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...

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 period...