Hey leira, You could be right, but I have a lot of rabbits here and only occasionally do they nibble on my plants. They also do not always repeat and you rarely actually see them. They do their damage mostly at night. I have never seen a city that does not have rabbits, especially if it harbors all the other wildlife you mentioned. Something is eating the plants, so unless you have another likely suspect, I would still consider the possibility of a rabbit or two. Ron The Garden Guy http://www.TheGardenGuy.org A Free Site! New May Article: Sucession Planting, plus ongoing garden journal and interactive message boards.

I am not familiar with white flies, so I am not sure how to address that problem. Regarding aphids, you can use horticultural soap, or a home made brew of diluted diodegradeable dishwashing liquid. Concentration should be mild - between 1/2 to 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. Spray the entire plant, paying special attention to spots where aphids gather. The idea is that the soap (emulsifying agent) breaks down the waxy layer that protects the aphids' body. Once that waxy layer is broken down, the insect dehydrates and dies. This also has the bonus of breaking down the sugary substance that builds up along aphid hangouts that eventually attract ants. After a few minutes, rinse the plants with clean water to ensure that no soap residues stay attached to the plants.

Yes, very much in its infancy, this whole area. Some-I occasionally include myself in this group-talk about "novel ecosystems". Very basically, we're not going to get things back to 1850.....or 1750...or whatever benchmark year one would use to set a time when things weren't messed up like they are now. So what do we do? In the east, where hemlock has been devastated by the woolly adelgid, do we import Asian hemlock genetics to at least have a somewhat-similar tree in our forests? Or do we mass plant Norway spruce because that species is a proven performer here in N. America......and somewhat fills the same niche? I'm not proposing these ideas as subjects of debate here on the Trees forum, but rather, to get folks thinking about where we may be headed. As it is, here in Wisconsin, ash trees are ultra-common, and I fear most spaces now occupied by green and white ashes especially, will be filled with junk buckthorn and non--native honeysuckles. This truly seems inevitable. Throw in a state government that couldn't care less about such matters, and well.....it's looking bleak. +om

Some roses are more prone than others to diseases like blackspot, rust, or mildew. I think that midges tend to like light-colored flowers more than darker colored flowers, or at least the light flowers show the damage. Other than that, I'm not aware of any inherent qualities of roses that would necessarily attract more bugs or critters than other roses. It's more likely to be something with the air circulation patterns or neighboring plants that contributes to the Heritage situation. In general, Austins can be more susceptible to blackspot in some regions but are no more prone to bugs as far as I know than any other plants. For the caterpillars (rose slugs) and aphids, spraying the rose as well as undersides of the leaves with a vigorous spray of water is the most time-effective strategy for handling those pests, and it waters the plant as well. If you get tough out the bad bugs for a while, the good bugs (e.g. predator wasps, ladybugs) and birds will be attracted to your yard and take care of the other bugs for you over time. I prefer lazy strategies in handling these pests, and for the past 3 years or so I haven't seen any particular aphids or rose slugs in my 1000+ roses, after having some truly epic infestations of both before that. Cynthia