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My grandpa swore by using dish soap to kill aphids on his apple trees.
He told me to mix a tablespoon of Dawn in a gallon of water and spray it on. Said it worked for 40 years. I tried it last spring on a client's young maple in Tacoma. The aphids were gone in a day. But a week later, the leaves started curling and turning brown. Turns out the soap stripped the waxy coating right off the new growth. Had to explain to the homeowner why their tree looked worse. Cost me a free pruning job to make it right. Anyone else have an old timer tip that backfired on a different species?
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joseph_hart21d ago
Wait, is it the soap itself or the timing? In my experience, dish soap can be rough on lots of young leaves, not just maples. I've seen it burn new growth on roses and some ornamentals too. The apple tree leaves were probably older and tougher by the time your grandpa sprayed. That waxy coating on new leaves is super delicate. It's less about the type of tree and more about how tender the growth is when you hit it.
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