Once the growing season finally takes off I’m going to have to make tough decisions about some of my roses. The Japanese beetles have decimated many of them so badly the past 2 summers that I’m left with nothing but naked canes by early August.
I was concerned that two of my roses were so damaged that they might not even survive winter, but both of them have green canes and tiny buds starting to pop out. They are more resilient than I give them credit for.
However, that doesn’t mean they’ll be safe from the beetles later this summer. When roses are stripped bare they become an ugly eyesore. I could just dig them up, but it’s not that easy. if I get rid of them, the beetles will concentrate their destructive energy on other roses that may not be as hardy. It’s a whole balance of nature kind of thing.
Right now I’m leaning toward giving my roses a stay of execution. I’m cautiously optimistic that last summer’s drought made it hard for the beetles to lay eggs in the rock-hard soil and that my roses may finally enjoy a decimation-free summer.