young fruit trees

emel · April 2017

Apple pear cherry plum, 4 columns, 4-5 yrs old, noted something (aphids?) already on them/under leaf. recently sprayed with what I THOUGHT was a solution of soapy liquid. Now all leaves on all trees are going brown and lifeless!! Oh dear, my poor trees. I have now thrown away the liquid, I have no idea what it could have been. Any advice as to what I can now do to save the young trees??

arneil · April 2017

Recent cold nights , rather than spray ?

Dovefromabove · April 2017

If it was weedkiller (could it have been?) then I'm not sure there's anything you can do - it's a lesson learned to label things clearly.

I don't spray aphids except with a jet of water from the hosepipe ... we encourage birds and insects into the garden ... the bluetit families are feasting on the aphids at the moment, later on in the year the hover flies, lacewings and ladybirds will deal with them. It takes a few years of courage not to spray, but it is possible to create an equilibrium in quite a small garden.

If it was frost damage, then hopefully the trees will grow a second lot of leaves ... have they blossomed yet?

Last edited: 28 April 2017 12:00:41

emel · April 2017

I so hope it is the recent cold nights. I am in the Scottish Borders, nr Duns/Berwick upon Tweed. I have since re-labelled ALL in the shed that isn't 100% clear.

I had trouble last year with aphids and hoppers and leaf curl and whatever else, and my young trees suffered then. I have neighbours that garden by NOT gardening, and they get on very well like that, but I get a share of the problems they ignore (and they seem to get away with it all). I could see leaf damage already starting and that is why I sprayed. I so regret it.

Dovefromabove · April 2017

Hopefully your neighbours' garden, full of aphids and other bugs, will act as a Nature Reserve, attracting the birds and predatory insects that will devour the aphids in your garden too

emel · April 2017

Thanks for opinions. Sadly I am no further forward.

I don't garden naturally/organically.

I have done so in past years, but no longer. I have never had the problems in previous gardens as I seem to be having here/

We are now much older and retired, have health issues between us (husband and self) and from moving here 3 years ago we chose to use as much help as was available to purchase; e,g, feeding weeding and spraying. We built the garden from scratch and it has been very much hard work.

My neighbours gardens are mature and can withstand all that is in there amidst their flowers and veg's. I did try to ignore obvious damage but my back garden became inundated with allsorts and my garden suffered badly, so I intervened with whatever was suitable as advised by the local garden centre. My little fruit trees were so badly hit that I had to spray them with copper mix last year. I think I should have sprayed them again, as instructed, at end of winter/before spring came into being. I didn't and subsequently found early damage that I then hoped a soapy spray would clear up. It seemed to have the opposite effect.

I cannot think what else could have been in that spray, I felt sure it was just soapy. Time will tell if they survive and we get new leaf. Fingers crossed. Thanks again

young fruit trees

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