Why I Oughta...

The three Disneyland Roses (Floribunda roses) that are planted in full sun on the south side of our house are currently in the midst of their second bloom cycle of the growing season.  The first set of blooms this season were in early/mid June .  Now, about six-weeks later, we're seeing the next flush of pink/orange/salmon blooms.  See below for a look at some of the Disneyland Roses in mid-Summer: Here, below, is a look at the three Disneyland Roses (along with the pair of Sugar Tyme Crabapple trees that are in espalier) along the side of our house: In 2022, I saw four bloom cycles - June, August, late September and again in early November .  Yes...November.   My plan is to feed these this week and then one more time (September) before putting a stop to the seasonal fertilizer for the season.  

The multi-trunk Saucer Magnolia Tree that we have planted in our Northern Illinois, Zone 5B suburban front yard put on a spectacular pink show this Spring with the most productive flower bloom we've had since the tree went in back in Summer of 2017.  As I've done in previous years, I've treated this with a systemic insecticide to help protect it against scale that seems to creep in/on in most growing seasons.   The tree has a nice dark color to the foliage and seems to have handled the early Summer drought just fine in our area.   See below for a current view of the tree and the full, dark foliage in mid-Summer 2023: On a recent morning when I was setting up the sprinkler to handle the lawn in front, I noticed some spots of pink high up in the canopy of the Magnolia tree.  See below for a look at those pink tufts near the tips of the tallest limbs:  A closer look (below) shows one of the blooms: What do we have going on here?  Seems like a small...