What is eating circles in my rose leaves?

Q:  Something is removing perfectly circular sections from the edges of my rose leaves.  Is this a problem I need to treat for?   Will it kill my roses?

A: What you’re describing is the activity of the leaf cutter bee.  It uses these leaf pieces to build its nest and raise the next generation.  Leaf cutter bees are beneficial pollinators and should not be sprayed for.  The activity of leaf cutting is fairly short lived and the plants will not suffer for it.  They seem to prefer roses but I’ve seen their circles on a wide range of plants.

Keith Funk is handling our Q & A this year. You may have visited one of Keith’s Denver area gardens on a tour or know him from his years at Echter’s and now at Nick’s Garden Center. For 30 years he’s been heard every Saturday morning from 7-9 with fellow Wise Guy, Jim Borland, on the Garden Wise Radio Show on Legends 810AM.