Well it’s approaching the time here when the fruit trees will loose their leaves and I will be putting them to bed for the winter, and I had some questions for the folks here who have been using this type of spray. I’m curious what approach has worked for them. In particular:
Have you used Wilt-Pruf (or similar products) in addition to white latex painted trunk areas, or do you avoid the painted areas?
When do you usually apply these sprays, and do you re-apply them later?
Any trees which don’t do well with them?
I think @Drew51 has posted that he’s used them, and I suspect others here has as well. If those folks wouldn’t mind sharing their knowledge on this I’d (and probably others) would appreciate it.
I sprayed everything! All plants sprayed did well. i sprayed all trees and blackberries, and will spray figs this year too. It got to -16 all my stone fruit buds should have died. I had about 1/3 survive. A small harvest, but a harvest none the less! I followed label directions. The active ingredient is also used as a sticker in Nu Film 17. I sprayed right before freezing temps. I sprayed again on a warm day in December. You must spray above freezing. It needs a day to dry too!
I used Bonide’s Wilt Stop.
Here is label directions http://www.bonide.com/lbonide/labels/l101.pdf
Yes I do. Well I painted them before I thought of using the stuff, plus I hope to distract borers, and cankers with the paint. I add fungicides and insecticides, also add joint compound.
I have to say the same, it appears to have made a difference. Not so much noticeable with the fruit trees, but the blackberries were unreal this year! Last year 90% died to the crown, hardly any fruit. Spraying, using straw and burlap seemed to make a huge difference. From 200 last year to 2000 this year.
We use it in AZ for borderline types that have issues in our dry heat. Cherries, avocado, etc. Serves to slow transpiration and help these types over the hump of getting established. Also useful on rooting cuttings. In the winter we spray the tropicals we have to give them a slight amount more freeze protection.
Its really hard to say how much use these sprays are for us. We have done any side by side tests to see what effect it has next to a control. Its mainly a feel good thing for us right now.
In most situations I would consider it a waste of money and as likely harmful as helpful unless someone could steer me to some research stating otherwise. I could see using it on rhodies planted in a sunny location but why on earth would you use it on fruit trees in a normal environment for them? The trees have evolved to survive winter without our help. If it helped fruit buds survive, I suspect the research would be out there.
Well see thats the thing, we use it on trees that arent in a normal environment for them. For us its a zone-stretching tool. Id agree that using it on zone adapted trees would show little to no benefit.
Literally 10 times more berries from and even colder winter has completely sold me on the product. It also doubles as a sticker, works well too. I use it just like Eric, a zone stretcher, and also to help establish. The SpiceZee nectaplum, died to just above the rootstock. The next year with only 1 year growth, and this winter was colder. It should have died. I did have dieback, but only at the tips. I’m eating nectaplums, says it all. Now the tree has a very thick trunk and should be fine. What a wonderful product!
Another brutal winter is expected, try it, then tell me it doesn’t work.
I’m spraying my trees as temps cold enough to kill fruit buds on stone fruit is expected.I had zero fruit the year before, every tree produced this year and it was colder.
Drew, we all are in love with our anecdotal observations, but don’t you think researchers would have uncovered such an obvious connection? Commercial fruit production has been searching for the holy grail of frost and extreme cold protection for centuries. The marketer of the product would love to have commercial fruit growers routinely putting down quantities of their;product.
I have made many a false proclamation as a “fruit guru” based on what turned out to be red herrings. After finding egg on my own face on many occasions I at least try to couch anecdotal observations in words like “appears” or “I believe”.
If you are like me you sprayed your entire row of berries instead of leaving some plants as a control.
I once bought some wilt stop a long time ago because someone advised me it was a good way to avoid desiccation of newly grafted scions (makes sense, but I now use parafilm. I was always afraid some of the wilt stop would run down in between the graft connection and form a barrier between the two cambiums.)
One thing which doesn’t make sense to me is that it is supposed to help foliage conserve water in various situations. I don’t doubt it conserves water in the foliage but I don’t much see how this is supposed to help the plant (unless transplanting plants which are already in leaf).
I used it once on some outside plants and they didn’t perform well with it. I think the problem comes from the fact that plants need transpiration to cool themselves (much like we do when we sweat). Stopping transpiration would seem to burn some leaf tissue in hot sunny weather, which is what happened when I used it here. Perhaps it was just too hot when I used it?
Yes, probably, although hard to say as Eric uses it in such conditions. For me it’s the drying cold winds. I assume it stopped the drying for the brambles. Not sure if it helped the trees or not? i could have just gotten lucky. My main concern were the zone 7 brambles, and it worked like a charm for them. When roots are frozen they have no way to replace water, this stops water loss. Not sure why leaves would burn? I never used it when plants had leaves. In 2013-14 winter all my bramble floricanes died to the crown. My loganberry just died. In 2014-15 winter, no canes died, yet it was colder. It clearly worked, and worked very well.
The product is also used to keep cut Christmas trees green a lot longer.
Also did you use the right amount? Summer use is a 10 to1 mix, winter is 5 to 1, twice as strong.
Different products yes, and some might work better than others? Is pinene the active ingredient?
Pinene is the active ingredient in Nu Film 17 too, although that is a clear yellow liquid and Wilt Stop is a white milky liquid. I tried Wilt Stop as a sticker using a 1Tb per gallon rate. I could see the copper sticking and staying for weeks! It worked well even though this is not labeled or formulated as a sticker. You might try a greater dilution to achieve the results you are looking for.
For scion I would use it as soon as you had scion, and cut after you spray and let dry, so no chance of it dripping.
