Lime sulfur winter spray, how do you do it?

james

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Fall has come, winter around the corner. All leaves off deciduous trees. About that time for dormant winter spray. I have chosen lime sulfur, which is hard to get these days. My intent is disease control, particularly trying to limit spring/summer

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I went with 40:1 water:lime sulfur (29% calcium polusulfide). This is what I understand to be safe for conifer. I am aware others use 20:1 for deciduous without leaves.

What are your experiences? Do you do this seasonally? Take wire off deciduous? What about cut back, do before or after spray? Can dormant spray injure recent cuts? Have you seen damage to conifer foliage, or deciduous buds? Do you protect, or spray the soil? Do you like or dislike the whitening effect on trunk, branches?
 

Shogun610

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Do you cover the pots before you spray? And how do you measure the dilution in that spray bottle ? I have one similar and was thinking about using like sulfur for dormancy as well.
 

Brian Van Fleet

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Have you seen Scott’s great series on this?


I have diluted about 1.25 oz/gallon, and sprayed trees on a sunny day just after leaf drop in the past. Pretty sure that’s when they do it in Japan. Best to cover pots, or wipe them off before the LS dries. Scott’s article suggests waiting later, just as buds are swelling. Maybe it can be done twice.
 
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BobbyLane

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I remember Will baddely recommending it once after leaf drop and again as the buds swell on spring and that seemed to eradicate persistent black spot on elms for that season. Ive been applying at these times ever since and it does seem to keep fungal issues at bay. on some trees ive even applied a third time in mid summer and removed unsightly leaves. never had any issues with the LS staining the leaves whatsoever. yes the diluted solution is safe in my experience.
 
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Bumping this old thread - when spraying with lime sulphur, how careful do you need to be to keep it off the soil?

I'm just preparing for wrapping each of my many pots in a towel before spraying and wondering if that's the best way.

If anyone has suggestions on how best to proceed, I'm all ears - I'd love to make a dip bucket but some of mine are large enough that they wouldn't fit in anything reasonable. Shohin would be fine but I'd probably still have to make too much to make it worth it.

In the Northeast, I believe the right time to do this might be heading into April as buds begin to swell, but I seem to recall folks saying mid-winter was good too. If anyone has comments on that, I'm also interested to hear them.
 

Shogun610

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Bumping this old thread - when spraying with lime sulphur, how careful do you need to be to keep it off the soil?

I'm just preparing for wrapping each of my many pots in a towel before spraying and wondering if that's the best way.

If anyone has suggestions on how best to proceed, I'm all ears - I'd love to make a dip bucket but some of mine are large enough that they wouldn't fit in anything reasonable. Shohin would be fine but I'd probably still have to make too much to make it worth it.

In the Northeast, I believe the right time to do this might be heading into April as buds begin to swell, but I seem to recall folks saying mid-winter was good too. If anyone has comments on that, I'm also interested to hear them.
I too would be interested in the dilution factor in ML or some volume that would be in a pressure spray canister because I also want to spray my trees as dormant spray
 

leatherback

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1:30 dilution is commonly used.
Do not worry about some drips coming down. You will get a few spots on your pots, which typically will wash off after a few months. So for that, dropping a cloth over the pot can be of use. But as long as you do not soak it, it should be fine.
 

BobbyLane

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Ive had this dilution in a spray bottle and literally sprayed trees until the stuff was dripping off leaves. Nothing to worry about. Your tree will not turn White, nor will your leaves!
 

BobbyLane

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Bumping this old thread - when spraying with lime sulphur, how careful do you need to be to keep it off the soil?

I'm just preparing for wrapping each of my many pots in a towel before spraying and wondering if that's the best way.

If anyone has suggestions on how best to proceed, I'm all ears - I'd love to make a dip bucket but some of mine are large enough that they wouldn't fit in anything reasonable. Shohin would be fine but I'd probably still have to make too much to make it worth it.

In the Northeast, I believe the right time to do this might be heading into April as buds begin to swell, but I seem to recall folks saying mid-winter was good too. If anyone has comments on that, I'm also interested to hear them.
I commented a few posts up.
 

bwaynef

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As for the timing, I've always (twice mind you) done it close(r) to leafing out, but if you're going to spray w/ an oil dormant spray, give it 30 days before or after spraying lime sulfur.
 
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Got it thanks! Yeah I’m going to do both the oil pesticide and lime sulfur…. It’s been a warm winter, who knows what’s creeping in there.
 

Maiden69

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Bumping this old thread - when spraying with lime sulphur, how careful do you need to be to keep it off the soil?
I know I have heard and read that you should... but I guess that is here in the US. I was watching this video Wednesday and at the end it shows him applying lime sulfur to his trees. It starts right when he is about to start mixing the ls. I think he mentions that he is doing a 1:20 dilution which should be correct.

I used a website I have book marked for dilution ratios.

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Maiden69

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I use 5tbsp per gallon in a pump sprayer. This is Bjorns recommendation for dormant spray
This is close to a 1:50, I do think I heard Bjorn mentioning this ration, but most of the recommendations I have heard are between 1:20 and 1:30 as leatherback mentioned.
1:30 dilution is commonly used.
 

Dabbler

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I know i'm out there but - I have young ones that insist on putting there hands in the garden and bonsai garden so I don't use harsh chemicals sprays - I use a vinegar spray dilution and so far(10 years) I haven't had pests/mildew/mold/diseases get my tree's. I do it every 2 weeks or so and works great.
 
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