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Debate: Is spraying dormant oil in winter always the right call?
My old boss used to say you should never spray dormant oil on maples before a hard freeze, that it would cook the buds once things warmed up. But last year I sprayed a row of red maples in late February before a cold snap, and they came out perfect with way less scale than usual. A buddy of mine insists timing doesn't matter as long as the tree is fully dormant. Anyone else seen mixed results with dormant oil and maples?
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aaron7408d ago
Always thought timing was way more important than it apparently is. Used to wait for that perfect window of like a week of steady cold, paranoid about messing up the buds. Then a buddy of mine (the stubborn type, you know the kind) sprayed his whole yard of maples right before a big freeze and they came out looking better than mine. Changed my whole view on it honestly. Seems like the trees are tougher than we give them credit for as long as they're truly dormant. I still try to be reasonable about it, but I don't stress nearly as much anymore.
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ross.lily8d ago
Bet the trees that tap deeper into the soil don't even care about the freeze as much.
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