Where are you located? Spray requirements and times are different in New York versus, say Los Angeles or Phoenix.

I am sure no one enjoys spraying fruit trees. If I did not spray my apples, every apple would contain a worm. Some people can live with that, not me. My peach tree would defoliate from peach leaf curl, and any peaches produced would likely be seriously blemished or deformed. Most years the apples would be seriously scabby. Plum foliage would be badly curled with aphids and most years shot hole fungus would be a problem on most of my fruit trees. I guess only time will tell how much disease and pests you can tolerate. Al

Hi Ada, I don't spray anything and that has worked out well for us. Our trees are about 10 years old and the only thing that has impacted their performance is freezing weather or hail/wind that knocks small fruit off the plants. I don't grow apples so can't advise you very well there, but you should google and read about what you need to do to prevent cedar apple rust. If you want to read about an organic or low-spray program for peaches (nectarines are treated the same), check out the ATTRA guide linked below. Good luck, Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: ATTRA Organic/Low-Spray Program

Black ice hasn't been out that long. Toka may probably pollinate it but not as good as a pure plum will black ice is a cross between sand cherry and sandcherry is a real good pollinator of chums . Toka is a hybrid ,hybrids do not pollinate other hybrids that well studies have been done but there are many different hybrids that may work well with others and not so with many .believe me I have a bunch in my yard and never got fruit set and listened to all those places like fedco and other nurseries recommendations and never got a single plum .this year I added a native plum and low and behold I have fruit set on my trees . I will listen to a garden center or nursery recommendation on pollinators when they show me a picture of a tree with fruits fedco shows 4 black plums that are most not even black ice plums in the stock photo . Toka is not high on people's list because it doesn't produce heavy crops. The plums are known as bubblegum plum and are great tasting to many people. They are not massive fruits and heavy bearing trees but are extremely tough trees and are a lot more resilient than Santa rosa or those other precious jap plums. Toka was designed as a hardy plum but gained popularity because of the nick name and how hardy it was and said to be a great pollinator . Now it's sold in big box stores all over North America even in places that are rated zone 2. I have not found one study online claiming that toka is actually proven .most plum orchards will have pollinator trees and from what I've read they usually use a native plum for hybrid varieties. Black ice and toka are not jap plums and black ice is to new for somebody to start shooting out nonsense about.