Thanks Michael. I have a lot of blooms now after using the Bayer's 2 in 1, and sprayed Bayer's complete insect killer (front yard), Bioneem ( back yard) a couple of times. But I still have a lot of roses only have 50% of the buds can make it to bloom, and still have some roses without any blooms, I knew I didn't put enough amount Bayer's 2 in 1 on all the roses. I didn't put any around once bloomers, Polar Joy rose trees, newly planted bare root roses (planted in late May early June), now I see midge damage on those. It's time to treat them. I got one beautiful bloom out of MAC two weeks ago after 2 years of no blooms, that's a good start ....... Which product contains cyfluthrin-only? I googled it and found eBay has it-Cykick($38). Is that the one? I tried to spray only Bayer's complete insects killer for midge last year, It didn't work without Bayer's 2 in 1. I am willing to mix the fungicide and cyfluthrin only. If that can kill midge and I don't have to use Bayer's 2 in 1.($45 per treatment) If I still have to use both of them, it would cost me even more than current treatment($45+$38), I learned cost accounting, can you tell? :-) Thanks for a great idea.

Sandy, regarding the holy&berries, its usually not only spraying, but a whole set of things in the city environment. Most plants which are not self pollinating, need pollinators. However, in the city environment bees often are exterminated as a pest if the swarm happens to land somewhere by chance, also people tend to destroy bee nests if they find them somewhere in their property, instead of calling a bee keeper so safely remove it. Also usually there are not that many bee keepers close to the city, so no honey bees in flying distance from the city. In the city bumble bees are important pollinator, but again, in the urban gardens they lack habitat and food to really thrive (especially since bumble bees rarely make nest in same location next year). Even those few flowering weeds that somehow manage to appear in the lawns, tend to be herbicided and weeded out fairly quickly. Lawns, paved gardens, flower-less ornamental plants, all of that make any sane bee (or any other nectar feeding insect) to fly the other direction. Nectar feeding insects need continuous supply of it from different plants for the variety of diet, so you have to have something different blooming at any day of the season to really feed them well. In bee opinion wild flower mix seeds for 2$ are way better choice than roses and other fancy, but low on nectar plants for 200$. Also, in some climates bumble-bees are even more important pollinator, because they fly in more cold and wet conditions than the regular honey bees (or any other pollinator, due to their fur). Hence if you have an orchard and very cold wet weather when your orchard is blooming, you rely solely on bumble bees to pollinate it. Bumble bees in their turn need fallen tree logs, meadows, turfs or even just clumps of dried grass to establish their hives, so heavy cultivation and even tidy rose gardens are not really good for them. Also, many birds and insects like to use second hand nests for themselves, for example bumble bees like to use old mouse nests for their nests, so if the mouse population is exterminated aggressively, that also influences the well being of the bumble bees. It is possible to provide special hives for bumble bees though, but again, not everyone likes a bumble bee hive in their garden.

"But how a hormone that promotes cell division in plant cells can somehow trigger "more blossoms" on a plant escapes me." digdirt, I think I can point you in the direction of those slick marketeers, but it is a artsy area, as this is not a scientific statement, but rather a marketing claim. Let's look at label and do a little emasculation of our own: "BONIDE TOMATO & BLOSSOM SET SPRAY is a ready-to-use natural plant hormone product that provides Biological Grow Power to promote blossom set and fruit development. Used as directed, Tomato & Blossom Set Spray will promote flowering, increase blossom set and increase fruit yield." First observation: There are two separate claim statements that seem to repeat themselves somewhat (red flag, lame strategy to comply with FTC and misrepresent to consumers by having us assume what we want to hear). Clearly the hormone(s) used are claimed to promote blossom set and fruit development. That is the only claim on the cytokinins, but you, like 100% of everyone else who reads assumed more because of the next claim is purposely crafted to trick your mind with smoke and mirrors. The second claim refers to the spray, not the cytokinins, and here you are thinking, well, gee, that's all that's in the product obviously. However this is classic advertising wording to obscure that the formula has some other ingredients that actually do the "promote flowering" part stated in claim #2. Notice in claim #1 they call it a "hormone product" They can put whatever they want in there (it is now a product, it's a sleight of hand) and it can have the most minimal effect and the claim is still true. So all they have to do is put a tiny amount of nutrients in there probably food grade and GRAS not requiring labeling, and presto, they are promoting flowering. That is a valid claim for any fertilizer including a few ppm of vitamins and minerals. Mystery solved ;) PS, it's a good product, and as digdirt says it works in cool conditions. I have also tried it, but it is too inconvenient for my taste, because I usually want my tomatoes to have seeds in them. I find the seedy, tasty varieties I like just don't taste as good without them, and the product works but not really increasing seed count. I may be wrong, but that was my opinion. Possibly my error is that in those conditions the tomatoes taste crappy anyway. So it isn't something that I'm excited about anymore. But I agree you should give it a try. PC

