Need Advice on Rose Sprayers

15 years ago

I am disgusted with the rinky dink sprayers I have been using. I actually enjoy spraying my roses but hate the almost constant battle with getting a sprayer that will work. I dont want to spend a fortune, and I dont mind having to refill it alot. I would just like a sprayer that would not be a nuisance to operate. I have been using hand held sprayers and pump up ones from Lowes. Is there a battery charged one that works well? I am going to Houston Sunday to Southwest Fertilizer - they have alot of great gardening items - and thought I would try to get some information. Thanks!

Judith

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Comments (7)

alameda/zone 8/East Texas
Original Author
15 years ago
I have been looking at the Spray N Grow site under sprayers. Has anyone ever used any of these? Any opinions?
Thanks.....Judith
midnightgardener
15 years ago
What qualities are you looking for exactly? What qualities do you dislike about the ones you have tried in the past?
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OK, I'm going to totally disagree with Scott. I have over 50 fruit trees of various kinds, as well as a dozen grape vines, 17 blueberry bushes, currents, gooseberries, kiwis, raspberries, blackberries, etc. Over the years, I've had MANY kinds of sprayers, various smaller tank kinds, including one on wheels, a Solo backpack sprayer, and a large, 50 gallon capacity gasoline powered sprayer with a trailer hitch to tow behind my lawnmower. Guess what, they're all a pain in the rear! Small tank sprayers are too small, heavy to lug, and have to be refilled many times to do all of the plants. The backpack sprayer is great if you're young, strong, and muscular, but it too doesn't have much capacity. The tow-behind one is big, noisy, takes a lot of maintenance, and the hose is perpetually tangled in the wheels, no matter how carefully you try to wind it every time you move the thing from tree to tree. I chucked the whole mess a few years back in favor of a little hose-end sprayer with a dial to adjust the application rates. I bought a couple of rolls of one inch black PVC water line, fittings, etc., and ran spiggots near all of my fruit and orchard areas in the yard. Then, I put hoses out there with quick-connects on the end. I now move quickly and effortlessly between areas and from tree to tree, carrying only my little one quart sized sprayer (which can make up to 64 gallons of spray from one fill of the jar, depending upon application rates of the chemical). The only other chore involved is winding and unwinding the hoses. I put in 15 spiggots in total, so the longest hose I need to have in any one spot is 100 feet, and most are only 50 feet. One of the best parts of this is the fact that it's totally silent, other then the sound of the spray coming out, so I can do it early in the morning when the wind is calm, something I certainly couldn't do with a gasoline powered sprayer towed behind a lawn tractor -- neighbors in my suburban area wouldn't appreciate that at six o'clock on a Sunday morning. I just sprayed yesterday -- did all of my trees in under an hour, and about half of that was spent fixing some hoses that had holes in them or bad fittings (I used about 8 hose menders!). And yes, there probably is one disadvantage in that the droplet size isn't nearly as fine as my tank sprayers can produce, so it does take more spray to compensate. I haven't missed my tank sprayers at all -- they're sitting the shed unwanted and unloved. I do actually use the smaller sprayers for Roundup, since they do give more control than a hose-end sprayer. Haven't used the big, gasoline tow behind sprayer for several years. As far as the brand, I prefer the 'Hudson Valley' hose-end sprayer with adjustable application-rate dial, because it has three spray patterns -- jet, shower, and fan. The Ortho sprayer only has one spray pattern, sort of half way between the shower and fan patterns, so it's not as versatile. Dennis
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alameda/zone 8/East Texas
Original Author
15 years ago
I will admit to being a cheapskate where sprayers are concerned. I have used the Walmart hand held ones, the $8 pump ones and the 4 qt. pump ones. The hand held ones dont last long - after a while, nothing comes out. Or you use 3/4 of the solution, and the stuff wont come out. [Just bought what a friend recommended the other day, $3, and same darn thing happened] Seems with the pump sprayers, same thing will happen. They start sputtering, not good flow then kaput. I bought a new 4 qt. one - was using it this afternoon - finally got it to working pretty good - it puts out a fine mist that does cover the leaves but it is slow going and I have to pump it up frequently. I am acquiring more roses and am getting fed up with getting ready to spray and end up spending more time hassling with the sprayer than putting spray on the roses, and thought I would see what works for others. I dont want to spend $400 on a fancy sprayer.....surely there is a medium priced one that hobby growers like myself can use. I dont mind filling it up frequently so dont need a huge one. Just want one that works consistently.
Judith
prairielaura
15 years ago
I can tell you a couple things NOT to buy. The one that is essentially a backpack tank (with straps over your shoulders) is way, way too heavy when it is filled. And the one on little wheels that is supposed to roll along beside you is guaranteed to flip over and dump out the contents every few yards---the top does not truly seal, and the wheels are junk. So I'm back to the cheap pump sprayers and I just expect to replace them regularly. It does help to wash them after each use, but I'm often too lazy.
The ideal sprayer would look like a (smaller) home propane tank and have bicycle wheels.
alameda/zone 8/East Texas
Original Author
15 years ago
I am glad I'm not the only one having these problems. Dont know why it is so challenging to find a good sprayer when we can get a man on the moon.....I have a new $8 sprayer I got for less in Walmart's closeout last fall.....I am not investing $70+ [cheapest I can find] on a sprayer unless I have good reports on it. I know that people with hundreds of huge bushes and that exhibit buy they expensive ones, but I dont need that. Just need one that works! Thanks prairielaura for your input! Hoping to hear more....
Judith
mike_rivers
15 years ago
Judith, what are you spraying? If it's something insoluble like sulfur or any of the surface fungicides like Mancozeb, your cheapest solution might be to simply switch to soluble fungicides like Banner Maxx.
buford
15 years ago
3 years ago I bought Stilh backpack sprayer. It holds 4.5 gallons of solution. It does get a bit heavy, but it's the best sprayer I've had. It has an external pump, so that you can open the spray container and not lose pressure. It's hand pump, not electric, but you only have to pump once in awhile and it's not difficult at all. The spray arm is very long and you can adjust the spray. I paid $99

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Need Advice on Rose Sprayers

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alameda/zone 8/East Texas
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midnightgardener

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Need Advice on Rose Sprayers

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alameda/zone 8/East TexasOriginal Author

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