Neem Oil for Cherry Trees: How and When You Should Use It

Neem oil for cherry trees is a matter that gives an advantage to gardeners. Neem oil comes from the seeds and leaves of the neem tree. It is a natural pesticide that has been used for many years to repel pests and diseases.

Let us discover the different ways through which neem oil can help you grow your fruit trees far from the nuisance of pests and diseases.

How To Use Neem Oil for Cherry Trees as a Soil Drench?

To use neem oil for cherry trees as a soil drench, you should first pick the right time to do so, and prepare the material needed. You must then mix in the solution, and apply as you drench the soil, and be cautious of the result.

Fruit-bearing trees like cherry, apple, plum, pear, and nectarine are some of the trees that reap the benefit of neem oil. Soil drenching is one of the easiest methods for applying neem oil to your cherry tree. It is an effective way to combat soil-dwelling pests and fungi that would be harming the roots of the tree.

1. Pick the Right Time

The best soil drench or foliar spray schedule for your cherry tree is very early in the morning or the evening. During this time, the beneficial insects are dormant, which means they are less active.

Also, although neem oil is not harmful to pollinators like butterflies, birds, and bees, it is best to avoid spraying on them directly. You should also spray neem oil when your cherry trees are dormant. By doing this, you can target the overwintering garden pests and eggs.

On the other hand, It is also recommended to avoid applying the solution when the sun is hot, as the combination of direct sunlight and neem oil can burn your plant’s leaves. Hence, you would be using the spray at the right time and targeting the harmful pests in the soil.

2. Prepare the Things You Will Need

You will need to prepare a pair of hand gloves to avoid making contact while using the solution. Meanwhile, for the mixture, you will need to prepare one tablespoon of 100 percent cold-pressed raw neem oil, one tablespoon of liquid dish soap or pure castile soap, one quart of warm water, a watering can, a stir stick, and a container.

3. Mixing Process

After preparing all the equipment needed, you can now start mixing the solution in a container. Using a container to mix the ingredients will allow you to see if the ingredients were fully emulsified easily, and then after that, you can easily transfer the solution to a watering can to drench the soil around your trees.

The first step is that you need to dissolve the liquid soap or castile soap in water, and this should not be more than a few drops. Since organic neem is in the form of oil, the liquid soap or castile soap will act as an emulsifying agent that allows the oil to disperse in the solution and not float on top of the water.

Mix one tablespoon of liquid dish soap with one quart of warm water, and mix it using a stir stick until it is dissolved. Next, add one tablespoon of pure neem oil to the liquid dish soap and water solution, as the water should be of one liter. Once finished, mix it until the oil has dissolved, and now you can finally transfer the solution to a watering can for easy application.

4. Application

Before applying, make sure to wear your gloves. You can now drench the solution into the root zone of your cherry trees for about a few seconds or until each tree gets about two to three cups of the solution.

Ensure that the trees get an even mixture and are well-saturated. You can repeat this process every one or two weeks until you notice that the infestation has stopped, and you can do this monthly as a preventative measure.

The best practice to minimize exposure is washing your hands after using the solution. However, you should also make sure that you would mark up the place that needs the right amount of neem, and this is significantly the place that has the most fungi and infestations of pests such as aphids.

5. Be Cautious of the Result

Neem oil was loved by gardeners even before synthetic pesticides became known because of its several benefits. Unlike chemical insecticides, neem oil can reduce chemical exposure as well as promotes organic gardening.

Neem oil is proven to be a safe and effective natural pesticide for edible-producing trees without harming the beneficial pollinators. Hence, you must be keen on the way that you are using this oil and the way that it may harm the earthworm that can be in the soil and would be impacted in a negative way.

Neem oil work as pest control, as it targets many different kinds of pests and can also combat fungal diseases and bacterial infection on plants in the form of foliar spray and soil or root drench.

For soil or root drenching, neem oil acts as a systemic insecticide where plant roots absorb the neem oil and circulate it in the plant’s tissues to treat root rot and other diseases the tree may suffer from. Using it as a root drench also improves soil fertility.

How To Use Neem Oil for Cherry Trees as a Foliar Spray?

To use neem oil for cherry trees as foliar spray you should first prepare the material that you need, and mix the oil with some water and soap. After doing so, you must perform a patch test on few leaves, and then you can apply it to the foliage.

Another method for applying neem oil on your cherry trees is foliar spraying. As opposed to soil drenching, foliar spray involves applying the solution directly on the tree’s leaves. It helps the tree absorb more water, nutrients, and minerals and allows the plant to breathe by cleaning the stomata as you try the oil spray.