The biggest problem with systemics is that they're non discretionary and kill beneficial insects along with the pests. The fungicides also kill the beneficial fungus in your soils. So many beneficial insects form bees to butterflies to dragonflies to others can be adversely affected by these chemical sprays not to mention their suspected links to health issues in children and pets. I guess it depends on whether the good outweighs the bad. Most suggest growing roses that aren't prone to fungal diseases and living with the insect damage unless it is severe. There are so many roses available that one can find that will get minimal or acceptable disease. Some Austins do well, many Kordes do well, the Easy Elegance Series do well in disease resistance. These roses run from tea-like blooms to peony style blooms and everything in between. Some are quite fragrant, others not so much. Peter Kukielski has an excellent reference book "Roses Without Chemicals" in which he rates 150 roses for disease resistance, flowering ability and scent. He was curator of the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden in NYC for several years and grew roses chemical free due to NY banning toxic pesticides and fungicide in public parks. He also gardens in coastal Maine so most of the roses he recommends are quite hardy. I have purchased several that he recommended and most have had very little fungal disease. Paul Zimmerman also has a book "Everyday Roses" on choosing roses that don't need to be on life support to survive. I try to not use chemical intervention if at all possible and don't spray for fungus and only spray pyrethrin as a last resort and directly on the insects when I see them since even though it is organic it still has detrimental effects on beneficial insects and is highly toxic to fish. You just have to decide if the risks and potential damage outweigh the gains. From Bonide label info: "This pesticide is toxic to fish, mammals, and aquatic invertebrates. Drift and runoff may be hazardous to aquatic estuarine/marine organisms in water adjacent to treated area. Do not apply directly to water, areas where surface water is present, or intertidal areas below the mean high water mark. Do not contaminate water when disposing of equipment washwater or rinsate. This product is highly toxic to bees exposed to direct treatment or residues on blooming crops or weeds. Do not apply this product or allow it to drift to blooming crops or weeds if bees are foraging. PROTECTION OF POLLINATORS APPLICATION RESTRICTIONS EXIST FOR THIS PRODUCT BECAUSE OF RISK TO BEES AND OTHER INSECT POLLINATORS. FOLLOW APPLICATION RESTRICTIONS FOUND IN THE DIRECTIONS FOR USE TO PROTECT POLLINATORS. Look for the bee hazard icon in the Directions for Use for each application site for specific use restrictions and instructions to protect bees and other insect pollinators. This product can kill bees and other insect pollinators. Bees and other insect pollinators will forage on plants when they flower, shed pollen, or produce nectar. Lambda cyhalothrin, one of the insecticides in Bonide Rose shield "can have corrosive effects on both the skin and eyes. Workers handling it reported facial tingling and burning, which lasted six hours to two days. Ingested lambda cyhalothrin is moderately toxic, although mammals are found to metabolize and excrete lambda cyhalothrin rapidly. The EPA identifies lambda cyhalothrin as a group D carcinogen, an undetermined human carcinogen (#NPTN)".