Estreya, I'm glad you asked that question because I have been wondering the same thing. I, too, was plagued with thrips earlier in the year, and things are better now. I don't know if it was because of some beneficial insects or because I sprayed with Ultrafine horticultural oil and baking soda at least three times. However, I read in a book on Roses that I have (Foolproof Guide to Growing Roses, by Field Roebuck) that the "best approach is to break the two-week life cycle by destroying the larvae in the soil, along with the adults on the plant. You can accomplish this to a great extent by drenching the soil with beneficial nematodes early in the year and then spraying the young growth and the flower buds with a neem oil extract." Then I read somewhere on this forum or the regular roses forum that j.song uses Spinosad; says it's safer, natural, and most effective against chewing and eating insects. He or she applies it with Ultrafine to control thrips. You can get Spinosad from Planet Natural. It's also called Monterey Garden Insect Spray. That company also sells beneficial nematodes $24.95, free shipping, apply in early spring. www.planetnatural.com, or www.hydro-gardens.com. I am planning on using the nematodes for sure next spring. Hope I don't forget. Marlene

It is metal. We opened it a little to see if we could lift it off. It’s about 1/8” thick and probably glued in. It’s not just a strip painted or put on. There’s a groove and it was set into that

Normal for a peony plant put in the ground in the spring. It lacks the root structure that is needed to sustain the plant so it sacrifices the leaves to save the root. Even the ones sold in large pots with lots of planting medium will do this. Leave it alone other than pulling the mulch away from the stem. Put mulch in the surrounding area to keep the roots cool and help prevent the soil from drying. Do not feed it. Watering it can encourage the stem to rot so if you must water do it once a week and let it soak in the surrounding area. Do not water the leaves. Next time if you purchase in the spring put it in a larger pot then stick the pot somewhere the sun does not strike the pot until you plant it in the fall.

Quentin, having just looked at tons of houses and finally buying one, I can tell you that one bathroom floor is not the end of the world. You have done an utterly amazing transformation on this house. As a DIYer a mistake is bound to happen as you tackle the amount of work that you've done. Heck, we've seen allegedly professional jobs posted here which look way worse than that. Not to be snarky, but the next buyer of this home is not likely to be as discerning as the crew here on this website is. It's a first time buyer home, right? My advice is that speed isn't necessary on this. Clean it up and move on to the next project. Let it percolate around in your mind. Maybe you forget about it. Maybe one day you decide it's got to come out. Whatever. It still looks better than what was there. No matter what you decide to do, you've added tons of value to this house and you should be proud.