In my gardening adventures I obtained two hibiscus plants last year. I didn't get them in the ground in a timely fashion so I thought they were lost. As nature would have it, I saw buds on the little guys in my garage and took a chance and planted them in my yard. The weather in MD has been pretty crazy this year and they didn't seem to be growing much. However, in the last two weeks I noticed flower buds (yay)!

As I left to go to work recently I saw a lovely bloom. I immediately stopped my car and jumped out to view it. To my surprise and horror there was a hole and some red residue on my nearly 5" bloom. To my chagrin, my poor plant has been infested with Japanese beetles!

Sadly I had to go to work, but I immediately used the voice option on Google Search to search "bugs on rose mallow." Thankfully I was able to find the article Problems of Hibiscus that helped me to identify the issue. It also provided lots of great information on how to get rid of these pests.

Those buggers better have enjoyed their time because they are about to be evicted!