Dormant Oil Spraying

Minimize usage of those nasty pesticides and take advantage of Dormant Spraying. Dormant spraying refers to spraying during the season of the year when deciduous trees and shrubs are leafless, and buds are in the overwintering, dormant condition. Materials applied as dormant sprays include horticulturals oils (dormant oil) and lime sulphur. Horticultural oils mix with water to form a milky emulsion. After the water evaporates, a thin layer of oil is left on the tree. Any overwintering stages of insects such as eggs or pupae, when sprayed with dormant oil, will suffocate. Some examples of these insects are scales, mites, aphids and eggs of moths, such as leafrollers. We will begin spraying in March 2014 prior to buds swelling.