Well, I sprayed the genetic dwarf peach trees with copper today. I suspect it is a futile effort, being too late, but I had the spray so used it. We'll see. This is a lesson for me. In my SouthWest Washington climate, I was told I couldn't grow peaches, but with a lot of effort they do grow. The problem is putting forth that effort. Given that I have 3 genetic dwarf varieties plus a seedling from one of those, and they all get terrible leaf curl, I suspect that all genetic dwarf peaches will all be susceptible. Using a cover does work - during the past 2 years, I tied the branches into bundles, and slipped garbage bags over the bundles. That prevents about 90% of the leaf curl, although not 100%. Haven't tried the carport idea yet. A peach tree is such an investment in time in the garden, taking years to produce, and garden space, so selecting the right variety is really important. When I have had a few crops of peaches from these, I liked them a lot. Honey Babe and Garden Gold. Haven't had any from my Ponderosa tree yet. I appreciate the comments. I was also thinking about Indian Free. This one is also listed as PLC resistant, and very tasty, but I don't know about the bloom time. Any experience with that one?

An alternative option is to take a method from fig growers, who bundle up their trees to protect them from cold. The difference is that you can bundle up peaches to protect them from rain. I live in W. Washington and peach leaf curl is rampant. It takes using small pruned, or genetic dwarf, peach trees like Ponderosa (Or is it Bonanza?) or Honey Babe or Garden Gold (My varieties). I bundle up the branches with twine, each major branch being one bundle. Then I cover each bundle with a white plastic trash bag "sheath" and tie that in place as well. Keeping the rain off the buds, prevents peach leaf curl spores from getting into the buds and growing. I've sprayed the bundles before covering with copper spray but not sure if it's necessary. The bundling needs to be done in November. Then in February, I remove the trash bags and unbundle. I watch for when buds begin to swell, then remove the bags. This technique changed my peach loss from almost 100% to an overabundance of peaches. Only a few leaves were infected wtih leaf curl. I also did this with a Tri-lite peachplum, which is not genetic dwarf but is small. It worked for that as well. I plan to keep it pruned small so that the bundling is reasonably easy.

I heartily agree with 'Harvestman' my tree hasn't recovered, looks terrible, straggly and weak. The smallest thin branches are dried out and won't recover. My tree was defoliated, fruit blossoms fell off as well, so not fruit whatsoever. Still looking for an answer regarding 'Serenade'? Has anyone any information at all on this product, as the suggestions from the forum to prevent PLC are difficult to find here in my area of Ontario, Canada.

I only spray with Micro-Cop (linked below, but sold at most nurseries and I think at Lowe's) because lime sulfur will damage apricots and my apricots are intermingled with my peaches. It comes in a package with "Stay-Stuck" to mix in with the concoction, so it will stick better to the branches. It is offered on organic websites, so it isn't very toxic, but be sure not to breathe it in when mixing or spraying. The mixing instructions are on the package. Be careful--the green color stains, and your sprayer will be forever green! Your spray schedule is about right-on. I have had my early peaches start to break in January before, but if you get the first 2, it shouldn't be such a big deal if you miss January. Spraying after blooms break and especially after fruit forms does nothing to prevent the curl (they get infected breaking out--once infected, it's too late.) Another problem are peaches that won't drop their leaves. Here it is the middle of November, and I still have some varieties with green leaves going strong. Obviously unless I strip their leaves off, a Thanksgiving spray is not happening! I have never used dormant oil, but I think you need to wait 2 weeks in between dormant oil sprays for bugs and sprays for curl. Hope this helps! Carla in Sac Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.groworganic.com/microcop-sta-stuk-m-twin-pack-8-oz-of-each.html