Japanese Beetles vs. roses
The Japanese Beetles are winning hands down! They had stripped almost every leaf off of a few of my rose bushes before I noticed. I only have a couple of late blooming roses in my rose garden but they won't be blooming this year. I am checking all my bushes and picking them off to give the bushes a chance to put out new leaves. Can a rose bush survive with just stems and the rose hips? I have never seen the Japanese Beetles as bad as this year.
The reason I went out to check is from watching a new report on the grape vines from a local winery. The beetles are eating through the leaves and the winery is worried about the grape harvest. Apparently they are high class beetles and like the Chardonnay grape leaves the best. Well they seem to have a appetite for my roses too. Bad beetles!