black bugs on fruit trees

rabialiones

i am a newbie to gardening so would appreciate any advice.
i bought some bare root mini trees last year, they have produced leaves this year, but not much blossom . maybe its not time for blossom yet. , anyway , i am concerned because  i have noticed  on one of the trees the leaves have black insects on them, and they are increasing.
there was a peach, cherry , nectarine, apple , pear and a plum tree,  after planting , i forgot which was which , so i am not quite sure which of the trees it is that has this problem.
i have looked at pesticides, but would prefer something organic or home made.
i would be really grateful if you could give me some tips/ideas to deal with this problem and any advice on how to care/feed them
thanks

-taff

Possibly blackfly. Check ia the base of the trees for ants nests [lightly dig with a trowl avoiding the roots] to see if you have ants because ants will mine aphids for the sweet sap they produce.

To get rid of the blckfly, if it is blackfly, a squirty bottle with water a a dollop of washing up liquid and spray them and/or blast them off. Won't hurt the plant but forms a film over the aphids so they die.

I

Farway

If there are not too many, just gently squish them between your fingers

rabialiones

thanks for the responses, 
i had googled, but wasn't sure if i could use the washing up liquid as it would contain chemicals , which i thought may damage plant., have you used this and does it work?

i dont't think i could squish them because i'm a bit squeamish. 

MoneySeeker1

I'd say it's probably your cherry tree myself.

I've got apple and plum trees that don't get that particular problem. But I added a cherry tree recently and I noticed a few of the leaves had got that yesterday.

So I plucked the offending leaves off and chucked them. I know what the other poster means by ants though - as I spotted some ants running around on that tree and thought they must be "harvesting" them.

I would use very diluted washing-up liquid if the problem got worse - and don't worry about chemicals (because my washing-up liquid is an environment-friendly one anyway).

rabialiones

i will remove the leaves  and if problem still persists i will try and get some  organic liquid and use that, also , i will smear base of trunk with vaseline, hopefully , i should  get rid of them.
btw, can you tell me which is best feed for fruit trees.
thanks

MoneySeeker1

Re "food" for plants - can only speak for myself personally and I throw "everything" at everything. So that mushroom spore stuff (can't recall name at present) gets thrown in to the mix early on to help establish roots. I then throw seaweed fertiliser and rockdust at everything at intervals thereafter.

Other people may have other ways - but that's what I do personally.

twopenny

I've used Phostregen in the past on a wonderful plantswomans recommendation years ago. That works well if you can get it.

Miraclegrow seems to be more common now. Once a fortnight or so. For flowering plants my local nursery recomends tomato feed. Or use some growmore as a general food. Whichever is most convenient for you.

Try not to buy cheap versions. They may or may not work, it's a lottery. I've found some strange things under what appear to be normal headings.

I also bought a small pot cherry this year and it has these black bugs. Not sure if it's blackfly but I couldn't dislodge them so squished them as Farway said, with a damp paper towel, then with a basin of water swished the leaves in that as an extra. If they come back I'll use dilute washing up liquid - which I use on greenfly. Don't spray in the sun. The plants don't like that.

None of my fruit trees planted last year have these bugs. Also the plums and greengages produced no blossom this year. Apples did. Happens sometimes.

Davesnave

MoneySeeker1 said:

Re "food" for plants - can only speak for myself personally and I throw "everything" at everything. So that mushroom spore stuff (can't recall name at present) gets thrown in to the mix early on to help establish roots. I then throw seaweed fertiliser and rockdust at everything at intervals thereafter.

Most weird additives and mycorrhizal fungi are snake oil IMO. You'll never get your money back in terms of increased crops. Nothing wrong with blood fish & bone or growmore, depending on your proclivities, but for much of the time I manage without, relying on copious amounts of (free) comfrey, a bit of home made compost and whatever stable manure comes my way. The latter has few nutrients, but it makes great soil conditioner if allowed to rot down over several years. The rest just comes out of the ground, just like in natural areas worldwide.

Ten years ago, we planted a hedge, half of it with Rootgrow fungi and half without. There was no difference whatever in growth. Saved us the expense of doing that ever again! After all, the fungi grows naturally anyway.

The one place I use expensive, slow release artificial fertilizer is with potted ornamentals, where the restricted root area and temperature changes mean the plant is often under stress. Years ago, we were in competition with friends with an organic ornamentals nursery (??) and at the start of the season everyone's plants looked good. By June or July, theirs always looked chlorotic and stunted. I never dared ask why they stuck to their natural compost regime so rigidly, but I'm sure our spending on the Osmocote was reflected in higher sales.

This is MSE., where the mantra is "Do I need it?"

Davesnave

rabialiones said:

thanks for the responses, 
i had googled, but wasn't sure if i could use the washing up liquid as it would contain chemicals , which i thought may damage plant., have you used this and does it work?

I dont't think i could squish them because i'm a bit squeamish.

Ecover washing up liquid is fine for bugs. We use it anyway as we've a septic tank to keep happy. Regarding squeamish: don't ever decide to keep chickens!

rabialiones

well , just thought i would updated.
i think i made a mistake in  removing the affected leaves and twigs which were at the top of the tree, with secateurs , as after that the remaining leaves are now droopy and look rather sad.
i just hope they will pick up again.
i removed them because it was advice shown on utube.