Fruit trees are normally sprayed 3-4 times from late fall through early spring. The first spray is when the leaves have dropped, second in December/January, third NOW in early February and then again at bud swell. Use a copper spray such as EB Stone Copper Fungicide or Lily Kop-r-Spray. This will control peach leaf curl, shot hole fungus and powdery mildew. Your plum tree probably had leaf curl due to an aphid infestation. The small, black aphids attack newly emerging foliage and wrap the leaves and cause the leaves to wrap around them thus protecting them from sprays. The plum should be sprayed after flowering with Greenlight Rose Defense or Neem Oil which works to deter aphids in the first place. When pruning, remove branches that grow towards the center of the tree, crossing, or branches that are too close together. The aim is to open the middle of the tree to light and improve air circulation. Plums require heavy pruning as they produce a volume of shoots and sprouts each year. Cut out vertical growing shoots and cut others by 1/2. Peaches fruit on new one year wood so require heavier pruning. Remove 2/3 of the previous years growth by a combination of removing 1-2 of every 3 branches and heading back the rest. It is difficult to adequately explain pruning through writing. We do have some Pruning seminars scheduled this month. You can find them on our website,
www.sloatgardens.com.
Fruit Tree Pruning – Feb. 27 at San Rafael Sat. 10:00 am, Feb. 28 Mill Valley Miller Ave Sun 10:00 am
Pruning 101– Feb 17 at Sloat Blvd. Wed 5:30 pm and Feb 21 at Pierce St. Sun. 10:00 am.
