I have too many bees to use Sevin where anything is blooming. I do really hate the JBs, though. They are still here, and June bug season is almost over ! Someone should get a picture of JBs everywhere with the big, shinier green June bugs sitting on everything, too! It's a sea of iridescent scarab beetles, lol. I was cutting the rosebuds off in the summer, but now that the JBs hit my new orchard, I'm leaving the roses to attract them away from eating all the leaves off my fruit trees. The roses and crepe myrtle trees are far away from the orchard. I even had a neighbor's free-range rooster cross a dangerous road to come eat bugs in my yard; I do have a bit of everything here ;) I noticed that the JBs really liked a young Virginia creeper and Poke plant (weeds) growing in full sun kind of near some roses. I might use those as trap crops (with no blooms) and hit those with Sevin. I might even put a chemical trap way down near the woods-line. I already have so many, I don't think I'll have much problem attracting all the JBs in the neighborhood. I already do!

I've given up on growing Astilbe and Lady's Mantle. Had a nice clump of Lady's Mantle once. I had a dickens of a time keeping it going the first year. The following year it grew much bigger & bloomed, but nothing remarkable like I have seen in other people's photos and magazines. Still, my heart soared and I had hopes for having a beautiful bed of it. Then it died back to the ground and that was that. It did not reseed. Similar story with various clumps of Astilbe I've planted over the years. Pitiful little blooms that the wind blew them to heck and then they died. Not worth the trouble or expense. Too dry and too hot here I suppose. ~Annie

Since I am in MN too I thought I would chime in. I had a similar experience. Finally I got impatient and decided it was going to be a small plant so I dug it up and divided it in half. I wanted more white in other parts of my garden. I was SHOCKED! The next year and from then on it grew like gang busters. I have several right now and they are all twice the size of the original before I began dividing. This all in three seasons where the original sat for at least fours seasons not dieing but not growing. It has been said before here, but never really supported by the experts, some hosta seem to be more vigorous growers AFTER a division. Before you give up I would try dividing it.

Patty, I'm sorry the snow put an end to your gardening season. Snow is wonderful at covering and disguising in beauty all the stuff that needs to be cleaned up, though, not to mention a good insulator. I have a lot of frozen plants, but no snow. But, hey, the snapdragons and alyssum are still sitting there blooming. Actually, they are frozen in place. I've got some rose suggestions for you to think on--these roses are the toughest of the tough in my garden: Morden Sunrise, Royal Bonica, Ascot, Munstead Wood (yes, unbelievably), Princess Al of K ( another unbelievable), and Colette, a climber. Good luck navigating this winter and may your roses come through with flying buds. My wishes for everyone here, too. Diane