July is here and it is time to watch out for the insect infestations. They seem to appear overnight and once they get started it is hard to get them to stop! This year I am using a new product, at the recommendation of Tom McCurry. It is called “3-in-1 Insect, Disease, & Mite Control” (under the brand name of Bayer Advanced). It is supposed to kill Japanese beetles, aphids, spider mites, and whiteflies (among others). It also controls diseases like black spot, leaf spot, petal blight rust and scab. This is the second season Tom has used it, and he reports that he hasn’t seen any spider mites on his evergreens and no leaf spot on his elms – both of which have had problems in the past. It comes in a hose sprayer container, so it is easy to apply. I found that when I used the first container last month, I had to move rather fast and keep the nozzle moving from plant to plant. At first I was worried about how much active ingredient was being applied to my trees, and I kept turning off the spay and trying to determine how much I was applying – which I couldn’t. The other thing I was worried about was how much material I had left in the container. Well this part was easy since the plastic bottle started collapsing as the liquid in the container was being used up.

Several other things to note. The nozzle on the bottle has two settings – spray and stream. Make sure the nozzle is set on spray. Otherwise, you may get too hard a stream of water and do damage to your trees. The second thing is, with the hot weather we get in July, you need to be cautious when you apply this or any other chemical. Early morning is my preferred time. I don’t like to add chemicals during the intense heat of mid-day. Before I use this or any other chemical on my trees, I water them thoroughly with plain water. Finally, and most importantly, read the label carefully!

I have kept a close eye out for spider mites on the landscape evergreens around my bonsai area and have not seen any yet. This is generally a haven for them. I plan on using this material about once a month throughout the summer and will keep you informed of the results. However, at this point, it looks promising.
Please note there are several changes in the calendar for the balance of the year. Take a copy of the calendar above and record these dates in Outlook or your calendar hanging on the fridge.