Dormant plants such as blueberries, lilacs, photinia, dog woods, roses, fruit trees, or anything that tend to develop fungal issues, will need Copper Fungicide and Horticultural Oil before they leaf out.
It is generally safe to use on fruit trees, roses or deciduous trees and shrubs. Don't use a dormant spray on any plant that has any leaves (even baby ones) or is actively growing – they may be damaged by the spray due to the reflection of the sun off the oil causing leaf burn, or from the impurities in the oils.
Consider using a dormant spray over winter to smother overwintering spores. Bordeaux mix: This is a fungicide that contains copper sulfate and hydrated lime. It can be used as a powder or mixed with water and sprayed. Bordeaux mix also repels some insect pests, but it can burn plant leaves.
Dormant sprays or delayed dormant sprays are a generic term for an application of pesticides—including fungicides, highly refined horticultural oils and oils in combination with a pesticide– that are applied to leafless deciduous trees during fall, winter, and early spring.
Dormant oil sprays can control a variety of insect pests such as aphids, mealybug, thrips, whiteflies, adelgids, caterpillar eggs, leafhoppers, scale and mites. This control is more effective on young insects and less effective on more mature insects so timing and early intervention is key.
Horticultural oil and neem oil are naturally-derived oils that used to be referred to as dormant oil. Mineral oils and vegetable oils like canola oil, cottonseed oil, and soybean oil are all classified as horticultural and can be used in the garden to prevent pests and diseases.
Avoid spraying dormant oil when temperatures are below 40ºF. Shake well before adding dormant oil to desired water amount. Mix thoroughly*. Make sure the application covers the entire surface of branches and trunk (don't miss the undersides of branches!)
Use neem oil as a dormant oil spray to control a number of insects, including: Tent caterpillars, leaf rollers and other caterpillar eggs that remain on plant leaves during winter. Aphids that cause leaf curling the following spring. Mites that overwinter on plant leaves.
During their dormant phase, the plants require little care, which makes winter plant storage so much easier! And, since they drop all of their leaves, there's no need to worry about bugs or leggy leaf growth. For most of the winter, I store my dormant plants in a dark room and water them sparingly (if at all).
The fungicides tebuconazole (Provanto Fungus Fighter Concentrate), tebuconazole with trifloxystrobin (Provanto Fungus Fighter Plus, Toprose Fungus Control & Protect), and triticonazole (Fungus Clear Ultra) are labelled for the control of rose black spot.
Start treating your roses early in the growing season. Respray them every week or two and after a heavy rain. Be sure to spray the entire plant, including the tops and bottoms of the leaves as well as the stems. Apply a dormant spray over winter to smother overwintering fungal spores.
Begin active treatments with Daconil® fungicide at the very first sign of disease to stop black spot and limit its damage. Treat every seven to 14 days or as long as weather conditions warrant, and mark your garden journal to remember to start preventative treatments early next year.
Soak the roots up to the bud union or base of the crown for at least six and up to 24 hours. This helps the plant emerge from dormancy and get ready to grow by adding moisture. If you want to soak for more than 24 hours, be sure to change the water each day. Don't soak for more than a week, as mentioned above.
To keep your roses from drying out, they can still dry out even if they are dormant, it is advised that you provide your large pots with a gallon of water once every two weeks. The pots do not need to be, and should also not be wet, but neither should the soil be allowed to completely dry out.
Dormant and resting plants will droop, their leaves will sometimes turn yellow and drop, and they won't put on any new growth. If you're still not sure, you can try the scratch and snap test. Scratch a little off the surface of a mature stem, and if it's green inside, it's still alive.
For plants, dormancy declares when to prepare their soft tissues for freezing temperatures, dry weather, or water and nutrient shortage. Instead of exerting energy in an attempt to grow, they know to stop growing and conserve energy until mild weather returns.
NEEM OIL USE FOR SPECIFIC TYPES OF PLANTS
For infestations, spray foliage or drench soil every 7 days until pests are gone. As a preventative measure, drench the soil every 3 weeks. When spraying foliage, make sure that the top and undersides of leaves are well coated.
What Plants Should You Not Use Neem Oil On? Neem oil shouldn't be used on herbs such as basil, caraway, cilantro, dill, marjoram, oregano, parsley, or thyme.
But did you know that there is an alternative to neem oil that is more effective and less smelly? More gardeners are making rosemary oil a part of their pest management routine by using Earth's Ally Insect Control. For hundreds of years, farmers have recognized rosemary oil for its ability to naturally repel pests.
The idea is to get ahead of the munching, by killing larvae before they hatch into starving little leaf eaters. So if you had problems last year with aphids, scale, or spider mites, dormant oil is a great way to help you get a handle on the insect problem before it starts this year.
To mix, use one (1) ounce of neem oil for every gallon of water. Add in a few drops of liquid dish soap to the mix and stir. The dish soap helps allow the mixture to adhere to the foliage and stems of plants, acting as an oil agent. For large areas a backpack sprayer works wonders to quickly treat an entire area.
Dormant oil now refers to the time of application rather than to any characteristic type of oil. Horticultural oils: An oil used to control a pest on plants. Mineral oil: A petroleum-derived oil (as opposed to vegetable oils). Narrow-range oil: A highly refined oil that has a narrow range of distillation.