Lime Sulfur safe for maples in leaf or no?

[potatofarmer]

I want to do a full spray on everything but some are already in leaf.

Is 50:1 still good enough or does it need to be stronger.

 

[leatherback]

Acidity is typically not good. I would not spray with limes.

 

[potatofarmer]

Acidity is typically not good. I would not spray with limes.

Sorry what i have is lime sulfur

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Welcome to the site! You should not spray lime sulfur on deciduous foliage. If you want to apply it topically to a small wound or scar, that would be fine. If you are concerned about fungus, I would use a broad spectrum fungicide like Cleary's 336F.

 

[potatofarmer]

Welcome to the site! You should not spray lime sulfur on deciduous foliage. If you want to apply it topically to a small wound or scar, that would be fine. If you are concerned about fungus, I would use a broad spectrum fungicide like Cleary's 336F.

Ok thanks. Thought it might be ok if i dilute more. But i wont do it. I have neem oil maybe that will be enough for now.

 

[rockm]

Lime sulfur is a "dormant spray" for deciduous trees. It is used during the winter, when deciduous trees are leafless and wont leaf out for a while as a fungicide. So apply it only when trees are leafless and HOOOOOO boy does it stink.

Also, are you spraying for insects or fungal issues? Neem oil is generally for insects. Lime sulfur for fungal issues....

 

[potatofarmer]

Lime sulfur is a "dormant spray" for deciduous trees. It is used during the winter, when deciduous trees are leafless and wont leaf out for a while as a fungicide. So apply it only when trees are leafless and HOOOOOO boy does it stink.

Also, are you spraying for insects or fungal issues? Neem oil is generally for insects. Lime sulfur for fungal issues....

I Have had a wide variety of shit go sideways. I think its fungus. And i want to protect my healthy trees more.

Im never wiring in the fall again either. They seem to hate being wired while dormant.

 

[potatofarmer]

this tree is healthy and in leaf but getting random black spots. maybe it's verticillium wilt.

 

[potatofarmer]

this one i think randomly died from wiring. wiring was good, didn't even leave a mark. but then the middle of the drunk suddenly went dark/black. maybe it will bounce back i dunnno. scratch test looks more brown than green.

 

[potatofarmer]

this one straight up just died did nothing to it. it has some bulb growth on it if you look carefully. or maybe it's still alive. i doubt it tho, looks terrible and the buds are not swelling.

 

[potatofarmer]

these were pristine and looked great. all wiring was done. i moved them to a more open area in ground to thicken the trunk. we had a bad day of heavy rain. suddenly that white hits the trunk. scratch test is pure white. the one on the right is def dead. i already tossed it.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

When you start having fungus problems with Japanese Maple, it is often a combination of damage to roots, bad soil or overwet conditions. It is easy to lose a lot of trees if you repot too late in the spring. Sadly, though they are beautiful trees, they aren't among the hardiest.

 

[Dav4]

I think your issue is possibly related to either- very heavy soil and overpotting, improper repotting (timing, overaggressive root removal), or improper overwintering. The brown spots on the trunk could be bruises secondary to trauma or due to Pseudomonas syringae... time will tell. Fwiw, I've lost maples by working the roots while dormant then leaving them in very cold wet weather. Fwiw, lime sulfur won't do a thing for a tree that already has a systemic infection like V. wilt (fungus) or P. syringae (bacteria).

 

[bwaynef]

Dave alluded to what I was going to say but skirted it a bit. Verticillium wilt leaves no outward marking on the tree. It will show if you cut into it as darkening of the cambium (i believe) ...which is the gumming up of the tissues that transfer water ...which causes the leaves to wilt. Pseudomonas will cause black/dark spots along the trunk/branch/affected area.

I'd go w/ a broad-spectrum contact fungicide first. You're not going to get a systemic to the affected areas w/o foliage drawing water thru the soil. (Granted, there may be some systemics that work on contact but that generally systemicizes (transfers through out the tree's tissues) less than when its taken into the tissue thru the roots.)

 

[potatofarmer]

I think your issue is possibly related to either- very heavy soil and overpotting, improper repotting (timing, overaggressive root removal), or improper overwintering. The brown spots on the trunk could be bruises secondary to trauma or due to Pseudomonas syringae... time will tell. Fwiw, I've lost maples by working the roots while dormant then leaving them in very cold wet weather. Fwiw, lime sulfur won't do a thing for a tree that already has a systemic infection like V. wilt (fungus) or P. syringae (bacteria).

I think your issue is possibly related to either- very heavy soil and overpotting, improper repotting (timing, overaggressive root removal), or improper overwintering. The brown spots on the trunk could be bruises secondary to trauma or due to Pseudomonas syringae... time will tell. Fwiw, I've lost maples by working the roots while dormant then leaving them in very cold wet weather. Fwiw, lime sulfur won't do a thing for a tree that already has a systemic infection like V. wilt (fungus) or P. syringae (bacteria).

noted. im going to put more pumice into my soil mix in the future.

Pseudomonas syringae. yes. i was already reading about that. but the article said it could be wiped out with pesticides. so wouldnt lime sulfur get rid of it?

 

[potatofarmer]

Dave alluded to what I was going to say but skirted it a bit. Verticillium wilt leaves no outward marking on the tree. It will show if you cut into it as darkening of the cambium (i believe) ...which is the gumming up of the tissues that transfer water ...which causes the leaves to wilt. Pseudomonas will cause black/dark spots along the trunk/branch/affected area.

I'd go w/ a broad-spectrum contact fungicide first. You're not going to get a systemic to the affected areas w/o foliage drawing water thru the soil. (Granted, there may be some systemics that work on contact but that generally systemicizes (transfers through out the tree's tissues) less than when its taken into the tissue thru the roots.)

would brushing on strong lime sulfur directly onto the black spots help at all?

i dont really feel like spending too much on too many different products but what other one would you recommend me buying?

 

[potatofarmer]

i dunno if it helps but i already did a neem oil root drench....

 

[potatofarmer]

a lot of others don't seem to have any issues that i can see knock on wood. but ya it really annoys me when things go wrong.

 

[bwaynef]

If you can find Phyton 35 (or 27), I think that might have as good a chance as any at stopping Pseudomonas. Zerotol, which is strong peroxide w/ an activator acid that makes it more effective, also works but I don't believe it has ANY systemic properties. (Zerotol is (essentially) rebranded as Biosafe something or other and available in consumer sizes on amazon.)

 

[roberthu]

i dunno if it helps but i already did a neem oil root drench....

I thought neem oil is for foliage spray only? Never heard of a neem oil root drench.