I absolutely adore my Julia Child roses. Each bloom is a petal-packed butter-colored beauty. Julia Child roses have a heavenly faintly spicy anise scent. What a delightful way to honor one of my favorite American cooks.
The thing is, aphids adore my Julia Child roses, too. Last month they swarmed my three Julia Child floribundas.
It was war, minus chemicals, thank you. So I sprayed the aphids with soapy water. A few aphids fell, but the rest clung tight.
Clearly, I was no match for the million-aphid march. I needed reinforcements: ladybugs.
At OSH in Redding, $6.99 bought me a deli-tub-sized container.
Note: I’m sure many nurseries sell ladybugs, and other helpful critters. However, I do know OSH also sells earth worms for $10.99 a huge container, and praying mantis sacks with potentially 200 to 400 unborn insects inside for $7.99, and worm casings – worm poop – for $5.99 for a cottage-cheese-sized container. A word of caution about the praying mantis. If you buy them, go straight home. If left in a hot car the praying mantis will never hatch.)
I bought a couple of containers of live ladybugs.
The directions said to release them in the evening, so the ladybugs would stay put in the dark and awaken the next day hungry and ready to rumble.
The next morning I could hardly wait to rush outside and see how well the ladybugs had destroyed the aphid invasion.
They hadn’t.
Instead, the majority of the ladybugs were doubled up. Basically, they were too busy having sex to stop the aphids from having their way with my Julia Child roses. Dozens of dazed, single ladybugs wandered around in the dirt. I scooped them up and placed them directly on the aphids.
Charge!
The ladybugs turned away. Not interested.
Within three days, all the ladybugs were gone.
I’m not complaining, because the aphids were gone, too.
