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Fruit & Orchards

Aphids Plum Tree Soap Spray

13 years ago

This spring I planted a dwarf Superior Plum tree that has been doing very well. The flowers were beautiful and numerous...now tiny plums are starting. Last week I saw a small colony of Aphids on some branches. I removed the leaves that had the Aphids and sprayed the tree down with the hose. I did see a few more Aphids today, so I decided to do the homemade insecticide spray of water-oil-dish soap. Of course after the fact I read that plum leaves are sensitive to dish soap. I then rinsed the tree off with water. Now, almost all the leaves are spotty looking. (areas of dark green) I assume there is now some leaf damage from the soap. Will the leaves/tree recover from this? Or did I just wreck this perfect tree.

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Comments (6)

jean001a
13 years ago
Only time will tell.
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Scott F Smith
13 years ago
From the sound of the damage its not going to kill the tree but it could set it back.

Scott
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Thanks for the reply, kimmsr and rhizo_1. First, I need to correct what I said in my original post. When I read your statements about "pyrethrins," I had to go look at what I had in the shed, because I know I got something different from described... What I REALLY have awaiting use is called "Pest Fighter, Year-Round Spray Oil." 98.8% **Paraffinic oil** Phew! That said, I'm pretty sure the aphid problem was not because of too much N. Quite the opposite, I think. I'm fairly certain the plants out back weren't maintained/fertilized by the previous tenant--ever. The issue we run into with continually spraying with water is that it isn't cheap here, and that task seems like it's fighting a losing battle instead of preventing one. I read through the info kimmsr provided, and it states, "Usually natural enemy populations do not appear in significant numbers until aphids begin to be numerous." So, if I spray before the aphids become too rampant, will this help keep them under control without harming the beneficial guys?
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rkinsella
Original Author
13 years ago
It's been a little over week since I sprayed (wrecked) the tree. The dark green spots on the leaves ended up turning brown, and then became holes. It looked terrible! I ended up removing most of the damaged ones, and to my surprise there is a ton of new growth happening. Probably trying to make up for the damaged leaves. The small plums are still going strong so I think it will be in great shape in a few more weeks. Live and learn on this one!
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windfall_rob
13 years ago
others will chime in, but I never let a new planting (berries or tree) mature fruit it's first year in...you want that energy going into establishment.
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Scott F Smith
13 years ago
I agree with Rob its best to remove the fruits, esp. since your tree got set back. Also don't remove damaged leaves if they are not diseased. The green left was producing good energy for more growth.

Scott
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rkinsella
Original Author
13 years ago
I agree about removing the fruit. The tree had probably 100 or so tiny plums. Half of those naturally dropped off, and I removed all but 6. I figured that's a good compromise.
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