I don't know how well the 4 O'Clocks worked because even though I saw leaves chewed on them, I still had an infestation of Japanese Beetles on my Cuphea (hummingbird plant). The beetles didn't totally destroy the Cuphea this past year like they have in the past, so I do believe the 4 O'Clocks helped. I only grow the yellow blooming 4 O'Clocks. They have the best scent at dusk and through the evening. They are planted in 4 pots sitting right next to my back door on an outdoor concrete patio. They do drop a lot of seeds which sprout, so I grow them over concrete to cut down on that happening. They can be invasive plants, but the seedlings are easy to pull up. I love the honeysuckle smell and the bushy growth.
I do not have a deer problem here. I do have raccoons and squirrels though, which can be a challenge at times. I feed the squirrels as well as the wild birds, so I think I have found that happy balance of feeding all of them (except the raccoons). I have plenty of wild birds, so the squirrels are NOT chasing them off.
The humidity is very high here in FL. I try to find plant species cultivars that are resistant to blackspot and other such plant diseases. I look through a lot of seed catalogs!!! LOL!
And I agree, anything that is edible really needs to be grown organically because the fruits/vegetables/herbs that we are eating should be safe.
