Summer seems to have finally come to New England. However, even though the days are now mostly sunny, we seem to get nights with heavy downpours and the threat of rain never seems to be far away. The August rose garden remains in high bloom.

July was the second wettest since 1938 and between June and July we had almost 18 inches of rain.

Rose Upkeep in August

Fortunately, roses love water. As long as their soil is well drained, they won’t have water problems. Roses also love sunshine and that has been in short supply until now. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how well the roses have held up despite the heavy rain and lack of sun.

Here are some things to remember for August.

Keep pruning to encourage blooms.

Be sure to pick some for your coffee table so you can enjoy them inside as well as in the garden.

There’s still time to fertilize the roses again. Scratch in about a cup of 10-10-10 around each bush and water it in well. Do this before the 15th of the month so the roses will still have time to start their dormancy.

Now is also a good time to visit rose gardens to see how the roses have done this season. Bring a pad and pen to write down varieties that you must have next year.

Japanese Beetle Control

I’ve seen an increase in Japanese Beetles this year. I think that since last year and this year were so wet, they have had good conditions to multiply.

My usual program for controlling them doesn’t seem to be too effective and that too is probably due to the rain. For the past number of years Ive been treating my lawn with a grub control product that contains Merit (chemical name Imidacloprid). You’ll find that listed in the small print of the active ingredients on the bag. I’ve also scattered granules in the rose beds and have had good success controlling the beetles. I think all the rain washed through the granules and I didn’t retreat the beds soon enough.

At a rose show this June, someone told me that he goes out in the early evening with a spray bottle of glass cleaner and sprays the beetles that he sees. He said its important that the glass cleaner contains ammonia. I tried it and it seemed to slow the beetles down but not do them in. I think I’ll experiment a little with some ammonia and water and see what happens.

Enjoy the summer. September is just around the corner and soon well be putting the roses to bed for another year.