Dormant Oils Q. What does a dormant oil do and when does it do it?

But make sure you use a horticultural oil, like Sunspray, which is recommended for use during the growing season, not dormant oil, which could burn foliage.

One is to spray with dormant oil in early spring, before the canes leaf out.

A dormant oil is probably the safest spray that can be used in the garden.

Tests have shown that the adelgid can be controlled with emulsifiable oil, or dormant oil, and with insect soaps, he said.

As with dormant oil, the term now refers to the time an application is made rather than to the properties of the oil.

If you have a Colorado blue spruce, be aware that it is sensitive to dormant oil and may lose its blue-white color for two years while new needles grow.

There used to be tremendous caution about the use of dormant oils, because they were formulated on a thicker basis, and many cautionary statements were issued.

They were fertilized in September and sprayed with dormant oil in spring.

Finally, that very safe spray - dormant oil - can still be used as long as buds have not opened and growth begun.