Colorado August roses aka the ones the beetles haven't eaten
Lady in Red has alot of cane die back in the spring but really shines in Aug. when it is mostly left alone by the Japanese Beetles.
Dick Koster doesn't bloom as much but I've never seen a beetle on him.
Occasionally Love Song gets a beetle but not that often.
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last yearlast modified: last yearCalico Gal is blooming alot but gets a fair number of beetles. Because she has so many blooms she is winning the battle if we knock them off a couple of times a day.
Livin Easy has stunning colors in the heat and tries every day with new blooms but every day a couple of blooms fall victim to the beetles.
Dainty Bess's blooms are gone within an hour of opening.
This Denver's Dream bloom has hung out for a whole day so I have hope for it.
Iceberg is throwing out a few blooms. It get's beetles but not as bad as some.
Winnipeg Parks and Candy Land have been consistently blooming this summer but the beetles are on to them so fast that there is nothing to take pictures of. Amiga Mia, Above All and Easy on the Eyes have had a limited number of blooms but the beetles eat them all right away. It is amazing the difference in plants that the beetles love and the ones they aren't as attracted to.
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Sealing pruning cuts AKA learning the hard way
Comments (15)I've actually seen a little wasp like creature drilling down a cane I had just pruned but hadn't gotten around to sealing yet. I have also found tunnels on unpruned canes that go almost down to the bud union. These tunnels were almost always on brand new healthy basils or nice new secondary branching. They broke my heart as I continued to prune down further and further trying to see if anything was still in the cane and where the tunnel would finally stop. Perhaps I have two different types of borers (lucky, lucky, lucky). When the Raspberry Cane borer was first suggested as one of my pests I kept a sharp eye out for any damage to these new succulent canes near the tip (which is where they said the borer would make a slit in the cane and deposit her eggs). I've never seen any sign of anything, including damage to the top leaves, or slits in the cane. The only thing I've ever seen are those wasp type borers. So what do I do? I never spray insecticides for them, but I do seal the canes of any pruned area that's about the size of a pencil or even a bit smaller. This has cut down on the amount of damaged canes I encounter. At least if I have 2 different kinds of borers, I'm helping to alleviate one type of tunnel with the glue. If a person doesn't want to seal, that's up to them. Trial and error are the way we all learn what is in our own personal outdoor space. As I always say, it's your garden, so do what you think is best for you, not other people.......Maryl...See MoreIs there anything that the japanese beetle doesn't eat?
Comments (19)carrie, around here the 4 o'clocks will make a big tuberous root that will come back bigger and faster in subsequent years, and you'll have blooms much sooner. mine would be full bore by now, but with the strange spring and the droughty conditions i haven't had blooms on even the old ones yet. just let them go this year, and next year should be better. you can get a head start by buying tubers, which are sometimes sold in spring. they'll actually reseed so much you may regret planting them in a few years. they are easy to weed as seedlings, though. the jb's fly when it's warm, so if you are going to do soapy water, it really helps to do it during the morning or evening hours when it's cooler. if you have to do it midday, try spraying them with cold water first, which will slow them down temporarily. after a few days of going after them with the cup/jugs, they'll get wise and move quicker. good luck!...See MoreWhy are my annuals slow to bloom & half-eaten?
Comments (4)Phyl, If I remember, you had cold and rainy weather for a long time early this season -- longer than we had. Cosmos are day length sensitive. Since you stated you planted these from seed, they won't begin blooming until August. They only way to trick cosmos into blooming sooner is to start them in seed trays, and plant out the plugs. This is what we do; and, actually they just started blooming about 10 days ago. Zinnia foliage is one of the favorites of the Japanese Beetles. They love the zinnias -- second only to the dahlias. Our zinnias are planted about 8" apart. It doesn't sound like yours are planted too close. And, we always give them a shot of fertilizer high in nitrogen. We have to be careful on the timing of the fertilizer because it can cause weak necks on the flowers; however, it greens up the plant and gives the plant the length we need. The Chrysanthemum carinatum I hate to tell you; but, DH plowed that under. The flowers were getting eaten all the time -- never any harvestable stems. And, lots of little bugs setting up housekeeping in all the plants. So, buh bye to the Chrysanthemum carinatum; and, hello to Copperhead. Anyway, if you have buds, you just need to give them some time. Zinnias and Cosmos are technically a late season crop....See MoreAugust 2018, Week 3, I Made It Through The Rain
Comments (30)When an old dog who has chronic kidney disease insists he must go outdoors now, you must drop everything and take him out. If you don't, you'll find yourself mopping up the floor. There's none of that "wait a minute and I'll take you out". Nope, he is a little dictator (unwittingly, perhaps) now---one sharp bark and I drop everything and take him out because I know the consequences if I do not react quickly enough. Kim, No lady bugs around? Sometimes you can attract them to your garden (if they are in the general area) by making wheast. Or, even just by spraying a sugar-water mix on your plants. Here's some recipes for these: Recipes To Help Attract Beneficial Insects This morning I did a quick walk-thru of my garden to see how it has been doing without me and I did see some ladybugs (real American ladybugs, lol, not the Asian ones) hard at work on some of the watermelon plants. Sometimes in extreme July/August heat, the ladybugs seem to lie low---and who can blame them? I always