf cutter bees make a semi circular hole at the edge of the leaf.

Sawfly?

The eggs are laid inside the stem then burst out so leave long, oval scars down the stems that are a classic sign.

The little green caterpillars strip everything off the leaf, leaving just the central spine.

If it's just a few leaves then pick off the caterpillars if you see them but otherwise they tend not to do any lasting damage.

I had the same issue with my roses. Turns out it was my cat, caught her ripping the petals off and eating them.

Look at the RHS website plant finder (or significant plants have a dedicated page) as it includes a section on pests and disease that commonly attack each plant and what to do about it.

Thanks everyone, will go and check ou sawfly as there are no caterpillars to be seen.

The more healthy and established a plant is, the less likely it is to be eaten. So I would focus on making sure it’s as happy as possible. If it’s in a pot it will need regular feeding (and watering of course).

I love leaf cutter bees, as pp says they make circular holes in leaves and rose leaves are a favourite. They start at the edges and may make several holes. Amazing to watch them, they carefully roll up the piece of leaf.