hi .. can someone give me some tips on using dormant oil spray .. one of the gardens i work in has a number of decidious shrubs and roses, and the owner would like me to spray these plants with later's dormant oil spray .. i haven't used this product before and am wondering when the best time would be to spray in our part of the world .. as a curiosity, is there such a thing as organic dormant oil spray? .. or can you recommend another, perhaps less 'harmful' means? (the skull and crossbones on the label puts me on alert) .. thanks
dormant spray is for use when the plant is dormant. dormant spray kits are usually two bottles, one is light minreal oil and the other is lime-sulphur, I would consider them to be organic. If you are employed to take care of these gardens and you wish to spray a pesticide (anything with a PCP number on the label) you need to be a licensed applicator. tips for dormant spray, dont get it on you because it smells foul and stains things. First off, figure out what & why you are spraying, if you need to spray and then decide on the appropriate product.
Dormant oil alone will help clean up some over wintering insect eggs such as aphids and span worms, adding the Lime Sulfur will help more to control mites and scale insects as well as act as a fungicide. These sprays are great preventitve measures. You must be a licenced applicator to apply these. These are far from organic, but could be considered somewhat enviro friendly.
http://www.motherearthnews.com/library/1994_Febuary_March/Guide_To_Organic_Pesticides another opinion of the products being discussed.
