as far as I’m aware, neem oil works by coating the insects exoskeleton, thus suffocating it. And by the active substance absorbing trough the exoskeleton.
Both will mainly happen if the insect is hit by the spray itself.
It’s a contact insecticide.
So any insect flying over to your tree after spray will usually not be affected by it. I would use a fine mesh net, or wasp traps in your case.
Has anyone ever used tomato cages for brambles? I have three planted in an island that is not feasible to trellis.
ive used it on my black raspberries and works pretty good. you need the taller more sturdy ones though.
Anyone interested at hablitzia/Caucasian spinach seeds? I prob can harvest seeds in a week or two and will send you some seeds if interested.
I bought the seeds but didn’t nurse the seeding into large enough. I’d love to try again. PM sent
Sure. I will send you send the seeds in few weeks.
I just ripped up a dead avocado tree and prepared the mound for replanting. I have a potted mulberry I want to plant there. Should I just plant it now or wait until the winter when the tree is dormant?
I would plant it now.
Now. You still have some time for the roots to spread out.
I think it depends on your weather and your sun. It’s getting along toward fall for some of us but just remember if you transplant now to baby it a lot with lots of water. I see you are in zone 9. Take that into account.
Is it too late to chip bud or t bud?
Not for apple & pear.
My Question for this thread is-
I planted an apricot early this spring. It was a small stick when we got it. Can’t even call it a ‘whip’ . . . And I was not sure whether I wanted to try to train it to a very open branched Central or Modified Central Leader - OR Open Vase.
It is close to our driveway and in the ‘landscaping’. I left good scaffolds that were growing in directions so that they would not encroach on the driveway or a walkway.
However . . . I am concerned that it will get too wide as an open center tree. So I also left a second tier of good scaffolds, so I could opt for CL. Here is a photo.
If I want to do it now - or when our weather starts to turn cooler . . . can I avoid exposing it to disease by putting some wood glue on the ‘surgery sites’? Or do I need to wait till deep winter to make the cuts? There are definitely some branches that are growing up and back into the tree that I’d like to take out now. But also would like to make the training cuts and put the tree’s energy into what I intend to keep.
What should I do? Thanks for the advice.
NEVER MIND.
The tree broke off at the graft this afternoon . . . just hours after I wrote this post! We had a thunderstorm with some awful wind . . . and down she went. Must have been a really crappy graft to have done that, I’d say. It was one of those ‘trees in a gauze bag’, for sale outside a grocery store last spring. 
Now it’s out on our ‘burn pile’. DARN!
This is the same plant: it’s a Hypericum (St. John’s Wort), likely H. androsaemum
Thanks. I got it planted.
Does anyone know what kind of caterpillars I have on my pawpaws?
Edit: found it.
They seem to be really going to town on the leaves. I’m thinking about killing them.
Be careful,they have spines and the sting is memorable,from what I’ve read.
Yeah, that’s what I just read at the Wikipedia. Gonna need pliers to grab them. They’ll just keep reproducing year after year. I’ve been around small orchards my whole life and never saw these before.
Cool find! I’ve always wanted to find those! I would place them on some other wild trees rather than kill them. They are an uncommon native species that probably won’t target your fruit trees each year if there are other trees and shrubs around as well. They have a vary wide range of host plants that they can feed on.
Too late. I got them with the pliers. Besides my little fruit trees to protect, there are little kids that play in my yard. I had my four year old daughter help me find them so I’m pretty sure I got all of them.
