Why I Oughta...

Last growing season (2023), I started to use Neem Oil to treat some pests like Sawfly Larvae on my Disneyland Roses and Magnolia Scale on our Saucer Magnolia tree in the front yard.  I fell behind on the roses and saw the foliage turn into lace over the Summer.   That's when I started a dual-treatment approach with both Neem Oil sprayed on the leaves and stems and a systemic granular insect treatment.   This year, I'm going to try to stay ahead of things and despite not seeing any signs of Sawfly Larvae, I went ahead and sprayed the three original Disneyland Roses with Neem Oil.  The front yard Roses don't seem to have come back (sad), so I only sprayed the three on the side of the house.  I also sprayed the trunk and branches of the Saucer Magnolia.   Below is one of the Disneyland Roses after dousing the leaves in Neem Oil.  I have this hand-pump sprayer that I've (now) decided is my Neem Oil sprayer.  I'm going to mark it with a Sharpie, so I don't put any s

This is the second year that I've applied Wilt Pruf to some of our most delicate plants to prepare them for Winter.  Last year, I posted photos showing off how I applied Wilt Pruf to just one of our Rhododendrons as an experiment and it turned out t hat one that didn't get any Wilt Pruf seemed better than the one that has an application .  But, that could be for a variety of reasons - and perhaps the Wilt Pruf helped keep the one that was a little behind healthy during the tough Winter. I also applied Wilt Pruf to the small Weeping Cedar tree last Fall, but it didn't survive , so this is clearly not bulletproof. So...what is Wilt Pruf?  And why would you apply it to your plants before Winter? From this product listing : Wilt-Pruf is a natural, pine oil emulsion that is organic, non-hazardous and biodegradable. Simply, spray it on to form a transparent and flexible, protective coating that will keep plant foliage and stems from drying out through extended periods