Peony problems

Susan S
by Susan S
Any idea's is this a blight or a bug on my peonies? Chafers beetles or Botrytis disease? Help! It is not on new buds.
  8 answers
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Jun 11, 2012
    It's an insect problem, which is a good thing. And it looks like a beetle, but hard to tell exactly what type in your photo. For small-scale beetle issues usually the best idea is to go out early in the morning or when the sun is going down so they're sluggish and just shake or tap them into a container of soapy water.
  • Susan S Susan S on Jun 11, 2012
    Thank you!
  • Melissa K Melissa K on Jun 11, 2012
    These beasts are always inside my roses this time of year. I hate them and am afraid they will migrate to other plants. My cannas have them also. There must be a better way to control them Douglas! Spray, spray, spray. However, I am afraid of killing the bees that like these also.
  • Melissa K Melissa K on Jun 11, 2012
    Sometimes I add sevin dust, but the rains this year seem to bring more and wash away the dust!
  • Douglas Hunt Douglas Hunt on Jun 12, 2012
    Melissa, you may have Japanese beetles. I always had a problem with them in my roses in New York, but the roses seemed to always take a break in the blooming just about the time the beetles arrived. If that's what you have, you could look into a grub control product.
  • Nancy Rhodes C Nancy Rhodes C on Jun 12, 2012
    I do not like those Japanese Beetles!!! They will keep on chewing and eating until June is well over. Douglas is right that they come from grubs. I had 35 roses and now I have only 20 because of these horrible pests.
  • Beverly P Beverly P on Jun 13, 2012
    You probably have grubs in your lawn and they turn into japanese beetles about this time of year. Use grub-x on your lawn in May, that is when the grubs are coming to the surface and the grub-x kills them. Do you have voles or moles? If so, you DEFINATELY have grubs becasue that is what they eat. You should spot them on your roses if you have roses, they will completely decimate your beautiful blooms. I use a strong spray of water to get them off becasue I hate touching bugs...lol. Good luck to you!
  • Kathleen Kathleen on Jun 26, 2016
    Hate to change the subject but planted my first bush last summer. This spring I got one flower. It's in more shade than sun. Can and should I transplant it? And if so when? Thank you
    • Shira Shira on Jun 27, 2016
      Hi Kathleen, I posted your question as a community question so that you can get answers from the Hometalk community.