by Marty Reich, Master Rosarian
Excerpted from the June 2018 Rose Leaf
Japanese beetles! These little monsters appeared here in mid-June last year, but were seen in some gardens the first of June this year.
As usual, my advice is to cut your blooms just as soon as they are opening and bring them inside to enjoy. You can also flick the bugs into soapy water to kill them. That is very satisfying and reduces their population. Spraying is mostly futile. Traps seem to just attract more. If you dust them with Sevin directly, it kills them, but it only lasts for about 3 days. They come at a time when the weather is so hot that the roses do not bloom very well and the shows are over, so unless you have a terrible infestation, try not to stress over them too much.
However, if you really want to get serious about protecting blooms, here is another article given to me by Diane Sommers, candidate for VP of ARS, about using paint strainers to protect the blooms. (Now you new members will see how gung-ho a lot of exhibitors really are!)
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