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| Easy Does It ranges in color from pure orange to sunset colors, grows long stems, and blooms constantly when pruned. |
Easy Does It roses provide a burst of color and also develop long stems for vases. They have targeted by Japanese beetles, and Mr. Lincoln has been wrecked.
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| I used to add one Mr. Lincoln to each vase of roses, because people always move in close for the fragrance of any rose. I was forbidden by the small but influential altar guild from calling them Stinkin' Lincoln. But their fragrance is very powerful; the rose fades to purple. Long stems? Was Abe tall? |
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| These are Mr. Lincolns with one Pink Peace and one Easy Does It. The altar guild (small but influential) decreed that the front yard would be for roses, not grass. "Grass is boring." |
Japanese beetles have two main life cycles. As adults, they eat plant material above ground, especially roses. As larvae, they feed on the roots of the plant. Since the vitality of the rose depends on strong roots, the beetles can destroy the vitality of the plant. The Mr. Lincoln roses, veterans all, began this year by looking sick and weak. They have not produced anything.
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| Six Easy Does It roses grew on one long stem for this family of six, cut and photographed on Mother's Day, 2020. |
I have used Milky Spore on the Rose Garden twice, then nematodes, both highly recommended by those who sell the treatments. The first bloom of Easy Does It made me think the battle was over, but the beetles emerged for the second bloom.
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| Portrait of the rosarian using a Canon on the Easy Does It. |
I have persistently killed beetles in the rose blooms, but this year I switched to pesticide for the blooms. I can see the amorous insects in their rose-scented suites, so I give them a spritz and maledictions that question who made them and where they are going to next.
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In memory of veteran Peter Ellenberger, Veterans Honor rose.
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| Orchids in memory of veteran Gary Meyer. |
