Update JUNE 2010: New pictures of these roses. Update August 2011 Video Japanese Beetles.
It's a tale of The Beauties and The Beasties at the BRG! Japanese beetles, black spot and fungus do damage to the David Austin roses Eglantyne and Evelyn, and to Scentimental (Warning: graphic images of beetles!). But two beauties -- the new Rosa Hazel McCallion and stunning Brother Cadfael -- atone for the beasties.
But first the Japanese beetles . . (Click on image to enlarge, then click Back button to return to this page)
Scentimental Rose Feast for Japanese Beetles Two black, slightly iridescent Japanese beetles feast on the white and pink fragrant Scentimental rose. Staff and garden volunteers are hand picking these insects and dropping into a bucket of soapy water.
Beetles Dine on Delicate Pink Rose EglantyneA volunteer's hand gives scale to the lovely Eglantyne, and the Japanese beetles munching its on heart.
Japanese Beetles Chomping on Rose Bushes with Black SpotMoving on from the rose flowers, these beetles are busy turning the foliage into lace. Adding insult to rose bush injury, black spot has left its mark on the lower leaves.
Eglantyne Rose Bloom with Japanese BeetlesNow, IMO, these beetles are just being greedy! With so many beetles on one rose blossom, they are very easy to spot. Likely the only way to get all of them is to shake or prune the entire bloom into a bucket of soapy water. Enlarge this image for a close up gross-out :-)
Fungus on Rose BushesBrown and yellowing leaves on this rose bush show moderate damage. Adequate spacing between plants permits good air circulation to reduce fungus infection. The recent heavy rains promote fungus on many plants.
Fungus on Rose BushesThe fungus infection on this plant shows more severe damage. Some hybrids are more disease resistant than others; and some soil conditions lessen the chances of fungus infection: Rose beds that were topped up with topsoil sustained the least fungus damage.
Black Spot on Rose LeavesFoliage of rose bushes shows the black spots that lead to yellowing leaves and die off.
Evelyn Rose with Black Spot and Japanese BeetlesAgain, double damage to Evelyn, with black spot on the foliage and Japanese beetles in the flowers.
Rosa Hazel McCallion Red Rose with WhiteHere's a break from doom and gloom in Rose Bush Land: What's purported to be one of the first of a new hybrid rose named for Mississauga mayor Hazel NMcCallion. But it's a bit of a mystery: The city web site image of the new Hazel Rose shows a pink blossom; the rose in the BRG shows a redder blossom, with white near the center of each petal. See this image for comparison with the picture above.
The lovely Brother Cadfael Austin Pink RoseLike a ray of sunshine on a rainy day, Brother Cadfael coming into new bloom gladdens the hearts of the gardeners. That this photo is actually in clear focus doubly gladdens my heart!
See more rose photos : Brother Cadfael, Evelyn and Eglantyne. Chuckles continues to bloom and is setting dozens of new buds. Chuckles could be my BRG favourite rose!
Hazel McCallion - October 2009
The Hazel McCallion rose is still blooming in mid October, though still showing the deeper colours instead of the delicate pink promised. Steps have been taken to promote the growth of this rose's intended bloom. Stay tuned: Will see what happens next spring!
5 comments:
Beautiful and insightful! Thank you! I am a newbie with planting roses, but was just forewarned about Japanese beetles. I've already planted 5 bushes and am afraid that doing so will draw in beetles. We had thousands of ladybug beetles swarming our home throughout the winter, and no solutions as to how to get rid of them. While tapping on a loose piece of vinal outside of the house, hundreds of these critters came falling out. How they survived the winter...beats me. But now I know where they hide! I will google for solutions to both. I just hate to spray a chemical on my rose bushes :( Am wondering if there is anything else I can use. Hmm! If so, please write to mygalmo@yahoo.com Thanks again! Very lovely site!
a light soap water spray works fairly well, and i, like you, try to avoid the chemicals in order to protect the beneficial insects, worms, birds, etc. The ladybugs are good! they eat the harmful insects. Keep those. But the japanese beetles are the devil and are very hard to get rid of. i've also used japanese beetle traps (look like hanging bags) in farthest part of my yard to attract the beetles away from my roses.
Thank you both for your suggestions/comments.
I used the soap water in my own garden, and it did a bit of good. It's just so discouraging when there are a lot of them.
They didn't seem as bad this year as last, though. Handpicking is just so unappealing - I don't like doing it.
The traps were suggested, too. But in a large area, you need so many of them!
let's hope next year, the beetles are done, or at least few and far between!
I had good luck this week and last with the soap/water in a bucket method.
A tablespoon or more of detergent in a liter / gallon of water.
The beetles seem to fall downward (rather than fly up) so I knocked them into the bucket and made sure none tried to crawl out.
After the first pass, I followed up a week later. There were fewer bugs, but I got most of the rest.
I will definitely do this next year as soon as I see any sign of them.
The Japanese beetles are back as of last week, but only a few on a few of the roses.
The beetles seem to favour Elgantyne, though I did get a few on the Iceberg and one on a late-blooming peony.
So far, I've been able to squash the dozen or so beetles, and am hoping that this is as bad as they get this year.
Staff and volunteers will monitor the rose garden daily.
As well, dead heading and pruning back spent canes is being faithfully done every day or so, to try to keep on top of any issues.
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