I have been busy with the Battle of the Midge for some two weeks now. In that time, using the Cyonara 9.7 insecticide at product label strength, I have drenched the soil 4 times and sprayed the bushes 3 times. I have been alternating these on different days. There has been some improvement, so it seems, but I'm not quite ready to declare victory just yet. I need to go out and prune every single midge-damaged stem - but with 222 roses that is a big task! Anyhow, I can see that the proportion of stems with buds on them is on the upswing. Which leads me to believe what I am doing is working as intended. I think I need one more spray and one more drench and hopefully then I'll be able to sit back and smell (and see) the roses. I'll do that when the weather cooperates.

It's worth noting that since the Cyonara 9.7 was first used I have not seen a single Japanese Beetle. The product may be effective for that but I think the Beetles were done for the season when I started using the Cyonara 9.7. They had very few blooms to choose from so maybe they moved on to greener pastures. I'm never sad to see the beetles stand down for the year. All in all, not too bad for the beetles this year. They sure do love the hottest weather - that's what really brings them out in full force. They had a new favorite this year - Sunset Celebration - but still remembered past faves like Clouds of Glory, Touch of Class and Moonstone.

Unseasonably hot weather here right now. It's 95 degrees outside as I write this with a Dew Point of 72. That is the definition of hot & humid! Tomorrow is scheduled to be slightly warmer. We'll be back to near normal (highs around 80 degrees) by the weekend (today is Monday).

The newly planted roses (planted back in late April) are finally starting to show some better growth. Everything else is growing very well - just not too many blooms due to the midge. I'm seeing way more yellow leaves low on the bush this year it seems. Not sure why. Some blackspot noted on Sexy Rexy and Love & Peace and a smattering of it elsewhere. But those two have it the worst.

Fred Loads is still not blooming much. I wonder if a different location might be in order.

Time for some lists regarding 2024 performance. Order has no significance within a list.

MOST IMPROVED: Pope John Paul II, Randy Scott, Lucille Ball, St. Patrick, Margaret Merril, Trumpeter, Plum Perfect

TOP PERFORMERS: Rainbow Niagara, Elina, Crescendo, Paradise, Mister Lincoln, Playboy, Touch of Class, Let Freedom Ring, Marijke Koopman, Sunset Celebration, Fame, Firefighter

UNDER PERFORMERS: Silver Jubilee*, The McCartney Rose*, Electron*, Chrysler Imperial, Beverly, Black Magic, Love, Robert Bruce, Peace, Bliss Parfuma
* Those on the list for potential shovel-pruning

I'm sure the presence of so much rose midge has influenced those lists as midge does not attack all roses equally. One rose on the under-performance list, Love, has been among the best performers in years past. Why it's not as prolific this year is one of those rose mysteries, like why do big, thick canes not come through winter as well as thinner pencil-sized canes? It's a rose mystery!

The forecast was quite a bit of rain for today so I wouldn't really be able to spray the Cyanara 9.7 as scheduled for Day 3 of the midge battle. So I sprayed yesterday instead, but not quite as extensive as on Day 1. I used only the Ortho Dial N Spray and made sure I covered every bush and every inch of garden soil. I am really liking this new Cyanara 9.7 insecticide - very easy to measure and mix. Also has a pleasant smell. Seems to also repel Japanese Beetles as well, although the lateness of the season and the dearth of rose blooms may also be contributing to the beetle population decline. Day 7 will be Sunday, and I'll hit the midge with the same 1-2 punch that I did on Day 1

I was outside yesterday morning at 6 am (had to finish everything in time for a 9 am Conference Call) - the alfalfa tea for the North Garden was ready but first I had to water the garden some. To the tea I have been adding both Miracle Gro (24-8-16) and Mills Easy Feed (14-6-4) at one-half label strength and also about 1/3 cup of Epsom Salts. Gave one gallon of solution to the full-size hybrid teas and 2/3 gallon to the floribunda bushes (one two-gallon watering can for each triple floribunda cluster). One last batch of alfalfa tea is brewing up to be dispensed either tomorrow or the day after and then I will be done for the year with the alfalfa tea. Completed everything by 8:30 am.

