Auburn,
I graft several feet up on the rootstock. I’ve never lost a wild callery rootstock yet. These callery are very resistant.
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I can tell you I used fire blight spray religiously for an Ambrosia and a Flemish Beauty this year for the first time and also for the first time the Flemish Beauty is loaded with pears … never had any on that tree before. I don’t think the Ambrosia is as susceptible so it survived in other years.
I had a Clapp’s Favorite also but that was simply ridiculous with Fire Blight and I removed it.
Bottom line is that it only took maybe 3 sprayings to prevent F.B. so as for me, I recommend it if you’re worried.
Irby,
Those in the link I listed above are the varieties I recommend. I’ve not tried all of them. I still hit them all with copper this year even if they say resistant. The ones that bloomed as mentioned got antibiotic as well. In the case of a bad infection I use white vinegar and water 50/50 as a spray in addition.
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Clark,
Is your spray just vinegar and water?
This time of year I use vinegar and water only if I have a bad FIreblight infection. The vinegar and water will make you trees look pretty bad so don’t use if you have any other choice. Vinegar is an antibacterial but it’s also a mild herbicide. If the tree is crawling with Fireblight I use it. Pre bloom I spray fertilome antibiotic mixed with water. When the trees are dormant I spray liquid copper. Amputate infected branches several inches below the Fireblight strike. .
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Thank you, I have several trees that are bad. One Wickson is almost gone, and the other was virtually untouched. I just keep cutting then sterilizing pruners, and in a couple of weeks repeat. I will spray them this weekend.
Thanks for the details. I had read your thread listing the varieties but didn’t know if you were particularly pleased with any of them that you have grown.
This stuff … Fertilome Fire Blight Spray (powder)
The directions say to start spraying when the blossoms start to appear and keep spraying every few days while they’re out. Stop spraying when the fruit begins to form.
So for fire blight bacteria that enters through the flowers this appears to do the trick. Fingers are still crossed.
BTW, I used it on the apples also but they hadn’t shown a F.B. problem before anyway.
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… see response to irby.
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Just a thought about using antibiotics for fireblight- there is some concern about resistance being built up.
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I can attest the vinegar did not work at all for me. The only solution
for a major FB infection, is to remove the tree. Get rid of the source
that will surely eventually spread to your other trees.
Sorry to hear it did not work Ray. I’ve had it work for me or let’s say the Fireblight stopped after I used on several occasions. Fireblight is the ninja of the bacterial disease world. It strikes hard and fast and kills a tree before we even realized the magnitude of the problem. It hit the least one I’d have expected this year. Caught me completely off guard.
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Is @Lucky_P still on this forum? I have seen him say he doesn’t spray his pears and was wondering what varieties are the best performers. I imagine our climates are similar although you may not have ornamentals carrying the disease close by.
Thanks bubbabgone!
When it gets in the trunk, there’s not much you can do.
What surprized me is that it hit my healthiest tree that
had never shown any signs of FB before. I had put metal
limb spreaders on this tree, and I think the infection entered
in those spots.
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Ray,
That’s interesting it makes a lot of sense. I brought some problems on myself one year and pruned a sucker off at the base of the tree. The tree died when the Fireblight entered the pruning wound.
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So, does this rule out my plans for summer pruning to control size?
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