Northeast- spraying shrubs (insect, leaves, cold, plants)

[tmr1188]

Hi everyone,

Can anyone recommend a good product to spray my shrubs to protect them from pest over the summer. I have a few rhododendron, Mt. Laurel, Holly, knockout roses, and lilies. I live in Connecticut. Thanks so much!

[Bulldogdad]

Bayer, ortho and spectricide make some good products for the doityourselfer. Available at any home center.

[LIcenter]

If you have zero problems now, leave it alone. If you find down the road you are having issues with a certain type of insect, then and only then do you do some diligent research to combat it. Most times a soapy water solution will do the trick, and not kill everything else in sight.

[cdelena]

Originally Posted by LIcenter

If you have zero problems now, leave it alone. If you find down the road you are having issues with a certain type of insect, then and only then do you do some diligent research to combat it. Most times a soapy water solution will do the trick, and not kill everything else in sight.

Agreed. Most treatments are designed to eliminate an active problem and do more harm than good used as a preventative.

[tmr1188]

The only prob I'm having are tiny holes in the leaves. I'm not sure what is causing this.

[Linda_d]

Originally Posted by tmr1188

Hi everyone,

Can anyone recommend a good product to spray my shrubs to protect them from pest over the summer. I have a few rhododendron, Mt. Laurel, Holly, knockout roses, and lilies. I live in Connecticut. Thanks so much!

You have different types of plants that need to be treated differently. They have different siting requirements because mountain laurel requires a lot of shade, holly and rhododendrons like a mix of sun and shade, and roses need as much sun as they can get. There are numerous kinds of lilies, some that do best and others that need as much sun as roses. This range of plants also tolerates different types of soil, needs different types/amounts of fertilizer, and has different disease/pest issues, although to be honest, I have never known rhodies to be bothered by much of anything except cold and wind, which is why they can live for decades with minimal care.

[KKay9]

We have holly, rhododendrons, burning bush and yew shrubs in Massachusetts. I have not proactively used anything on them (other than my pruning shears!) and we've had next to no trouble. We did have some sooty mold on a couple of hollys year before last, but both the mold, and the scale that precipitated it were easily controlled with a couple of treatments with neem oil.

Honestly, I'd wait to see if any pests show up at all and then treat only for that specific pest. Spraying something broad spectrum in advance is a waste of money and involves using potentially polluting chemicals unnecessarily.

Pruning helps with many issues, as it increases air circulation inside the bush.

I ignore a certain amount of insect damage (chewed leaves, holes, et...) as long as it isn't threatening the overall health of the plant. If you are worried about the little holes, take some leaves to a local garden center and ask someone what is causing them, then you could treat ONLY for the problem you actually have.