The Battle of the Midge (that's what I'm calling it) began in earnest today (Monday) using the Cyanara 9.7 insecticide. In the morning I drenched the soil in the rose gardens using a hose-end Ortho Dial N Spray set at 1 oz. per gallon. Inside the one-quart jar/bottle I put 2 and 2/3 TBS of the Cyanara 9.7 and filled the jar with water to the 32 oz. line. This works out to following the label instructions (yes - there is some math involved here). I sprayed every plant and every inch of garden soil. I filled the Dial N Spray 5 times to handle about 220 roses - so 160 gallons of solution was sprayed.

Then in the evening I used my sprayer (at 1 tsp per 4 gallons) to spray all the bushes - I used 6 gallons of spray. Thanks god the application rate works out precisely to 1 tsp per 4 gallons of water. I did buffer with Indicate 5 and also included some liquid Kelp in the spray (1 TBS per gallon).

Fingers crossed. Will repeat after 3 days.

Alfalfa tea will be ready to apply to the North Garden Tuesday. I'll fortify with half-strength Miracle Gro (24-8-16) and also half-strength Mills Easy Feed (14-6-4. When completed, I'll add 2 cups fresh alfalfa meal and brew up another batch.

My Rose Midge problem seems to be getting worse and not going away. In the past I have seen some rose midge damage but usually only in June for the first bloom. After that it generally has abated and only been a very minor issue for the rest of the growing season. I have never had to "battle" rose midge in the past. It was present but only a minor nuisance.

Well, that was the past and now we are in 2024. Everything is a little confusing in the garden this year – I think it is due to Spring's arrival back in April about 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule or ahead of "normal." I was elated when I had so much green cane and buds popping back when I did the pruning in mid-April. But the conditions that caused that early Spring – primarily a mild winter – seem to have allowed the rose midge to really flourish in 2024. I've put up with it in the past because it never progressed beyond "minor," but now I am invoking the famous words of none other than Popeye the Sailor, "That's all I can stands and I can't stands no more!"

So yesterday I did a Google Search on 'Rose Midge'. Best thing I found was an Indianapolis Rose Society article from 2018 written by John Hefner, who is perhaps the best exhibitor in the US over the past 35-40 years. I met John once at an IL-IN District meeting and sat with him at lunch. I remember it vividly not only because I was in awe of him (him being the top exhibitor and me being a newbie) but word got out that I had the Lucille Ball HT rose a year before J&P introduced it. I told him it had very good form but it's probably not a "banker." He wanted to know everything about Lucy. But I digress. John's garden once suffered from a very bad midge problem. Here's a quote from John's article, "A guest commented that the experience of visiting my garden was like going to a funeral." My midge damage is not that bad, but the midge seem to be getting at least 25% of the stems and that percentage seems to be increasing. John went on to write that the most effective product he found was a liquid insecticide called Cyonara 9.7. You can spray on the foliage and also use as a soil drench. Actually, you must do both to get rid of the midge and alternate the foliage/soil treatment every 3 days or so for 2-3 weeks. OK - so where do I sign up? I ordered a quart of Cyonara last night - thank God it's still available - and not too expensive (less than $100 for a quart). I am psyched to get going. I am still combatting the Japanese Beetles on a daily basis and their numbers are in decline. I hope to bring the same to the dreaded Rose Midge very soon.

Otherwise, it's alfalfa tea season for me. Have brewed up two batches so far and another started brewing today. If I can eradicate the midge, I'll have quite the show in September and October. I began digging the holes for two roses in pots - Soft Whisper and April Moon. I need to get those in the ground to get established ASAP. I'm violating spacing protocol by "squeezing in" those two in between some very upright growers (plus, Soft Whisper grows very upright). Wish me luck!