aka "systemic" rather that "topical" or "foliar" insectcide.

Don't Eat the Bananas.

I wouldn't want to try it. It's used for trees, shrubs and roses. On the FAQs, it states that it is not labeled for perrenials or flowers. So it doesn't really seem safe for anything that isn't wood.

I have used this outdoors on crape myrtle, tropical and hardy hibiscus, and red maple for whiteflies, on which it works very well. It is not listed for mites; in fact, some of the growers on the tropical hibiscus mail list have reported an increase in spider mites two to three weeks after using this product, which they have to treat with a miticide. I also see only one type of scale listed on the label - don't know if it will help others, but then again I'm not sure that bananas are all that prone to scale - I've not had any scale on them so far, but I've only been doing bananas a couple of years.

The product is not listed for indoor use. And you cannot eat any bananas you might get.

I use this often and it works great for most pests, but I use it on my large shrubs and bushes. I would not use it on anything I plan to eat. I used this on a veggie garden a long time ago (Didn't know any better) then read the directions which said not to do it. I called the company and they said to destroy the plants. Even if there was no veggies yet, the chemicals stay in the plant and will be in the veggie/fruit once it does come out.

The active insecticide in this preparation is Imidacloprid. This is the same ingredient in the topical "topspot" flea and tick preparations (like Advantage and Advantix) used on dogs. This ingredient is toxic to cats.

This insecticide is also marketed under the names "Marathon" and "Merit". One is for home gardening use on ornamentals, the other is for professional nursery use. I forgot which is which, both are VERY expensive.

This is also the same ingredient Bayer puts into their "Rose and Flower care". The Rose and Flower preparation also has a fertilizer component, because it has been shown that the simultaneous application of a nitrogen fertilizer aids plants in uptaking the insecticide. The rose prep also has a second, different insecticide added.

That is basically the ONLY difference between the tree and shrub prep and the flower and rose prep, except for a very very important difference: CONCENTRATION.

The tree and shrub prep is over 4 times stronger than the rose and flower prep. You have to pay attention to how you are diluting it.

I have used both of these products for scale and mealybug on heliconias, calatheas and gingers and frankly been very disappointed in their ability to get rid of these 2 predators. I have found that using something non-toxic like Neem Oil has worked 100 times better than this particular Bayer insecticide.

If you grow strictly as an ornamental, you can use this. DO NOT USE this product if you plan to eat any bananas you may produce.

I have not used this on anything except on 4 of my larger Sago's (Cycas Revoluta) which are about 15 gl. size that I overwinter indoors, last winter each one developed a scale problem about January. I gave them two applications over about a month time frame of that exact product and never had any more issues with scale.It didn't seem to affect the cycads in any negative form as they each had 2 new flushes this past summer.