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| The Japanese Beetles completely destroyed my hibiscus bloom this year - I tried everything and they kept arriving by the thousands. I was told they only stay for 6-8 weeks but I had some of them right up until our first frost. (I think some just come out of the ground later to share the joy!) So --- I plan to pinch back all of my hibiscus in the spring so they will bloom later and miss the majority of bugs. Now, the question is, when do I stop pinching? The beetles arrive around the last week of June. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sat, Nov 2, 13 at 11:50
| i never heard of this.. on a flowering shrub ... do you have a link to any articles in this regard??? why not treat your lawn this fall.. and next spring with a grub-acide ... and reduce the grub population??? [new word there.. lol] ken |
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- Posted by RyseRyse_2004 5 (My Page) on Sat, Nov 2, 13 at 12:51
| This is perennial hibiscus -- not a shrub. This was an especially bad year for the JB --- treating the area isn't an option since we are on 60 acres and surrounded by soy bean fields. All of the blooms were eaten away as soon as they opened up. They were bad on the Rose of Sharon also but I don't care as much about those. Now, Rose of Sharon is a hibiscus that is a shrub. In our forest, they had eaten away all of the leaves on the brambles and wild grapes. Never saw so many JBs. Hopefully next year won't be as bad. Seems like they would be lunch to some bird or animal but I guess not. |
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| I usually stop pinching around beginning of July or so - that means blooms mid to late August. I pinch to get fuller plants = more blooms, but I think you may be onto a good strategy, as come to think of it, my blooms never get hit by the beasts (although they will make a meal of out the leaves occasionally). |
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- Posted by RyseRyse_2004 5 (My Page) on Sun, Nov 3, 13 at 12:16
| Thanks so much --- will put it on my spring calendar to pinch until July 1st. I have about 30 of the plants so I never noticed whether or not they were full. They form a tall hedge around the patio. The beetles especially like the white blooms. Even years when the bugs weren't so bad, I never got to enjoy my white ones. |
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| I am lucky not to have much of a problem with JBs - I got rid of my Blanc Double de Coubert white rose because they really were drawn to that! (I read somewhere that they have a preference for white flowers and it seemed to be true). Robins in spring love to eat the grubs (as do skunks!). When we were digging out dead grass the spring we got rid of the rose, the robins lined up on the electrical wires and the top of the abour waiting for us to put out the grubs for them to eat! It got so that whenever they saw us appear they'd head for 'the feeding station' and yammer at us to hurry :-) Different hibiscus varieties have different flower times so you might want to try different varieties. Here, Disco Belle and Lord Baltimore are the earliest - late June/early July. My dark pink 'the child' Disco Belle seedling started blooming much later (end of July) and continued to the end of October. Fireball' doesn't start until August. I don't pinch any of them but pinching should help you. But be on the look-out for later blooming varieties too. |
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