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what can I grow to deter fruit tree trunk borers...(peach, apple) and blackberry cane borers

 
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What I'd like to talk about is attracting predators for fruit tree trunk and cane borers in general and flowers that might attract them? or flowers that might repel them?
I'll take any excuse to grow more flowers

ideas?





 
steward
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I have read to plant garlic or Nasturtiums.  I have not tried this though I wonder about french marigolds...
 
pollinator
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If there's a magic bullet, I'd love to know!  

Beyond some companion planting (usually bulbs and clover, but they all get eaten here) some things we have done that I think help include these:
- place wood ash for several inches around the base of each tree
- graze ruminants and rotate chickens/ducks under trees, especially in the fall
- Michael Pollan's holistic spray regime

That's all I can think of. Of all of these, I think the chickens/ducks is the most impactful.
 
pollinator
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I always try paint the bottom of my young fruit trees with white latex paint to prevent sun scald, sunburn and borer (and rodent) damage.  Indoor latex is supposed to be better. I try to paint from 1 inch below the soil line up to the first few branches. This seems to work for me, although sometimes I need to put on a second coat of paint to fill in cracks, especially around any grafts.

However, there is a new product called IV Organics 3-in-1 Plant Guard that is supposed to work really well:

https://ivorganics.com/product/3-in-1-plant-guard/

It contains garlic, spearmint, rosemary and peppermint: so you might try planting all those kind of herbs around your trees and canes. (I think that the other botanical oils listed are tropical).

But the problem is that this IV paint is super expensive, so I haven't tried it yet. I think a cheaper method would be just use some leftover white latex; then plant garlic, rosemary and mint around your trees and canes. I'd also recommend pennyroyal, but it can be invasive and hard to get rid of. Hope this advice is helpful...

 
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