Liberty is resistant to the most serious apple diseases: fire blight, apple scab, and cedar-apple rust, so a spraying program is not recommended for those diseases. The only reason to spray your tree is to control apple maggot. Therefore, you'd begin spraying as soon as the tree produces a crop that you want to save. You shouldn't spray for apple maggot until the maggot flies appear, around the first of July. At that time, you can actually see the apples on your tree. Here is a good publication for controlling apple maggot:
Apple Maggot Control.
An alternative to spraying for apple maggot is to bag the apples. You'd do this at about the time you would ordinarily start your spraying program. Here is a link to show you how to do this:
Bagging Apples.
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I just planted a dwarf Liberty apple tree in my Minnesota landscape. How old does it get before it is necessary to start spraying?
Last Updated: December 10, 2010
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