Category: dormant spray

disease

Still Time to Spray Dormant Oil

With the late spring, many of the fruit trees have not budded by now. There is still a small window of time to spray dormant spray for pest control later in the year.

Photo R. Siegel

“Dormant oil sprays are used on fruit trees before the buds begin to swell and suffocate insects and their eggs nesting in branches. Using dormant oil on fruit trees doesn’t completely eliminate the problem with these pests, but it is the best way to cut off most of the population, leaving a simpler problem later in the season.”

Read more at Gardening Know How: What Is Dormant Oil: Information About Dormant Oil Sprays On Fruit Trees https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/fegen/dormant-oil-information.htm

disease

Window is closing for dormant spraying

Dormant spraying your fruit trees for pests is best done starting in November up until March if the weather stays cool.

Spraying fruit trees during the cool seasons, November through March, can help control pests that take up residence in the cracks and crevices, according to Ross Penhallegon, horticulturist with the Oregon State University Extension Service. Such dormant spraying is more effective than waiting until the weather warms and pests become active.

Some sprays that can be used are:

Apples: Spray copper before fall rains; dormant oil once or twice from January through March; lime-sulfur in January or February (just before buds open) and wettable sulfur just after petal fall.

Apricots: Spray copper before the fall rains and dormant oil in February.

Cherries: Use wettable sulfur or lime-sulfur applied weekly during blooming for brown rot. Information on synthetic sprays to control cherry fruit fly is available at your local county office of the OSU Extension Service.

Pears: Spray copper before the fall rains; spray lime-sulfur two to three times beginning in fall, again during winter, and finally in March just before buds open; spray dormant oil in early spring before buds open and wettable sulfur just after petal fall.

Peaches: Spray copper or a good dormant fungicide three to four times between December and bud break. Spray copper or lime-sulfur before fall rains and in spring just before bud break; apply sulfur weekly during blooming and again after all petals have fallen.

For the full list and further information, click here.

deadwood removal

Spraying time again for fruit trees

Sanitation

Disease problems in fruit trees often overwinter on dried fruits and leaves that fell to the ground in the Autumn and were never cleaned up. The spores stay to re-infect the tree in the spring as the leaves begin to emerge. This is why sanitation beneath and around your fruit trees is critical. Rake up and removes all debris from the tree,  each year. Dead or diseased branches must be pruned and removed each spring.

Dormant Oil

You should apply dormant oil spray to your fruit trees before they begin to bud out. For apple and pear trees, dormant oil is used to control scale and spider mitesPlum, peach, apricot and cherry require lime-sulphur spray.

The spray must be applied at the right time with complete coverage of the tree. Dormant oil or lime-sulphur should be sprayed on the tree while it is still dormant. Thin out excessive growth before spraying.

DO NOT combine dormant oil applications with lime-sulfur, or pesticides containing sulfur, as tree injury may result.

Here is a link to a dormant spray guide. Learn more about dormant spraying here.

dormant spray

Is it too late to spray your fruit trees?

Cherry BlossomsIf your buds are starting to pop, it is too late. Trees need to be dry for a week after spraying and cannot suffer a frost. Best now to wait till the autumn.

You can be pruning now, but not hedge trimming. Wait for late August or early September, especially for Leyland Cedars.

You can lime your lawn now, too.

In the vegetable garden, it is a good time to plant peas. A cold frame is a good idea this early in the year. We are going to wait another couple of weeks for the broad beans.