Week 2: Winter care of
deciduous plants

 

During winter, deciduous plants – the plants
that lose their leaves in the colder weather - are
in a state of suspended animation. And,
because they're dormant, winter is the ideal
time to give these plants some extra care.

Here's a winter checklist for deciduous trees
and shrubs:
? Spray Lime Sulphur over deciduous fruit
trees and recently pruned roses in July.
This will get rid of over-wintering scales,
mites and aphids.
? In late winter, prevent leaf curl disease
by spraying Yates Champ DP Copper
Fungicide (Copper hydroxide) onto
peach and nectarine trees just before
their flower and leaf buds start to swell.
? Apply Champ DP Copper Fungicide to
apples and pears when buds show
green tips. This will control black spot.
Champ DP is a modern formulation of
copper that mixes readily in water.
Traditional copper sprays, such as
copper oxychloride, can be very difficult
to mix.
? Yates Conqueror Oil is a great clean up
treatment for dormant plants. It's
sometimes called winter oil, a name that
reminds us it's a good idea to use it at
this time of year. A coating of white oil
destroys mites, scales and insect eggs
that are lurking in cracks in the bark.
? Remove fruit 'mummies' from the trees.
Mummies are the shrivelled-up remains
of infected fruit from last season's fungal
diseases. If left on the plant they
become a carry-over source of fungal
infection.
? Winter is the best season to prune many
deciduous plants. The exceptions are
cherries, which are pruned in autumn
and apricots, whose long shoots are cut
back after fruiting. Spring-flowering
blossom trees and shrubs should be
pruned as soon as their flowers have
finished.
? Prune grape vines and train to two main
shoots. Pruning must be done in the
dead of winter, or the plant can 'bleed'
and lose an unhealthy amount of sap.
? Check for borers. Poke wire into borer
holes or squirt with Yates Insect Gun in
a ready-to-use trigger pack.
? Move plants. Because they're dormant,
quite large deciduous specimens can
be transplanted in the depths of winter.
? Look for new deciduous plants - the
best choice is available in the shops
right now. Many are sold bare-rooted
(pictured) but others have been recently
potted. Hence, don't be surprised if the
potting mix falls off when the plants are
taken out of the pots because the roots
haven't yet had time to grow into the
mix.
? Mix Yates Magamp fertiliser into the soil
when planting new deciduous trees.
Then, in late winter or early spring, feed
all deciduous plants just before they
make their new growth. Nutricote will
release nutrients over an extended
period.

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