General Treatments

[colley614]

Hey everyone,

I remember in one of Nigel Saunders videos he mentioned that he sprays his trees to treat them during winter. I also remember my Grandad used to spray his roses with something during winter.

I'm just wondering if this is something I should be doing to my trees? And if so what should I be using?

 

[Shibui]

Do you have a pest or disease problem? I think we are far too quick to use chemical treatments for no good reason. Indiscriminate spraying can lead to environmental contamination, health issues, pest and disease resistance as well as being a waste of time and money.
I feel that sprays and other treatments should be used as a last resort instead of as prophylactic.
In small collections pest and disease buildup is less likely and has less impact if and when it does so backyard treatments are not as important as larger nurseries with many hundreds of plants that can host and be impacted by disease.


That said, Japanese nurseries are known to use a winter spray of lime sulphur as a general pest and fungal preventative. There are many more modern chemical treatments that would do the same job if you really want to do so and care to do some research.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

You can spray them with poisons, oils, sulphur mixtures, and whatnot in the winter, so nothing starts living on them while they're dormant. But.. You don't have to.
In general I think that if you have to ask, there's no need for it. You haven't found pests, fungi, borers, aphids or anything, that means you probably don't have to treat against those.

Some people do prophylactic treatments, keep their plants on antibiotics. That's a decision they make for themselves. But the difficult part is that IF those trees get an infection of whatever source, "the bug" has been exposed and lived, so those antibiotics/insecticides have already been bypassed. That's where it gets messy because there is no treatment beyond this point.
The lower the exposure, the smaller the chance for resistance to develop. So not treating prophylactically can be beneficial in the sense that it leaves you with all the possible options to knock it down and hit it hard when something bad does happen.

 

[colley614]

To be honest I had mildew on a field maple and rust starting on another tree. Apart from these my trees seemed fine.

Personally, I wouldn't want to do anything that wouldn't benefit my trees.

 

[TomB]

some reading:

Dormant Season Spraying Part 1: Broadleaf Deciduous Trees

Introduction Application of dormant sprays have been a game-changer for me in the health of my garden. This is not meant to be an endorsement of a specific brand of spray, but rather a discussion of the steps I undertake in my garden during the...

www.bonsainut.com

Dormant Season Spraying Part 2: Lime Sulfur and Bordeaux Mix

Lime Sulfur vs. Bordeaux Mix Lime sulfur is a mixture of calcium polysulphides formed by reacting calcium hydroxide with sulfur. It’s prepared by boiling the two reactants together with a surfactant (usually soap) and is used in aqueous...

www.bonsainut.com

Dormant Season Spraying Part 3: Pine Trees

Introduction A wet spring and humid conditions make good conditions for fungal and bacterial growth that can lead to diseases affecting your trees. With respect to pine trees, there are two main fungal problems encountered. Diplodia tip blight...

www.bonsainut.com

Here in the UK a commonly used dormant spray ( or 'winter wash') is lime sulphur diluted in water (20 parts water to 1 part lime sulphur).

 

[colley614]

some reading:

Dormant Season Spraying Part 1: Broadleaf Deciduous Trees

Introduction Application of dormant sprays have been a game-changer for me in the health of my garden. This is not meant to be an endorsement of a specific brand of spray, but rather a discussion of the steps I undertake in my garden during the...

www.bonsainut.com

Dormant Season Spraying Part 2: Lime Sulfur and Bordeaux Mix

Lime Sulfur vs. Bordeaux Mix Lime sulfur is a mixture of calcium polysulphides formed by reacting calcium hydroxide with sulfur. It’s prepared by boiling the two reactants together with a surfactant (usually soap) and is used in aqueous...

www.bonsainut.com

Dormant Season Spraying Part 3: Pine Trees

Introduction A wet spring and humid conditions make good conditions for fungal and bacterial growth that can lead to diseases affecting your trees. With respect to pine trees, there are two main fungal problems encountered. Diplodia tip blight...

www.bonsainut.com

Here in the UK a commonly used dormant spray ( or 'winter wash') is lime sulphur diluted in water (20 parts water to 1 part lime sulphur).

Thank you

 

[JonW]

I don't do anything. In addition to pest control, some people use sprays to help reduce moisture loss during winter. I can't recall the names, but might be called dormant oil sprays.