wonder if they are up in some shadier spots just trying to survive the heat without subjecting themselves to full sun and full heat. Jennifer, It is great that Stella knows how to have a good time, but unfortunate that she chooses to have that good time in the garden. I've been leaving my garden gate open every day so the chickens can go in there now if they wish. Now that they can go into it, they no longer want to. I guess they've been excluded for so long that they've forgotten that good times can be found in the garden. Or, now that's there's no low-hanging tomatoes or melons for them to enjoy, maybe they just aren't motivated to go in there and eat grasshoppers and such. I'm glad you don't have a stress fracture because I know the time you'd need to stay off of it would drive you crazy. Still, take care and let it heal. The older I get, the more prone I am to catch the flu. I hardly ever got it in my 30s and 40s and, when I did, recovered quickly. These last 5-7 years, I seem like I get it every year and the recovery is harder every year. All my life I've heard that peoples' immune systems weaken as they age, and I see that now in my own life---at the age of only 59. By the time I'm 70, I'll have to hibernate at home during cold and flu season because I won't have any immune system left at all. On the other hand, an immune system is a funny thing. Last year, nationwide, a lot of young people in their 20s, 30s and early 40s died after they went sepsis during a case of the flu. When you go into sepsis like that, it normally is caused by your immune system over-reacting to an infection, which in these cases was the flu. What is it about the flu last year that caused young peoples' immune systems to overreact and throw them into sepsis shock? This sort of thing puzzles me. Obviously we want to have healthy immune systems but maybe not such robust immune systems that they overreact and kill you. It is such a conundrum. My garden is dry and pitiful looking, as the drought continues and no more rain has fallen here. It is what it is. August in a drought year is a tough month as it is, and the rain we got a while back was nice, but not drought-busting type rainfall. The rain made plenty of weeds sprout though. I see lots of morning glory, bindweed and foxtail grass to deal with---that will be next week as long as I don't encounter any snakes in there between now and then. Eileen, I bet it was the flu. I'm just basing that on the fact that there's low levels of flu cases being reporting across the country in August. My BIL in PA had it two weeks before I did. I did an uncommonly high amount of flu research while sick---trying to figure out if there was anything more I could learn about it that I didn't already know. One thing I learned is that it is not uncommon for the cough to persist for up to 4 weeks after you've otherwise recovered from the flu. I didn't know that, but I do remember that last year, the cough did persist for an uncommonly long time. Just take care of yourself and get your energy back. Last week I tried to do too much too soon and promptly relapsed, so this week I've been trying to take it easier on purpose so I don't do that again. Larry, I'm glad you're finally going to be able to go and get that PET scan. I hope all the news is good after it all is done. I love the deer but they sure can be destructive. What I've noticed is that when I plant stuff on purpose for them---like one of those fall and winter deer plot mixes, they ignore it. If I plant stuff for us, well, that's what they want to eat. It drives me crazy. Have y'all been watching the weather? Are some of you still getting rain? I've been out to lunch, weather-wise, not watching very carefully, while sick. Now I'm starting to pay attention again, and am not happy to realize we're back to being hot and dry, hot and dry, hot and dry. We had a couple of cool mornings earlier in the week and they sure were nice but I didn't even feel like sitting outdoors and enjoying them because of all that smoke in the air. It doesn't seem as smokey today, but then tomorrow is supposed to be really windy. I hope the wind blows away any lingering smoke, and not that it blows more smoke down to us, which I guess always is possible. Hurricane Lane has been a surprise. The last time I paid any attention to it was probably early last week and it was way out there in the Pacific as a topical depression, not expected to come within hundreds of miles of Hawaii, and not expected to do much of anything. So, fast forward a week or more, and I click on Dr. Masters Wunderground Blog maybe on Tuesday night and discover it is a Cat 4 headed towards Hawaii. By the next morning it was a Cat 5, but it now is weakening as it encounters wind shear and is back to a Cat 4 again. Still, they are going to get tons of rain if nothing else. I suppose that rain is usually good, but not when it comes in feet instead of inches. I hope everyone there stays safe and above the flood waters and out of any potential mudslides. I would joke and say why can't we ever get a hurricane here to bust our droughts, but you know, we got the remains of Hurricane Erin once, and also of Hermine, and the flooding was awful, so I won't even go there.... Have a good day everyone. Dawn...See More
strawchicago z5
last yearlast modified: last yearThe beetle traps for the past decade works wonder. This year I don't bother to set the trap since I caught so few last year (like 10 beetles per trap, not worth it). But back in 2012 when I first set the trap, I got thousands in each bag and fed them to the birds. The birds have been hunting down the beetles ever since.
This year with no traps, and beetles leave Bolero alone, I also planted a red geranium next to Bolero so the strong scent of geranium distracted the beetles. Pic. taken this year, Bolero barely survived my zone 5a winter so it's so short. I credit the strong scented geranium for deterring both rabbits and beetles from eating super-short Bolero. The plastic is to guard the rabbits, but I will take it off since rabbits haven't eaten Bolero as of August 4, 2022.
mmmm12COzone5 thanked strawchicago z5mmmm12COzone5
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last yearLove Song is really showing off this month.
