Wolcott Garden Treasures
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Fungus Control
There are many common fungal diseases prevalent in our area, including leaf spots, rust, blights, fruit rot, mildew, scabs and molds, among others. Some of these diseases may also be caused by insects, mites and bacteria, so proper identification is key to finding a solution. The good news is that a good quality, broad-spectrum fungicide will likely take care of any number of fungal problems you might encounter.
Fungus, especially in times of excessive moisture, is extremely common and is fairly easy to treat. We have a number of products from Bonide that work very well, including Fung-onil (multi-purpose fungicide), Rose Rx 3-in-1 (neem oil-based fungicide, insecticide & miticide), and Citrus, Fruit & Nut Orchard Spray (sulfur-based fungicide & insecticide).
Summer 2009 was a terrible year for tomatoes, in particular, as a spore-based infection known as late blight devastated our area, as well as many others across the country. While early blight can be prevented and controled with a broad-spectrum fungicide, late blight is much tougher, and really responds only to a copper-based fungicide. We added Bonide's Copper Fungicide spray to our product lineup just for this reason. For more information on preventing, identifying, controling and containing late blight, see our article dedicated to this major problem.
One of the biggest fungal issues our customers struggle with (and so do we) is powdery mildew. Powdery mildew forms across the leaves and stems of a number of plants, often times on garden phlox, echinacea, lilacs, roses and gerbera daisies. Most of the time it looks as though the leaves have been sprinkled with baby powder, although occassionally the mildew will look more brownish. We use a number of all-natural products on our plants including RoseRx, Orchard Spray, Fung-onil and Neem Oil. Research has also shown that a solution of two parts water to one part (skim) milk in a spray bottle will also control powdery mildew, especially in smaller gardens where there aren't many plants to be sprayed.
If you suspect a fungal disease (or any other disease for that matter), pick off a small part of the affected area and bring it into the store. We can check our reference material and pinpoint the source of the problem based on the type of plant and other factors. Once we determine the source of the disease, we can recommend the right product and care regimen for you.
Picking the right product:
If a hundred different products all treat powdery mildew, rust and scab, then how do you ever choose one? Well, it's a process of elimination, really.
How many plants do you need to spray? Is it just a couple or do you have a whole garden bed? If you just need a spray here and there, then choose a ready-mixed spray in a smaller bottle. If you've got a good amount of area to cover, then a concentrate will go a lot farther. We have concentrate mixers that attach to your hose for easy application: simply pour in the product and adjust the dial to mix the proper amount of concentrate with your hose water (based on the directions on the product label) and the spray mixer will do the rest. We also have a couple ready-to-use concentrate spray bottles that hook directly to your hose and automatically deliver just the right amount.
Next, do you need to spray just for fungus, or do you also have plants that would benefit from an insecticide? If you also have issues with Japanese beetles, scale, aphids, whiteflies or the like, then an all-in-one product like RoseRx or Orchard Spray would be ideal for you, as opposed to buying a separate fungicide and insecticide. However, when you use any product with insecticidal properties, you need to be mindful of the bees and other beneficial insects. We always recommend spraying an insecticide or an all-in-one product at dusk when the bees are heading to bed. We have two all-natural fungicide/insecticide products that are approved for organic and food gardening. RoseRx is a ready-made spray (non-concentrate) that is safe on just about everything. Bonide's Orchard Spray is sulfur-based, so it shouldn't be used on grapes and other sulfur-sensitive plants, but it is packaged as a concentrate that hooks up directly to your hose.
Neem Oil is another garden staple. Many gardeners use it as a natural, organic insecticide, but it is also very effective on powdery mildew. So if have insect issues and also need to treat mildew (but not other fungal diseases), then Neem is a good choice for you.
We've created a comprehensive chart that compares the properties of our most popular insecticides and fungicides. We'd be happy to provide that as a reference for you and give you a tour of our product offerings. By asking a few questions about the types of plants and disease issues you have, as well as the size of your garden, we can usually find a really great product or two that will suit all your needs.
Fungus, especially in times of excessive moisture, is extremely common and is fairly easy to treat. We have a number of products from Bonide that work very well, including Fung-onil (multi-purpose fungicide), Rose Rx 3-in-1 (neem oil-based fungicide, insecticide & miticide), and Citrus, Fruit & Nut Orchard Spray (sulfur-based fungicide & insecticide).
Summer 2009 was a terrible year for tomatoes, in particular, as a spore-based infection known as late blight devastated our area, as well as many others across the country. While early blight can be prevented and controled with a broad-spectrum fungicide, late blight is much tougher, and really responds only to a copper-based fungicide. We added Bonide's Copper Fungicide spray to our product lineup just for this reason. For more information on preventing, identifying, controling and containing late blight, see our article dedicated to this major problem.
One of the biggest fungal issues our customers struggle with (and so do we) is powdery mildew. Powdery mildew forms across the leaves and stems of a number of plants, often times on garden phlox, echinacea, lilacs, roses and gerbera daisies. Most of the time it looks as though the leaves have been sprinkled with baby powder, although occassionally the mildew will look more brownish. We use a number of all-natural products on our plants including RoseRx, Orchard Spray, Fung-onil and Neem Oil. Research has also shown that a solution of two parts water to one part (skim) milk in a spray bottle will also control powdery mildew, especially in smaller gardens where there aren't many plants to be sprayed.
If you suspect a fungal disease (or any other disease for that matter), pick off a small part of the affected area and bring it into the store. We can check our reference material and pinpoint the source of the problem based on the type of plant and other factors. Once we determine the source of the disease, we can recommend the right product and care regimen for you.
Picking the right product:
If a hundred different products all treat powdery mildew, rust and scab, then how do you ever choose one? Well, it's a process of elimination, really.
How many plants do you need to spray? Is it just a couple or do you have a whole garden bed? If you just need a spray here and there, then choose a ready-mixed spray in a smaller bottle. If you've got a good amount of area to cover, then a concentrate will go a lot farther. We have concentrate mixers that attach to your hose for easy application: simply pour in the product and adjust the dial to mix the proper amount of concentrate with your hose water (based on the directions on the product label) and the spray mixer will do the rest. We also have a couple ready-to-use concentrate spray bottles that hook directly to your hose and automatically deliver just the right amount.
Next, do you need to spray just for fungus, or do you also have plants that would benefit from an insecticide? If you also have issues with Japanese beetles, scale, aphids, whiteflies or the like, then an all-in-one product like RoseRx or Orchard Spray would be ideal for you, as opposed to buying a separate fungicide and insecticide. However, when you use any product with insecticidal properties, you need to be mindful of the bees and other beneficial insects. We always recommend spraying an insecticide or an all-in-one product at dusk when the bees are heading to bed. We have two all-natural fungicide/insecticide products that are approved for organic and food gardening. RoseRx is a ready-made spray (non-concentrate) that is safe on just about everything. Bonide's Orchard Spray is sulfur-based, so it shouldn't be used on grapes and other sulfur-sensitive plants, but it is packaged as a concentrate that hooks up directly to your hose.
Neem Oil is another garden staple. Many gardeners use it as a natural, organic insecticide, but it is also very effective on powdery mildew. So if have insect issues and also need to treat mildew (but not other fungal diseases), then Neem is a good choice for you.
We've created a comprehensive chart that compares the properties of our most popular insecticides and fungicides. We'd be happy to provide that as a reference for you and give you a tour of our product offerings. By asking a few questions about the types of plants and disease issues you have, as well as the size of your garden, we can usually find a really great product or two that will suit all your needs.
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