I wrote about this last summer, because I have an annual battle against powdery mildew on maples and oaks in my yard. But I just wanted to update everyone since I have found that milk did more to attract yellowjackets than it did to deter powdery mildew. I was interested to find that it did make the leaves take on a nice sheen but otherwise didn’t really slow down the spread of powdery mildew. This year I started using neem oil instead and I have had much better results. The oil seems to smother the mildew and even keep it from deforming and browning the leaves if applied early enough before the mildew covers the majority of the leaves. In the past, on oaks, when a new shoot comes out the mildew can actually prevent it from elongating fully, but with early application of neem oil I have gotten much better growth through the late summer season.

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