Tag: roses

Really??

A couple of weeks ago as I pulled in the driveway,  I noticed a dead patch in the parkway grass.

IMG_0835

We’ve had problems in this area before because it’s a really sunny hot spot and  I don’t run the in-ground sprinkler that often, so I assumed it was more of the same.  But, I finally went up there and was looking more closely and I could see dead grass footprints walking away from the dead area, going up between us and our neighbors, towards the side of the house.

IMG_0837

IMG_0839

So what happened? I’m not sure, but my guess is that fertilizer, some type of weeder concentrate  or even possibly round-up, was spilled and the landscaping worker stepped in it and it stuck to his boots.  It must have been pretty strong because obvious footprints probably go for about 30 ft.  I really would have hoped that if such a spill happened that they would have taken more care to clean it up, and certainly not traipse it all over the yard.  Looks like I’ll be reseeding some more in the fall.

Japanese beetle update–

I went and checked on my roses and there are many fewer Japanese Beetles on the roses, and the ones I saw seemed to be chewing on fresh rose buds.  I sprayed a little bit more on the new growth areas so hopefully there’ll be some new blooms soon.  I also saw that the Bee Balm was still nicely covered in all kinds of honey bees.

Japanese Beetles

If you have rose bushes, you probably have Japanese Beetles.  Mine arrived after my Knock-Out Roses roses finished their first bloom and are really making a mess of the plants.  Most years I just let it go, but these are new, 3rd year plants and are finally looking great so I’d like them to stay healthy for next year’s show.

IMG_2909

IMG_0819

There are a lot of choices for dealing with Japanese Beetles and I am going to try a product that contains Neem Oil.  Traps seem to be only good for attracting even more Japanese Beetles to your yard and many other insecticides can be  harmful to good bugs like bees and ladybugs.  This is especially important for where I am spraying, since the roses are right next to Bee Balm, which really does attract those big, beneficial bumblebees.

IMG_0822

Neem oil affects only insects that chew and eat leaves, which beneficial bugs like bees and ladybugs don’t do.  The active ingredients in the oil interferes with the insect’s hormonal balance leading to “confusion” and ultimately death.  It should be sprayed every 7 or 14 days depending on the level of infestation.  I’m planning on spraying on the every 7 day cycle to begin with, and I’ll follow up in a couple of weeks to see if I can go to every 14 days for the rest of the summer.

Word of warning–One rather unpleasant thing that happened to me was that when I started spraying, a whole bunch of Japanese Beetles came flying off the rose bushes and a few got tangled in my hair. Gross!  I had no idea there were so many on the plant.  I only saw a few, so I guess where there’s a few, there’s a lot!  No wonder there was so much damage to the plants.