Hey all,
So I've got some trees in the ground, and all of the bark grafted scions seem to have woken up. I'm cautiously optimistic that these will hang on for a few more weeks and have taken fully. As I move forward, I am looking into spraying. Although I've grafted DR varieties, I know that some spraying will really help the trees while they are young. I'm a bit hesitant to spray, just because I really don't like to put anything on a tree growing my fruit (although most will be deer apples). Call me a hippy if ya want, but it's just how I roll :).
As of now, I'm the most worried about fungal and bacterial infections, as they can do the most damage to the tree (e.g. fireblight). As for insects, other than the Japanese Beetles (which I go after with a vengance) I'm not too concerned with some leaf eating, or some fruit that isn't pretty. I see the insect pests more of an indication that I'm doing a pretty good job providing suitable habitat for natives. My neighbor has a full spray regimen, and I'm definitely turned off by the sight of him misting entire trees with insecticides... It's just not for me.
This being said, if I were to spray twice a year, what should I spray? As of now, I was thinking dormant oil and/or copper in late dormancy, and then something after petal fall. As I said, I'm the most worried about fungal or bacterial infections, and I figure that the spring is the worst for these (warm+moisture). My trees are in spots that they'll get plenty of sun, and can get kinda dry in the summer, so I figured that they'd be at much less of a risk at this point. For the jap beetles I'll either spray with neem oil or sevin. I'm up at the property enough in the summer that I can spray every week or so June-September.
So I've got some trees in the ground, and all of the bark grafted scions seem to have woken up. I'm cautiously optimistic that these will hang on for a few more weeks and have taken fully. As I move forward, I am looking into spraying. Although I've grafted DR varieties, I know that some spraying will really help the trees while they are young. I'm a bit hesitant to spray, just because I really don't like to put anything on a tree growing my fruit (although most will be deer apples). Call me a hippy if ya want, but it's just how I roll :).
As of now, I'm the most worried about fungal and bacterial infections, as they can do the most damage to the tree (e.g. fireblight). As for insects, other than the Japanese Beetles (which I go after with a vengance) I'm not too concerned with some leaf eating, or some fruit that isn't pretty. I see the insect pests more of an indication that I'm doing a pretty good job providing suitable habitat for natives. My neighbor has a full spray regimen, and I'm definitely turned off by the sight of him misting entire trees with insecticides... It's just not for me.
This being said, if I were to spray twice a year, what should I spray? As of now, I was thinking dormant oil and/or copper in late dormancy, and then something after petal fall. As I said, I'm the most worried about fungal or bacterial infections, and I figure that the spring is the worst for these (warm+moisture). My trees are in spots that they'll get plenty of sun, and can get kinda dry in the summer, so I figured that they'd be at much less of a risk at this point. For the jap beetles I'll either spray with neem oil or sevin. I'm up at the property enough in the summer that I can spray every week or so June-September.