Early in the gardening season before all the insects and diseases and rodents wreak havoc on my garden, I find myself firmly ensconced in the cozy confines of Delusion Land.
I forget to spray Liquid Fence on my peppers and am shocked to discover them “missing” the following morning courtesy of the rabbits. I spend an hour placing a new birdfeeder in “the perfect spot” much to the delight of the squirrels who gorge on a pound of birdseed before I remember they can jump 15 feet with ease. And every spring I buy a perennial that has never survived in my garden and is not going to survive this time either, but temporary optimism gets the best of me. This year’s victim is a ‘Patty’s Plum’ Poppy. May she rest in peace.
This year while vacationing in Delusion Land I decided to buy a ‘Double Knockout’ Rose for my new front yard flowerbed. It’s a sister to the original ‘Knockout’ Rose but a bit smaller (3 to 4 feet rather than 5 to 6) and displays gorgeous fluorescent pinkish-red flowers. It’s supposed to bloom from early summer until frost and be resistant to black spot.
I rarely use chemicals in my yard or gardens, but the Japanese Beetles can defoliate a rose to twigs in a matter of days so I use Bayer Advanced Rose and Flower Care on any roses I grow. It’s a systemic product that you simply mix with water and pour around the plant. Unfortunately, systemic chemicals are only taken up in the leaves of the plants you treat, so once the beetles arrive, they will still happily gorge themselves on the flowers.
I thought I’d treated my rose in mid-May, but the other day I noticed the leaves were being chewed on. It’s too early for Japanese Beetles, so I crouched down for a closer look. Ah, little green worms…rose slugs (larval stage of the Sawfly)! They are as eager as Japanese Beetles to defoliate a rose in record time so out came the Bayer.
I’m glad my rose is blooming for a few weeks before the Japanese Beetles arrive and give me a swift kick out of Delusion Land. This is the best this rose is going to look for the rest of the year so I’m going to sit back and enjoy it.
