Northland Farm & Garden Center

Now’s the time to control over-wintering insects and diseases:

Spray trees and shrubs with Bonide All-Season Spray to reduce insect population.
Spray for spider mites with Bonide All-Season Spray on needles and limbs of arborvitae, cryptomeria, false cypress, fir hemlock, juniper, pine, yew and spruce (except blue spruce).
As the leaves begin to open on azaleas and rhododendron, spray with Fungonil to prevent flower blight and leaf blight on azaleas. Remove and destroy gals and repeat spraying weekly through blooming. Fungonil should also be sprayed on crabapples for scab and cedar apple rust and Dogwood (as buds swell) to control anthracnose.
Apply Bonide Fruit Tree Spray as buds swell and again at petal drop to all fruit trees.
To control leaf spot on Mt. Laurel, spray with Fungonil when new leaves are about an inch long. Also spray roses at bud break to control botrytis and black spot if you haven’t already done so.
Remove infected stems and litter of pachysandra and begin spraying every 2 weeks (until hot weather) with Liquid Copper or Fung-onil to control volutella blight.

A Thumbnail Guide to Common Blights

Plants have no immunity to infection. Your best defense against disease and blight is early, aggressive, preventive action. Regular spraying with a fungicide before or at first sign of disease is key. The removal of diseased branches, and clean-up of plant litter, will help avoid a reoccurrence.

	Plants & Blight	Look For	What to do
Azalea	Petal Blight	Pinhead size spots on flower petals that enlarge to irregular blotches. Flowers turn mushy then dry up and cling to the plant.	Pick off diseased flowers and clean-up around plant. Spray with Bonide Fungonil or Liquid Copper fungicide at new bud emergence. Continue to spray every 7-14 days through the bloom period. You may also us Bonide Infuse, systemic fungicide, every 14 – 28 days.
Pachysandra	Volutella Blight	Irregular brown and black blotches appear on the leaves. Areas of the stem turn black, soft and sunken.	Remove infested stems and litter. Begin spraying with Fungonil at spring bud break. Continue to spray thoroughly every two weeks until hot weather arrives. Add a spreader-sticker to protect new growth against disease.
Dogwood	Anthracnose	Spotted, puckered leaves and flowers. Disease is worse in wet weather.	Spray Fungonil at spring bud swell when buds show color. Repeat several times at 7-10 days intervals. Rake and destroy leaves in the fall. Prune and destroy infected twigs.
Juniper	Phomopsis Tip Blight	Affects new growth, causing tips of branches to die back.	Spray with Mancozeb when symptoms first appear. Repeat at 7-10 day intervals as long as necessary. Prune and destroy infected branches.
Mountain Laurel	Leaf spot	Yellow, red, tan, gray or brown spots appear on leaves. Several spots may join to form large blotches.	Spray with Fung-onil at spring bud break. Repeat every 7-14 days. Collect and destroy fallen leaves.