Wow, Lucy. Thanks. It's just that these white dots have suddenly become very white, as opposed to sort of dirty white and a bit less conspicuous. I will definitely lay off the chemicals unless the bugs come back. By the way,when some of my ficus got scales I swabbed rubbing alcohol on individual leaves first to kill the scaly ones (I also scraped them off) and a day later I used the Safer Soap to get rid of any crawlies left behind. It seems to have worked without damage. Could you comment on this - pro, or con? Thank you again. Krys

I know, Applenut :-( When we purchased this home, and the previous owners showed me where they espaliered this lovely little Anna (they wire used to pull the branches down were embedded into the branches, I cringed), it was up against the house on the north side! I didn't have time to dig it up in January, and find a new home, because where it needs to go isn't ready, yet, to take the tree. So, it has to stay there until I get the lower part of my yard landscaped. It's starting tomorrow, in fact!! I've got a nice spot on the east fence that should get some great sunshine all day long until the very late afternoon. It will be MUCH happier and healthier over there, along with the other Anna and the Dorsett Golden. Now to get the Dorsett Golden and the Annas to bloom at the same time. My Dorsett still hasn't bloomed. the one Anna I have (which is ridiculously precocious) has a TON of lovely little skinny, non-cross pollinated apples on it! My other espaliered Anna looks like it will also have quite a few apples. Now - to keep the #@$%* rats out of my trees. I've armed myself with several bait stations. I am declaring war on the Root Rats. Last year, they ate every single one of my 20 apples off my little espaliered Anna. That I babied and tried to protect. I'm done being a nice guy. I'm poisoning the little bast##ds. Patty S.

At this time in the season, I wouldn't advise you to do anything. The trees will be entering dormancy in just a few weeks and dropping their leaves anyway. Just clean them up completely and dispose of them. When dealing with woody plants like your trees, it is important to remember that powdery mildew is more of a cosmetic issue than a real threat to the health of the tree. But it is best to avoid anyway, if nothing more than to maintain an attractive appearance. PM often tends to be a late season issue in that is most common in late summer and early fall. This is when environmental conditions are prime for its development. Soils are at their driest and warmest and the air still and humid, creating an ideal breeding ground for the pathogen. And plants located in more shade and in closer proximity to neighbors can be more affected. Make sure your trees have adequate light and air circulation. You may be contributing to the problem with your watering program. Sprinklers that throw water above ground (as opposed to something like drip irrigation or soaker hoses) increase humidity. And watering in this manner 3 times a week for 20 minutes may be unnecessarily often but with the effect of insufficient water reaching down properly into the soil profile. It would be much better to water less frequently - perhaps only once a week - but for a longer period of time. And in a manner that delivers water directly to the soil at the root zone. Low and slow :-)) I can't tell you exactly how often to water - that depends on your soil conditions and weather - but even once a week may be more frequently than necessary for trees established in the landscape. Ideally you want the soil to be just moist to the touch throughout the root zone, Not too wet and not too dry. You may have to do some experimentation and testing to get the timing correct. And proper mulching can help to maintain soil moisture between waterings.

It definitely makes sense. Especially in cases like Bart and Mad Gallica describe. In my yard, I seem to only have issues with powdery mildew when it becomes more humid (here - that means rainy), but when it's still warm during the day and cooler at night. That usually equates to early fall. I don't seem to have issues with it during the dry heat of summer. The powdery mildew I just found on my roses that weren't mulched was the worse I can remember. And it really wasn't that bad. It was probably the worst on Iceberg of all roses! Bizarre! That one never gets mildew in my yard. I usually keep my roses very well spaced and mulched, with drip irrigation. I think that has really helped. I don't spray (usually). I have only really purposefully gardened in Northern California though, and our conditions are so different from most. I'm inland with a lot of dry heat ... and over the last few years with such severe drought conditions and weird climate changes. Although, since I found these forums I was thinking about squeezing everything together in order to fit more roses in! On second thought, I'm going to pull back and stick to my usual spacing after all. More roses will not be better if they're covered in mildew. More disease maintenance and pest control takes all the fun out of it! Thanks for explaining Roseseek. Nature using mildew and rust to help the plant defoliate in order to survive colder or hotter/dryer climates makes total sense. Your explanation for how mulch helps ward away mildew makes sense too... and fits with your explanation of what causes mildew. It's wonderful and invaluable to have such knowledgeable professionals like you on these forums. Thank you so much for making yourself available and sharing your wisdom.