question about neem oil and the temperature
woohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
10 years ago
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jean001a
10 years agoseysonn
10 years agoRelated Discussions
overwintered peppers and neem oil/cold damage?
Comments (2)Crap. It's Neem II, which contains pyrithones. And I've sprayed it numerous times outdoors and gotten a lot on me. And sprayed quite a bit indoors the other day. Neem® II Ready-to-Use * Improved formulation of ready-to-use Neem II RTU - now with Pyrethrin, a proven insecticide. * For control of black spot, powdery mildew, rust, anthracnose, spider mites, aphids and whiteflies on roses and ornamental plants. * Contains Neem oil and Pyrethrin. * Available in 24 oz. RTU bottles. No mixing required. Label info: http://www.horaneys.com/Content/20095/Neem_II_RTU_lbl.pdf MSDS http://www.horaneys.com/Content/20095/Neem_II_RTU.pdf I sprayed until the leaves were wet, then rotated the plant and did it from the other side. Tried to do under leaves as well, but put a paper towel above to partially block the mist. Alice...See MorePlease tell me about Neem Oil.
Comments (40)Clio, Did the problem begin when the cold snap happened in your area? Maybe it was just a little too chilly for their tastes. If they are gathered close on your balcony and a fungal problem began, it will spread more quickly when they're close together. I lived for a long time in the Sonoma County area, and Pelargoniums tolerate the chilly nights there and seemingly endless winter rain with little problem. Maybe your plants believed they would always be warm and cozy in LA, and are mad about this winter's nasty weather. You folks really got nailed! Be sure to remove any sign of the fungal problem as soon as you see it, including any foliage that falls onto the soil of the pots & anything with new spots (because they might shed spores). If you can, maybe changing the spray time to early morning would help. Try to move them farther apart for a while, too. Hope this helps....See MoreAbout Neem Oil
Comments (41)There are many products on the market that claim 'neem' as an ingredient. Often, the 'neem' is combined with other insecticides and a vehicle that makes emulsification and thus delivery/application easier. If these products have used neem oil that was altered or obtained by a process other than cold-pressing, the value or effectiveness of the essential ingredient azadirachtin has likely been reduced or negated entirely. I have read reports in these & other forums about growers using products like Bio-Neem by Bonide (and others) and having less than what they consider stellar results, while I continue to use the cold-pressed product, such as is produced by Dyna-Gro, with what I consider very safe and very good results. Remember that neem oil doesn't deliver a huge initial knockdown punch, but it IS a powerful antifeedant and chemosterilizer, rendering current generations unable to feed or progress through metamorphic stages to adulthood, and rendering adults sterile. Cold-pressed neem oil is excellent on mites & works initially in the same way as hort oils work, with the added benefits of the other properties already noted. This from a recent post @ another forum site: "As I consider the prophylactic use of any insecticide, including systemics, I guess I have to say that about the only compound that fits that description for me is neem oil. I over-winter around 100 tropical plants (most are normally grown as houseplants, but my focus is on bonsai) under lights in my basement. About 2 weeks before bring them in, I apply neem oil - then again a day or two before I bring them in. Normally these applications keep insect levels in check all winter, though I may see some scale or mite populations appearing toward winter's tail. If it gets too bad, I'll do a neem application & hold out until I get the plants outdoors where the increase in the plant's metabolism and thus natural defenses, along with the increase in beneficial predators, usually completely eliminates the trouble. The bio-compounds plants use to repel plants are a by-product of the plant's metabolism. Plants with high energy reserves and plants growing with good vitality are much better protected 'naturally' from insect predation, which is why plants in low light and those that are just limping along are far more likely to be troubled by insects. I very often diagnose the occurrence of insect infestations as the end product of poor cultural conditions, and the greatest, most frequent offender is a poor soil." I'm not implying you're using a poor soil; I know you're not, but others might wish to consider the corollary. Al...See Moreneed your input about neem oil
Comments (14)Neem is not a registered pesticide, so the label will not say anything about horticultural uses other than "leaf shine". Producers are not allowed to make claims about neem used as an insecticide and anti-fungal spray. It probably won't ever be registered as a pesticide-- Big Ag has yet to succeed in patenting it (it's been in use for thousands of years) so any corporate claims about "owning the formula" are just plain impossible. In India and the far east, neem is used in skin creams, toothpaste, lice treatments, intestinal worm treatments as well as in agriculture. Ironically, foresters and tree researchers have discovered that neem can be used to "inoculate" trees against borers and other devastating insect pests that are wreaking havoc on our forests. We have one arm of the government using it as a pesticide and another arm of the government banning it as a pesticide. A couple of notes on using neem: - as an anti-fungal treatment it will prevent, but not cure fungal problems. I spray plants that are prone to powdery mildew and blackspot BEFORE the outbreak occurs-- when the weather conditions are "ripe" - to be effective as an insecticide, the oil has to come into direct contact with the bug. The "kill" usually does not take place right away-- neem disrupts the developmental, hormonal, reproductive and normal growth patterns of insects. There is no "wipeout" effect with neem, but there will be a gradual control as the bugs' ability to molt and reproduce is thwarted. - As an anti-feedant, neem works pretty well but you need to re-spray after a rain. - neem oil is like olive oil-- it solidifies at cool temperatures. Putting the jar in warm water just helps liquify it - you can use a few drops of dish detergent as an emulsifier but you can also use a "spreader-sticker" product for even better mixing. Sometimes these are called wetting agents and you can find them at head shops and other "grower"-type places - when you spray, shake the bottle regularly to keep the oil from separating out. When you're done, rinse out the nozzle to keep the oil from gumming it up. - for a "double dose" you can mix neem oil with insecticidal soap, but this is not usually necessary Hope this helps. - Bev...See MoreUser
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10 years agowoohooman San Diego CA zone 10a
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