I have lost baby trees from leaf curl, so I definitely think you should go for it between waves of rain ASAP. It may save them, but if not, at least you tried! Carla in Sac

I just got my first fruit tree, combo asian pear, and I am going to put a ceramic owl on my shed, near my pear tree, to keep the doves and other birds away. I have bird attracting trees, and a dozen nests in my yard, so I want to make sure they are eating bugs, and not my fruit. On my yard, we had a peach tree a long time ago, that no one took care of. It was basically invaded by ear wigs, and so we only got to eat a few each year! Ever since my yard has always had ear wigs up till last season. I took out a foot of bark 2-3 inches deep from my willow, cause earwigs were burrowed up in it like crazy.. I just used sevin spray on it from Lowes that hooks up to the hose. I rinsed the tree after to make sure they all fell out, and to keep the spray off my tree. It was a good method. I got them good, but I had to really get up in there to get the nursery of earwigs. Obviously they say you "can" use this Sevin Stuff on vegetables and fruit trees, but I don't think I want to go that route. I did use it on my vegetable garden 2 times last summer when I was spraying my trees, but I did it only on vegetables that you didn't eat the outer layer, like pumpkins and watermelon. Not that any of them needed it. --------------------------------- I am also researching more organic ways to spray a fruit tree. I have used other methods for other types of edible plants, like planting certain types of herbs or plants around things to keep bugs out. Like my pepper plants really kept bugs out of my bed, I swear I didn't have 1 invader in my garden outside my lettuce crops. And I think my catnip and bay leaf plants in my willow tree bed helped out a lot after the sevin sprayings. I also have very little of new bugs, because my "bird" attracting trees, are filled with bug eating birds. Birds are your best friends. It is about containment of the bug populations and getting less of them each season. No way to keep "all" bugs out of yard over night, or for good. I also wanted to note, that I have found simple methods in other parts of yard/house. Like putting ammonium sulfate all over my grass instead of fertilizer, cause I have kitties, and a dozen kids who live in circle in front of my house. I have also used salt to help kill stumps, cause kids love to play on the one in my front yard, so no stump killer. I have also used viniger based cleaning solution for all sorts of things. It keeps away bacteria and organisms, big or small. If you didn't know, you can clean your fruit off with viniger rather than water to get bacteria off. I bet there is a vegetable oil and viniger mix that would work for a spray, that keeps fruit natural and bug resistant. I am looking to find something like that, some house hold item that can used that isn't poison or dangerous to cats, kids or the fruit itself. If I find something I will let you, cause I am also a first timer fruit tree planter/owner. I would suggest, a "scarecrow" by the tree, and maybe some plants or herbs around the tree. Bay leafs have multiple uses. Birds and bees are what I attract to my yard, which can be flowers, trees, etc. A little flower can help out a lot more than you would think.

there is a fruit and orchard forum.. if you dont get the answer here ... i gave up on fruit because of the spraying... a proper regimen would include one or two sprays before they leaf out.. and just about every week or two through the whole summer... frankly .. the cost of the chemicals alone.. dictates that you could buy more than you could possible ever want ... for less money than the chems ... all that said... you have fun doing whatever you want ... but be extremely safe ken

I agree, April in Florida is the wrong time to plant Peach trees. They do best if planted bare-root in winter, while dormant. Scrape the trunk in a thin strip with your fingernail. Try several layers, shallow, medium and deep. If it all looks brown, start cutting the tree down from the top, in sections. If the inner layers are white/brown/tan/black with no green, that area is dead. If you find any green, stop cutting. I chopped several of my Peaches back from 7' to 2' since I was not happy with the form and health of the trees. They are recovering and should be much better. But, dead is dead. If you get no green when scraping or pruning, all the way down to the graft, your tree is a goner. Try again this winter, with a stout, healthy tree from Bay Laurel or Just Fruits. Good Luck! Lisa