Pest battle with Julia Child — and how I won

I had a serious problem with aphid infestations on new growth on my Julia Child earlier this year. Caught it late and had to work hard to bring the plant back. The experience was frustrating but educational.

Now that it's healthy again I can fully appreciate strong disease-resistant root stock, which is remarkable. I've repositioned it in a large terracotta pot on a sunny patio and improved my attention to deadheading spent blooms to encourage reblooming. first flush of blooms in late spring was the proof that the plant had fully recovered — genuinely beautiful. Moral of the story: inspect regularly and catch problems early.