Did you win ALL those lovely rosettes!? Wow!

We did some research together on Russian AV sites - Neil Lipson and I - and he was too nice to mention me. There is much less pesticide limitations in Russia - so they use ... everything. After a while - the same pesticides get approved here - but they are released under different brand names. So it was quite challenging to go through all label sheets and comparing them.

Soil mealy bugs IMHO are the the worst most persistent pest you can get. If you get virus - it is easy - just chuck everything, clean everything thoroughly, wait until the thrips or what not die out - and start fresh. SMB - you think you nailed them all - and 6 months later... the sleeping cell wakes up. Hopefully Neil's approach of drenches is the the one that will set us free,

Just let me hide under the bush...

I can usually get rid of thrips. Thrips seem to go more for the deep purple flowers, I noticed in stores.

Agree on both points, But then they come back again... with spring bloom outside - zillions of them are ready to walk in with you...

I have been spraying Neem on the roses, on the stems, not the flowers.

Thrips hang out on the flowers so does spraying the stems work to get rid of them?

Lets get real - nothing can stop thrips outside. My friends from the rose society grow their premium rose buds spraying them every day to prevent thrips damage... not the whole bush - but this selected perfect bud... And we thought it was bad... now Japanese beetles arrived. We have roses in spring - and nothing in August. They chomp them off.

I have no idea if it is effective. I just do it because the Neem mixture is supposed to be used up shortly. I made much more than I needed. So rather than throw it out, i sprayed the rose garden. I dont spray the roses themselves because they fall off in a few days.

I prefer non chemical means. My dad was an organic gardener so Jap. Beetles are familiarities. Also, children come to visit so I dont want to use too many chemicals.

We also have some weird looking weed here that looks like Frankenstein dandelion with thorny edges. The only solution is to dig up and start over.

Aha - and your species of Thistle probably has roots all the way to the other side of the Pacific... Mine does...

Right! There is a name for it, an ugly name. We actually did replace the lawn.

You can get rid of it with a spot treatment of Weed be Gone. Apply weekly for a year or 3 - and Force will be with you.

Smiles!

If you can get your hands on a syringe, RoundUp will usually take care of the problem. Most thistles have hollow stems. Fill the syringe with a bit of concentrated RoundUP and inject the RU directly into the stem. Prevents the dangers of "overspray". (Do remove any flower buds prior to treatment .... That way don't have to worry about pollinators ingesting poisoned nectar.) If after a few days there is no sign of imminent demise, retreat.

WOO-HOO! You are a Genius!

I am getting ready to go to a Gesneriad Convention - best time of the year!

I.

Enjoy!!!