Large Scale Central

Check Walmart etc. for closout Dwarf Alberta Spruce

Gardening
#21

4 of the 6 survived the winter in the basement window. If I had realized the back row was starved for sun and rotated them I might still have 6. Live and learn (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)

Out on the railroad, 3 of the Dwarf Albertas that have been in the ground over 5 years and thriving did not make it through the winter. They happen to be in very well drained soil and we didn’t get much snow this year. They may have just dried out,. At least I have some new ones ready to put in their place. One tall one just might become a spar pole.

#22

Survived they did, healthy they are not. I put them outside in early May and kept them in the sun and watered, but the damage was done. Yesterday trimmed off all the dead which included some new growth. This is what is left…

My plan is to knock the dirt off the roots on the bare side, then plant two close together and see how they do over the summer.

@Andy - What do you spray with. I still have two survivors on the layout and would like to protect them.

EDITed because my proof reading skill improves by ten fold after hitting POST (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)

#23

Sevin seems to work Jon.

Then again I usually stay away from buying plants at the big box stores. A reputable garden center will screen their stock before the sell it and probably refuse delivery if it has mites.

#24

Ken Brunt said:

Sevin seems to work Jon.

Then again I usually stay away from buying plants at the big box stores. A reputable garden center will screen their stock before the sell it and probably refuse delivery if it has mites.

If these got mites, I infected them with some other plants I brought inside. The die-off outside could have been lack of moisture or mites. I want to spray to be certain.

#25

Ken Brunt said:

Sevin seems to work Jon.

Then again I usually stay away from buying plants at the big box stores. A reputable garden center will screen their stock before the sell it and probably refuse delivery if it has mites.

Yeah, but your plants CAN get mites LONG after they have been planted…

#26

There is that, Bruce. But you don’t want to be bringing them home with you either.

#27

Ken Brunt said:

There is that, Bruce. But you don’t want to be bringing them home with you either.

That’s for sure. I tried getting some Preying Mantis eggs, but that didn’t work out for them…so…I’ve got a bunch biting the dust…

#28

I bought the Sevin in a hose mix bottle. Dang stuff kills EVERYTHING; maybe even the neighbor cats. The run through the RR all the time. No stopping them.

#29

Sevin is highly toxic to bees, and many other things, including you. I would suggest you may not want to use the product in the long term

Search and see for yourself

Regards

Jerry

#30

Jerry Bohlander said:

Sevin is highly toxic to bees, and many other things, including you. I would suggest you may not want to use the product in the long term

Search and see for yourself

Regards

Jerry

I read the included pamphlet and agree it’s nasty stuff. I can’t believe it’s approved for use on fruits and vegetables. This will probably be the only bottle I buy.

#31

For spider mites, I just use the jet stream setting on the nozzle to knock off the bugs and their eggs. Probably not as effective as chemical warfare, but then, dihydromonoxide has been used as an industrial solvent since well before the Industrial Revolution. I hit the trees once a week, when I remember it.

#32

Jon Radder said:

Survived they did, healthy they are not. I put them outside in early May and kept them in the sun and watered, but the damage was done. Yesterday trimmed off all the dead which included some new growth. This is what is left…

My plan is to knock the dirt off the roots on the bare side, then plant two close together and see how they do over the summer.

@Andy - What do you spray with. I still have two survivors on the layout and would like to protect them.

EDITed because my proof reading skill improves by ten fold after hitting POST (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-surprised.gif)

“WACKOFF” the bottom branches and even them up. Then plant them deeper like tomato plants(that love the water) in turn making scale trees.

Spider mites only reside on Roosters which require a regular feather dusting cause they are dumb and don’t know any better.

#33

Bruce D. Chandler said:

Ken Brunt said:

There is that, Bruce. But you don’t want to be bringing them home with you either.

That’s for sure. I tried getting some Preying Mantis eggs, but that didn’t work out for them…so…I’ve got a bunch biting the dust…

Hopefully the Preying mantis eggs turn out all female sluts then they will bite the heads off of everything after mating allowing the Dwarf Alberta spruces from Walmart to succeed and thrive!

#34

Preying Mantis Spider Mites on a Rooster before dusting is disturbing

#35

Rooster is disturbing …. You opened your self for that one … (https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

#36

My old layout had over 60 of these trees and my current layout, 70+ and I have yet to lose one. The key is to make sure they get watered a lot the first year and then every few days after that. Trim the bottom branches and thin the trees out every year, this prevents spider mites and trees from dying on the inside. The trees do not do well indoors, they should do fine in the filtered sun but I think being indoors the air is to dry for them, especially in winter.

#37

I use paraffin-based sprays, not toxic to animals, humans, bees.

I was using neem oil, but it can burn plants.

We have a spider mite issue here because of the mild climate year round, so you must spray several times a year.

this stuff never harms plants, and can be used on ornamentals and fruit trees.