Maybe gardeners aren’t busy in Minnesota or Iowa during the winter, but for gardeners living in the Mojave Desert, it is probably our busiest time of year. I’m asked about spraying dormant oils on ...

Be proactive this spring and do something to control insects or diseases on your fruit trees before problems arise during the growing season.

The chill in the air reminds gardeners that it’s time to start winter chores. Spraying of dormant oils on deciduous fruit and nut trees, roses and other ornamentals can diminish the incidence of ...

Dormant spraying and judicious pruning are timely chores that can help get deciduous trees and shrubs off to a good start in the upcoming growing season. Both jobs, which should be finished before the ...

You should have applied the most important insect spray of the year — dormant oil sprays — during the winter. Why then? Because that’s when insects susceptible to these sprays are most vulnerable. Why ...

Question: What is dormant spray? I was told to use it on my fruit trees, but I don’t know what it is. Thanks. Answer: Dormant sprays are sprays used on fruit trees during the winter, the dormant ...

You know that commercial where people are grilling at a neighborhood party? They are all in shorts and T-shirts. Then a neighbor shows up wearing a heavy winter coat, fleece hat with the earflaps down ...

If you have a fruit tree, you know that gardeners are not the only ones who enjoy the bounty of the harvest. There are many pests — such as scales, aphids and mites — that feast on the tender plant ...

Q: When should I be dormant spraying my fruit trees? Earlier this year I asked about peach leaf curl on my peach tree and was told that prevention in the form of at least two dormant sprays was the ...

Life cycles of some pests are complex, with multiple steps between egg and adult or spore and fruiting body and perhaps periods of dormancy. The damage pests do to our gardens is usually associated ...

DEAR GARDEN COACH: I am a new homeowner with fruit trees. I have read now is the time for dormant spraying. Can you advise? I am feeling a little overwhelmed. Paul R. Fremont DEAR PAUL: You don’t ...