Spraying fruit trees
The first spray for fruit trees is the delayed dormant spray. Spray the stone fruits such as peaches and cherries when you can see the flower color on the buds but before they open. Apples and pears are sprayed when the green tips of the leaves show on the ends of the buds. NEVER SPRAY THE TREES WHEN THEY HAVE STARTED TO BLOOM, AS YOU WILL KILL THE BEES.Use spray oil and add diazinon to make it more effective. (Organic gardeners will use only the spray oil.) Spray oil is available at all local nurseries under many different brand names. This spray helps control mites, scale and aphids but does nothing for the worms in the apples and cherries. Those sprays come later in the season.
Dormant disease control is often sold in the Utah market but is not needed as it controls peach leaf curl and other diseases that are not a problem here.
Thursday, April 1: "Gardens of the Carolinas: Biltmore Gardens, Park Seed, Sarah B. Duke and Raleigh," Red Butte Gardens, noon.
Saturday, April 10: Taylorsville Community Garden's Spring Gardening Workshop, Taylorsville Recreation Center, 4700 South and Redwood Road, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, call 967-2937.
Submit notices three weeks in advance to Garden Tips, Deseret News, P.O. Box 1257, Salt Lake City, UT 84110, 237-2150, or e-mail us at garden@desnews.com