There’s not a new sheriff in town, but a highly effective new miticide/insecticide on the market. It’s EpiShield from BioWorks. EpiShield contains a unique formulation that uses a synergistic blend of clove oil, peppermint oil and sodium lauryl sulfate. It utilizes multiple modes of action including suffocation, paralysis and desiccation.

Acclimation refers to the process plants go through in the late fall and early winter that allows them to become acclimated, or should I say more tolerant, of cold temperatures. It’s a gradual process and a plant’s ability to withstand cold temperatures changes throughout the dormancy period depending on the temperatures the plants are exposed to. Plants will become acclimated to cold temperatures when they're exposed to them for a period of time and will become deacclimated or less able to tolerate cold temperatures when they're exposed to warmer temperatures.

Acclimation is a necessary and important component of the overwintering process. Improperly acclimated plants will be more sensitive to cold and more susceptible to plant injury and/or death during the winter months. Unfortunately, acclimation cannot be measured and there are no signs or indicators that a plant is properly acclimated. Acclimation varies by geographic location. For example, an echinacea plant in the South will require and reach a different level of cold tolerance than the same cultivar of echinacea in the North. 

• Temperature. Temperature is the most important factor during the acclimation process. During the fall, take every step possible to keep the plants as close to outside temperatures as possible. If overwintering inside covered structures, open the vents or ventilate the house to allow the temperatures inside to resemble those outside. Frost is acceptable and actually beneficial; it might feel uncomfortable, but I’ve never lost a perennial due to frost in the fall.
• Irrigation. Reducing the amount of irrigation in the fall should be a normal process, as the plants aren't using the same amount of water as they did when they were actively growing. However, a small amount of water stress (not drought) can reduce the time it takes plants to reach dormancy and can increase the cold tolerances of many perennials.
• Fertility. Similar to my comments above with irrigation, the amount of fertilizer being delivered prior to overwintering should be reduced due to the reduction of active growth. High fertility levels aren't needed or beneficial in the fall and actually decreases a plants ability to become acclimated.
• Light intensity. Plants being grown under lower light intensities acclimate slower than plants being grown at high light intensities. Avoid keeping shadecloths over crops being prepared for their winter slumber.

I don’t know if you saw this or not, but Chris Beytes (aka Bossman Beytes) recently shared some observations from the Ball Trial Gardens in his Acres Online newsletter. If not, I thought this might be of interest.

• Improved fertilizer uptake and reduce fertilizer costs
• Improved water uptake, increasing drought resistance
• Increased resistance of plants to stress
• Increased root mass, flower production, plant size and yield