"Could it be lack of thinning in past years" Yes! Weather has a lot of influence on everything always, but many apples get into a biennial habit which can be avoided by heavy, early thinning. "Is there a time when we should not prune apple trees?" Well, if conditions are right for fireblight it's good to avoid pruning blight-susceptible plants, except to remove diseased limbs. There are probably other diseases that you need to be aware of too, but fb is a biggie for me. But if the tree is too dense or too leggy or has dead, diseased, and crossing stuff, go ahead and get it out of there. Removing vegetative stuff in the summer is a powerful way to control size in a tree, so don't get too carried away, but don't hesitate to take control. "The leaves seem almost folded" means it's too late to do anything about it- the bugs have pulled the blanket over their heads and are pretty safe there. It's usually not too serious, but to prevent it one needs to act before the rolling occurs. You can remove the afflicted leaves to reduce the population. "Are they friendly?" Well, they don't look friendly to me, but I don't know what they are. I couldn't even tell for sure whether they had six legs or eight. Is that a hive they've tending? And that's a little more than I know about that. Others may have better observations! :-)M

I just discovered that my beautiful pink-blooming brug, which is in the ground (San Diego area) and is several feet tall, suddenly has got a lot of leaves damaged by what seem to be spider mites. It's my first encounter with this pest, and I think I'll try the oil mixture spray and possibly the garlic one as well. I don't want to use chemicals because the brug in question is near a precious fig tree. MY QUESTION IS, do you spray both the tops of the leaves and underneath them? (Sorry for caps. I used them in case the length of the first paragraph might turn off someone's interest in continuing.) My brug is so big that that would be quite a chore, but I'll do it. So. Cal. has been in a drought and our use of the irrigation sprays has been limited to 5 min. for any one area of the garden and that only 2 days a week, to boot. Although we do give our non-succulent plants dish water and the water that would have been wasted when waiting for warm water for the shower, that is nothing like the amount we used to give the garden through the automated irrigation system. I suppose that is what brought on the mite attack.

Hi, Christine I tried to send you an email about your Swap trade list but also got an error message. I'm interested in your Heritage raspberry and Jacob Cline monarda. I have white yarrow seed you're welcome to and, though I don't have amaranth, I'd like to offer some Brightest Brilliant Rainbow quinoa, another ornamental plant with edible grain. Thanks for your consideration! Regina Please email me if you are interested in these or any other selections from my trade list. Here is a link that might be useful: Brightest Brilliant Rainbow Quinoa

I don't know much about the Delbard roses, but they are being made more available to the U.S. and Canada, it seems to me, and I like what I see and read about them. The rose that has appealed most to me lately is Soeur Emmanuelle, sold by Palatine. I so wish I had the room for it. Sara, don't you have Frederic Mistral? That's a Romantica and my favorite one, too. Diane