Because I live in Southern California (coastal San Diego County), my apple trees do not tend to drop their leaves in the winter. Can I still use dormant oil spray, or will it do more harm than good? And if I can use it without undue risk to the tree, would I use it at about the same time as in colder climes?
I have ten small trees of different varieties, mostly just 2 or 3 years old, plus a couple of older Gordons that are ten+ years old.
Dormant Oil Spray
Moderator: appledude
Re: Dormant Oil Spray
What are you trying to do? Force them into dormancy? The only way to do that is cooler weather.
Get rid of bugs? Experiment! Spray one branch on one tree and wait a week or two. If the leaves drop, trim the branch and check the wood to verify if still is viable. If you are tyring to be "organic" ans kill/smother bugs, an alternate method would be to spray a copper based spray.
You should wait to hear from others who knwo more about this: If your leaves do not fall off in the winter and you are successful with leaf drop, the trees will probably just continue growing over the winter and you will not have any or very little fruit.
Get rid of bugs? Experiment! Spray one branch on one tree and wait a week or two. If the leaves drop, trim the branch and check the wood to verify if still is viable. If you are tyring to be "organic" ans kill/smother bugs, an alternate method would be to spray a copper based spray.
You should wait to hear from others who knwo more about this: If your leaves do not fall off in the winter and you are successful with leaf drop, the trees will probably just continue growing over the winter and you will not have any or very little fruit.
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