Horticultural Oil – Combat Diseases & Pests

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Just as with weed control, pest control is most effectively performed as a PREVENTION instead of a cure.  February is an ideal month to do this and we often recommend using organic Fertilome Horticultural Oil Spray to achieve safe, effective results in keeping insects away from trees and shrubs – especially ones offering edible fruit or berries.  This less toxic approach to pest and disease prevention is a “natural” choice!

When To Use It:  This one is easy!  Use it now!  Choose a time when temps will not go below freezing for several hours after application.

How To Use It:  Fertilome Horticultural Oil Spray comes in a concentrated liquid solution from which you easily make the spray.  For fruit trees, use it before they break bud, which is usually in March.  It will smother overwintering insects, their eggs, and even disease spores too.  For evergreens, spray so that it comes into contact with every part of the branch and leaf.  For broadleaf evergreens, this means spray it on both the top and bottom of the leaves.

In addition to being a safe, organic means of pest control for fruit or berry-bearing trees, it is a super effective early control step for spider mites on Spruce & Arborvitae varieties and shrubs like Euonymus.  Plus it works great fighting soft scale on a wide varieties of Holly, and the difficult-to-control hard armored scale on Golden Euonymus.  And if your Hemlocks are prone to suffering from the devastating Wooly Adelgid (as are so many hemlocks in our area), you’ll find Fertilome Horticultural Oil Spray to be a great weapon in your arsenal!

NOTE: Horticultural spray can also be applied a second time as a follow up supporting treatment in early spring, approximately 4-8 weeks after the February application.

Call or come by any time with your questions about Horticultural Oil or any other pest control options to protect your landscape and gardens!

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