Dormant oil is a horticultural oil used mainly in spring to fight against many insect pests while destroying their larvae and eggs. It is used on most plants still in dormancy.
Lime sulfur is another biodegradable control product. It mainly controls fungal diseases by destroying the spores that could contaminate your cultures. It is also known to have an effect on some insects and mites.
For a better effect, we generally combine the two products. They can be applied during the same spraying, but be careful because they do not stay mixed for long, especially the lime sulfur. The applicator tank must be shaken regularly during spraying.
When to apply this product?
The combination of dormant oil and lime sulfur is applied during spring. However, there are a few conditions to be respected:
- It must be applied before the buds open.
- Temperatures must remain between 12 and 15°C during 3 consecutive days.
- There must not be any risk of frost or rain.
How to apply this product?
Dormant oil is applied using manual or mechanized spray equipment. The usage of a spray with a fine droplet nozzle is recommended, which allows better coverage during the application. Once properly equipped, simply spray and cover all accessible areas.
Beware of exceptions:
Some plants can be sensitive to the horticultural oil, such as spruce and blue juniper. Therefore, it is preferable not to treat blue tinted conifers. Indeed, dormant oil will alter the blue colour during the season. Also, evergreen plants, i.e those that keep their foliage in winter, such as rhododendrons, azaleas, hollies and yews, should not be treated.
If you’ve had problems with birch leafminers, Arborvitae leafminer, spiders, spider mites, Crimson erineum mite, mealy bugs and spots on apples and other fruits, prevention is key. Be careful, application window may sometimes be very limited. Get all the necessary equipment from our garden center to be ready to spray your trees at the right time.
Both of these products fit well into an ecological control program, because they have a very low impact on the environment and are biodegradable. If used properly in the spring, they will save you many repetitive treatments in the summer.
