Dormant oil, or sometimes referred to as horticultural oil, is an arboriculture application that is done at the very end of the dormant season and prior to main part of the growing season. This application is an environmentally friendly option to mitigate pest pressure on trees by targeting the emergence of unwanted pests on our trees as they emerge from overwintering. It doesn’t present any harm to the food chain, water resources or human health. It can be made when temperatures are above freezing, up to 90 degrees F, most desired to be applied in March to provide that impact to emerging pests from overwintering on our trees.
Dormant oil applications are sprayed onto trees or shrubs, and are an excellent pest management tool for the control of a variety of scale insects, mites, webworms, adelgids, aphids and much more. In many cases, a dormant oil application will be utilized in conjunction with a subsequent insecticide application later in the growing season to optimize the control of the targeted pest. Our ISA Certified Arborists will best determine which treatment schedule is best for your tree, depending on pest pressure and current condition of your tree or plants. Dormant oil as a preventative application can also provide benefits to your trees and shrubs as they continually deal with dynamic pest pressures due to varying temperature and climate change in our area.
When it comes to plant health care, our ISA Certified Arborist’s approach will take into account a lot of considerations in order to make the best recommendation for the tree and the surrounding environment. Oil applications are an excellent tool in the tool box to mitigate pest pressure, while also minimizing impact to desired insects and other organisms in our urban forest.
I would like my magnolia tree checked to see if it needs an application of Dormant Oil.
Thank you for contacting us. One of our office staff will email you to gather your contact information and get an arborist out to look at your magnolia tree.