Just like magic, when the temperature hit the 90s last weekend the Japanese Beetles began popping out of the ground by the hundreds. One day there weren’t any and the next day they were everywhere. And where did they all land? On my roses of course.
This summer I’m going to try a new experiment in an attempt to lessen their impact. I like a tidy garden, so I deadhead all my plants regularly. Okay, so I’m a little obsessed about it. Don’t tell anyone, but sometimes I even cut off flowers before they’re completely done blooming (!).
As much as it’s going to drive me bonkers, I’ve decided I will resist the urge to deadhead any rose blossoms until all the petals have fallen off completely. The beetles seem to congregate on the fading and shriveling blooms just as much as the fresh ones. They love to burrow into the petals to feed, and that’s much easier to do on a flower that’s fully open and on its way out than on a tightly-whorled new flower.
Maybe by giving them more options, their destruction will be less visible. Or maybe they’ll just tell all their friends, and I’ll be drowning in beetles.