Maybe gardeners aren’t busy in Minnesota or Iowa during the winter, but for gardeners living in the Mojave Desert, it is probably our busiest time of year. I’m asked about spraying dormant oils on ...

The chill in the air reminds gardeners that it’s time to start winter chores. Spraying of dormant oils on deciduous fruit and nut trees, roses and other ornamentals can diminish the incidence of ...

Question: What is dormant spray? I was told to use it on my fruit trees, but I don’t know what it is. Thanks. Answer: Dormant sprays are sprays used on fruit trees during the winter, the dormant ...

You should have applied the most important insect spray of the year — dormant oil sprays — during the winter. Why then? Because that’s when insects susceptible to these sprays are most vulnerable. Why ...

Horticultural oils can be used as a dormant spray on fruit trees to proactively control overwintering insects and diseases. Dormant oil sprays should be applied in late March or April before the ...

You’ve no doubt heard of “dormant spraying,” but are you clear on the advantages of this method of pre-empting pests and diseases that might survive the winter, just waiting to attack your plants next ...

You know that commercial where people are grilling at a neighborhood party? They are all in shorts and T-shirts. Then a neighbor shows up wearing a heavy winter coat, fleece hat with the earflaps down ...

If you have a fruit tree, you know that gardeners are not the only ones who enjoy the bounty of the harvest. There are many pests — such as scales, aphids and mites — that feast on the tender plant ...

Q: When should I be dormant spraying my fruit trees? Earlier this year I asked about peach leaf curl on my peach tree and was told that prevention in the form of at least two dormant sprays was the ...

CORVALLIS, Ore. – From newly minted gardeners to avid urban farmers, everyone with a patch of land wants to grow an apple tree. Other fruits – pears, cherries, figs, plums – are desirable, too, but ...

Winter in the garden means it’s time to get out the dormant spray. If your fruit trees and garden produced more disease than fruit and flowers this year, you should think about using a preventive ...