I planted a new young Navajo Globe Willow tree on May 1, 2008 in Winslow, AZ. It immediately was healthy and began to grow perfectly. I started noticing aphids on the leaves at the end of July. On August 18, I sprayed Ortho Bug-B-Gon Insect Killer on the tree using my garden hose and an Ortho dial sprayer set at 1.5 oz like the directions indicated. I filled the dial sprayer 1/2 full (the options on the directions were to fill it 1/2 full or completely full). I followed all the directions and I sprayed all the leaves very thoroughly. When I was done there was plenty of insecticide left over which I poured back into the original container. About 10 hours later I noticed the aphids dying (they were turning black). The next day, the leaves started wilting and turning brittle. Now all the leaves are wilted and crumble to the touch. The rest of the tree still appears healthy and I spray the leaves down daily with water from my garden hose. Have I permanently harmed the tree? Or will these leaves fall off and be replaced by new healthy ones? None of the leaves have fallen off yet but I think it's just a matter of time. Any suggestions are appreciated. Thanks Bobby
Hose end sprayers have tended to be not very good for precise application of spray mixtures. Sounds like you overdosed your tree and burned it. However, if the twigs still look live it may leaf back out again fairly soon.
My past experience makes me agree with Ron B. Seeing that you went for what seems to be a 50% mix (based upon your measurements) that gives a good chance for survivability. When done comercially, for ornamentals, we tend to spray during cooler times, esp. avoiding direct sunlight as much as possible. This technique greatly reduces the stress on a tree's leaves. Seeing that you rinsed the leaves, if it was within 24 hours, I feel confident for the recovery. Finally, if there was a large number of Aphids, there was already 2 stress events on the plant - a weakening of the plant ("immune system") and the bug ("disease") so when you sprayed, there was the third stress. Add the enhancements of the heat/sunlight, and I feel that was the sources of your current situation. (Think of sending a kid with a mild infection out in the winter with wet hair with serious antibiotics...) Given my past experience with mine and others indoor ornamentals, I say give it a week or two of TLC and see if it stabalizes, improves, or is weakening. Good Luck!