Amiga Mia isn't having a flush but I love her blooms and they smell wonderful.
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last yearlast modified: last yearAnother August star is Candy Land. Overall I'm giving this rose 5 stars. It is a climber that was planted 5/20. It has been a pretty continuous bloomer, is easy to shape and looks great on the trellis. I think it was pretty cane hardy last year also. It does get some Japanese Beetles but not as bad as some of my other roses.
Other side of Candy Land.
Lady in Red is still going strong. Here she is today. Very few of her roses get Japanese Beetles.
Dick Koster is one that gets no beetles. Also the blooms stay very long on the bush. Here he is today.
He has taken a while to get established. But he is ornamental enough I would put him in the front of a bed. In my garden he is in part shade (actually mostly shade) so may do better in full sun.
Some close ups of the beautiful blooms.
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last yearThanks rosecanadian,
I am loving my rose bed it is such a nice place to visit in the yard. It always feels good to mosey around and check out what is blooming. Some wider garden pics:
Close up of Candy Land.
It has really been a triumph. Fairly low care, colorful all season long, smells wonderful and provides much delight. :-)
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last yearKristine, Dick Koster is such a treasure that I'm surprised it isn't more popular. It is good for small spots. I don't think it is at full size yet because the one I saw at High Country Roses was bigger. The added value is it doesn't seem to attract Japanese Beetles at all.
A slow grower though. This was planted Aug. 2018.mmmm12COzone5
last yearlast modified: last yearFred Loads, planted July 2020, is an interesting contrast. He is 7.5' tall and 6' wide. Would probably be wider if we didn't have the fence wrapped around it to prop it up. It is much too wide for the space we assigned it.
He has been a constant bloomer all summer. The blooms are a beautiful bright orange but the bloom form isn't as attractive as most roses. Medium attractiveness to Japanese Beetles. Gets some but not so bad as many.
Above All, planted June 2020, is about to have a flush. This one is supposed to be a climber but grows like a bush.
Close up of Above All's blooms.
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last yearlast modified: last yearEasy on the Eye's, planted May 2020, is a huge magnet for Japanese Beetles. But it is so pretty!
Livin Easy, planted July 2020, has also been a constant bloomer.
Close up of Livin Easy's blooms.
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last yearWinnipeg Parks, planted July 2019, has been a constant bloomer! It had also constantly been attacked by the Japanese Beetles. However it always has some blooms because it has so many. Here it is today.
Close up of Winnipeg Parks' blooms:
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last yearlast modified: last yearWhat a difference a day makes. Here is Above All (planted 6/20) today.
Beside Lady in Red (planted 4/19).
Winnipeg Parks.
Here are some more of Winnipeg Parks in context with the other roses. Candy Land (5/20) on the left. Winnipeg Parks (7/19) in the center and Fred Load (7/20) on the right.
CandyLand and Winnipeg Parks as seen when sitting on my bench.
Dainty Bess (8/18).
Some wider shots of the bed. Left side:
Right side:
From the other direction:
Roses that have had no blooms this summer include Sally Holmes, Neil Diamond and Pretty Lady Rose. Parade Day has been also bloomless but is just starting to have a bunch of blooms. I would say these roses don't care for high heat. Not in this bed but also bloomless is Chuckles.mmmm12COzone5
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last yearlast modified: last yearThanks rosecanadian, I was just sniffing Parade Day. It has a wonderful scent. Our weather has been glorious this year. In previous years I couldn't smell it due to wildfire smoke.
Parade Day only has a couple of blooms right now but there are many more coming. I'll take another picture in a couple of days.
Amiga Mia has a smattering of blooms also but has alot coming.
I find so many interesting things to notice about the roses. For instance Parade Day has a very tight upright and dense bush form. Amiga Mia is more spread out and loose.Parade Day on the left and Amiga Mia on the right.
Each of the roses has so many different features from the others that there is alot to compare and contrast between them. It is fun and interesting to notice the characteristics.Above All is really going to town with some glorious yellow centered orange blooms.
Dainty Bess is very pretty but a beetle magnet. However the pressure is lessening so I'm getting some nice blooms out of her.
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last yearParade Day had a bunch of blooms on the inside of the bush. Completely untouched by Japanese Beetles. It is so dense I couldn't get to them all but I did get these 5.
mmmm12COzone5 thanked L Clark (zone 4 WY)mmmm12COzone5
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last yearlast modified: last yearAmiga Mia (8/18) and Parade Day (5/19) are looking delightful.
Iceberg (6/17) is doing it's usual fantastic blooming.
Livin Easy (6/20) has been a good surprise to always bloom so much through the summer.
Dainty Bess (8/18) keeps blooming even though it's blooms don't last long due to the beetles.
Lady in Red (4/19) and Above All (6/20) blooms age well.
Winnipeg Parks (7/19) is one of my most continuous bloomers.
Candy Land (5/20) is also one of my most continuous bloomers.
It is amazing how far the rose garden has come in 5 years. I'm delighted with how it has turned out.mmmm12COzone5
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