I share the philosophy that the JB traps attract even MORE JBs to your yard I certainly agree, but the few pretty roses that are left blooming now didn't have any on them this morning. There might be some a little later in the day. But I look at it this way. Obviously they are out there. The more I attract and dispose of, totally yucky as it all is, that means that many fewer to multiply from as far as they are coming in, not that I am attracting them all. It is by no means going to eradicate the whole problem even if people set traps all over town or the country. Over the long haul, what happens if they get truly out-of-control around the country? After reading the statistics on how many each female can create for more to multiply, approx by the power of 2 depending on the male-female ratio and other variables, over time they will only get worse unless something unexpected turns up. I don't want to think about it. Six weeks or not, that is a lot of beetles for which there are no known natural predators in the US, was trying to find what predators take them out in Japan out of curiosity. I don't know why they gross me out, did a science project on insects in high school, never saw any Jap beetles, prob not here then (50's). Maybe they wouldn't seem so gross if they weren't so destructive, icky legs and body parts hiding on/in a pretty bloom with holes already eaten in it. Otherwise they are kind of pretty and they don't hurt me (might bite if given the chance, not sure) On one thread, they were even going after rose leaves (and fruit trees) unless it was another insect pest that did that horrid damage in the photo. Fortunately I doubt they destroy entire plants unless they weaken them for something else. I do applaud you on trying to grow in such a manner as to keep the environment safer. That's what I wanted to do. Now I see that a few I'm going to have to spray or get rid of them or never see them bloom unless they get healthier and develop more natural resistance. If you're still with me, do you happen to grow Bleu Magenta, stumbled across that? It looks prettier in a picture I saw than Veilchenblau if it truly goes to blue/bluish purple.

Hi Terrance nice to meet ya and thanks for the reply! Yes I must get outside in scratch that dirt. Where I live now, in Aberdeen, we gravelled the whole backyard due to having multiple horses in the house. LOL..my great danes make a terrible miss on grass so it was the only way. And mud? As in garden? Would be destroyed unless I built a fence around it. We are planning to buy a house soon, so hope to change all that. I can not wait to get into roses outdoors and perenials, grow my own veggies. Lily's too! I hope he builds me a greenhouse, as I am a die hard fan of tropicals. Plumeria and hibiscus are my fave's. Been growing them indoors for a year under lights, and lots of blooms. I also enjoy propagating and starting from seed indoors. Fun stuff! I guess when you grow up as a small town girl, you stick to your roots..hahahaha..too funny! Krista - sorry I left Sharon's name in the original post, so she knew I ressurrected it.

Pretty petals...500 roses! I have en entire back yard that doesn't have a single flower/shrub, etc., ..but I'm pacing myself. :-) Rose_crazy - the soil is all that but there are still chunks of that deep red sticky clay. I can't recall any place that has yellow roses down here....but I have seen other bush roses (nothing this pretty I don't think!) Let's hope they adapt and I can keep the happy! Diane...thank you! The yellow/purple combo has become my favorite and my son had no idea when he bought the Get Mees. He just knew I needed plants and his "new tradition" he said was going to be to buy perennials each year. (I like that tradition!) Your Get Mees look great. Sylvia - we'll have to swap notes as we go. When did you plant yours? How's she doing? Sheila-I hope you do, too! :-) I hope I do, too! Thanks for the welcome, all!

I just got home a little bit ago, and I didn't bring the bouquet back with me. Taking pics again tomorrow won't show it at its best anymore, so maybe lightening the pics a little will help. :-) ~Christopher