In Your Garden with Jenny Watts An Ounce of Prevention In the winter time when trees are dormant, so are

the insects that inhabit them in the summer. Many insects live through the winter cold by crawling into crevices or by laying eggs in the fall which overwinter and come to life when the days begin to warm. This is a good time to stop that cycle. For well over 100 years, horticultural oil has been sprayed on trees and shrubs in late winter and early spring to kill small, soft-bodied pests such as scale and mites. The oil is mixed with water to make a syrupy solution, that forms a thin film over insects and their eggs and smothers them. The old horticultural oil was sold as dormant oil and used only on dormant plants because it could burn leaves. But the more refined oils, now called superior oil sprays, can be safely sprayed on actively growing plants as well as dormant ones. Oil sprays have many advantages compared to conventional pesticides. First, the oils are relatively harmless to humans, other mammals and birds. And when they dry, beneficial insects can return. Also, pests are unlikely to develop resistance to the oils, because they kill insects by smothering them, rather than by disrupting their biochemistry, as do conventional pesticides. Superior oils control a wide range of pests. They are most effective against small, softbodied pests such as aphids, psyllids, mealybugs, scales, whiteflies and mites. They also control, to some degree, immature stages of chewing insects. There are a few plants which can be damaged by oil sprays. Blackberries, raspberries, blue spruce and walnut trees should not be sprayed with superior oils. Japanese red maple and dwarf Alberta spruce should only be sprayed at reduced dosages. For disease prevention, lime-sulfur was used for years and it is very effective. However, it is no longer available. We have a new product called Serenade. It is a bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, strain 713) and it is a broad spectrum fungicide/bactericide that controls or suppresses a wide array of fungal and bacterial problems. It should provide excellent control of apple rust and powdery mildew when sprayed on apples every 2 weeks beginning at pink bud stage. It can also be used on pears to suppress fire blight. Serenade is also registered for black spot on roses. You can use it now while the plants are dormant, or use Neem oil. Spray ever two or three weeks if the weather is wet, otherwise spray at the first sign of disease problems. Peach and nectarine trees should be sprayed with copper spray, at least three times during their dormancy, to control peach leaf curl. If you havent sprayed yet, do that now, before the trees bloom. Fruit trees, roses and any dormant plants that had insect problems last year should be sprayed now with an oil spray. Deciduous plants are usually sprayed after pruning. This is definitely a case where "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."