You know, all the folk on here are much nicer than me, I love it, as we say over here, it puts manners on you.
I bought some neem oil in the USA last year and am planning to deploy it this year. My biggest issue with the dahlias is earwigs, they nibble on the petals. I am afraid that if I dose the plant I will kill off the bees and hoverflies so I am wondering what level of defacing by the little munchers I can live with.
Weatherwise we get about 1.5 inches to 3 inches of rain a month, with the mean of about 31 inches a year. It rains every few days, if not a little each day so once a plant is in the ground for a while it tends to be able to look after itself. Maybe a few deep soakings a year is all that is required.
Air temperature is an average 50F, with variation typically between 40F and 60F. We rarely see 75F for long, and rarely see many days below freezing.
Soil temperature is a few degrees warmer or colder than the air, lagging a couple of months.
The upshot of this is that plants are not dormant for too long, tend not to die of extremes, and then when we get a surprising amount of sun for a week, or snow for a week, we are astounded when plants we have had for a decade suddenly up and die. A lot of everything grows.
It is a pretty pleasant place to live, culturally intact, ten minutes from the sea, the mountains, the golf course and as we say ourselves it's a good job it rains or the place would fill up with foreigners. When I first came to the US for any extended period I didn't pay much mind to the weather, as I assumed it was pretty much like ours plus or minus a few degrees, but I have experienced 50 degree shifts in a couple of days, rain the like of which I have rarely come across and snow like I have never seen, humidity that makes you want to just stay in the house and stand in the shower, and this recent polar vortex was just downright scary.
I wasn't afraid of God, since in Ireland he is really more of a pal, but the weather over here is pretty Old Testament and now I assiduously watch the weather before I stir from the house and travel with snow shovel, wiffer, waterproof boots and a blanket.