Neem oil kills over 200 species of tree pests and insects, most commonly aphids, mealybugs, leafhoppers, whiteflies, thrips, coddling moths, adelgids, weevils, caterpillars, spider mites, mealworms, rust, harlequin bugs. Keeping this in mind, you should also know that these pests can be ones that are infesting the tree’s foliage, and absorbing the nutrients; hence, targeting them is necessary with neem oil.

1. Prepare the Things You Will Need

You will need protective gear, such as hand gloves, a mask, and safety glasses, to avoid making contact while you are spraying the mixture onto the plants. To prepare the mixture, you will need all the same ingredients and equipment to make the same recipe that we used for soil drenching, aside from the watering can.

In foliar spraying, you will need a spray bottle or a high-pressure sprayer to easily and evenly apply the solution to your plant’s foliage. To make the solution, you will need one tablespoon of 100 percent cold-pressed raw and pure neem oil, one tablespoon of liquid dish soap or pure castile soap, a liter of warm water, a stir stick, and a container.

2. Mixing Process

Once everything you need is ready, you can start mixing the ingredients. In a container, dilute one tablespoon of liquid soap or castile soap in water. Mix it thoroughly using the stir stick so that it would become a homogenous mixture.

Then, add one tablespoon of neem oil and stir it until fully dissolved. You should, in this case add some dish soap as well, as it is necessary to emulsion the diluted solution, as it will also help avoid any separation when you are spraying the solution on the foliage. In addition, it will also harm thee bodies of the insects that you would be targeting with the solution.

3. Patch Test

The neem oil pesticide recipe is very easy to make, but you have to be sure you are making a proper mix to reduce oil damage on the plant’s foliage. It is also recommended to do a patch test. Spray some of the mixture on a few leaves before using it. Observe whether the leaf will react favorably after spraying the solution.

In doing this, you can easily determine if your fruit tree is too sensitive to the plant-based pesticide you have just made. Another thing to remember is to only make as much of the mixture as you need and use it in one go because after a few days, the mixture will go bad and the active ingredient of neem will not be as effective as it should be.

When these pests are exposed to neem oil, they can be suffocated and killed by the oil that covers their bodies. The chemical compound in the oil also interferes with their reproductive cycles and causes a loss of appetite which inhibits their feeding.

Neem oil is proven to be very effective in insect control, especially on immature insects, it disrupts the life cycle of the insects’ development and affects their hormonal system, which makes it difficult for them to develop and lay eggs. Neem oil also works great on powdery mildew, black spots, and other fungal diseases.

4. Application

Make sure to wear your gloves, a mask, and safety glasses before application. While neem oil insecticide is beneficial to your fruit trees, direct contact with concentrated neem oil, such as by inhaling or ingesting it, is harmful to humans. It can irritate the skin and other sensitive areas of your body, such as the lungs and eyes. Therefore, use it with caution to avoid risks.

Once you’re finished wearing your safety protective equipment, grab the spray bottle and start to spray neem oil pesticide on your tree’s foliage. Make sure to cover all surfaces, even the undersides of the leaves.

You can repeat the application every week or two weeks to stop the infestation, and continue doing this once a month as a preventative step. However, you should also check with thee health progress of the tree and if the pests are decreasing.

Remember to wash your hands well after application because this can cause allergies to the human skin. Moreover, if you have kids of pets around the location where the tree is, remember that it is better to let them around the treated tree after two to three days to be on the safe side.

You can apply neem oil on both ornamental and edible crops, and it can be used on vegetables and herbs. However, avoid using it on herbs like dill, oregano, basil, cilantro, parsley, marjoram, or thyme. To avoid foliage burns, practice caution when applying neem oil on plants with delicate leaves like peas, spinach, lettuce, and arugula.

Nevertheless, whatever plant is being treated, use neem oil properly to avoid plant damage. Make sure you create a neem oil recipe according to the directions specified above, and always read the product’s label before using it.

Furthermore, do not apply neem oil to newly transplanted plants, or it will cause more stress to the plant. Make sure not to use it on young and small plants because the compounds in neem oil may be too intense for their roots and may cause damage. Do not apply it during extreme temperatures.

Conclusion

Applying neem oil to your fruit trees is an effective and organic way of deterring pests that give your trees a hard time. Protect your plant from the harm caused by pest infestations and diseases by remembering the key points below:

• Neem oil is a great pesticide that you can dilute neem oil to make fruit tree spray or a soil-drenching recipe.
• Neem oil can prevent your tree from having infestations and fungal and bacterial diseases.
• Make the neem oil solution appropriately to avoid damaging your plant.
• Avoid applying neem oil on your plants during extreme hot or cold temperatures.

Neem oil is nature’s gift, so make the most out of it to keep your fruit trees growing healthy, thriving, and bearing fruit abundantly.