Hi Marcantonio, Did you apply the neem oil when the sun was still shining? I have been using neem oil for the last 3 years on my peach, plum and fruit cocktail trees and it works for me. However, I will not give those little pests the opportunity of building up a resistance to the oil so I am incorporating other solutions in my insecticide regime along with the neem oil-like home remedies; a mixture of cayenne pepper, garlic clove, mineral oil and a little dish detergent. When using most insecticides, you want to do it early in the morning before the sun comes up. Because I work until the evening, I do it in the evening although I try to make sure that it doesn't get too cool as to cause other problems like fungus, mold and mildew. I am in the deep south-georgia-and we have a lot of hot and humid weather here so I am always taking care to make sure that I dont spray anything during peak sunshine which is a lot in this location. You mentioned using spectricide as well-could it be that instead of the neem oil? I also allow the daddy long-legs to hang out on my fruit trees as well. I don't dismiss them until harvest time and then I just gently take them out of the trees along with their webs. I don't harm them, I just relocate them to my rose garden. LOL. They consume quite a lot of the little insects trying to make holes in my fruit and flowers as well. I have been gardening for about 8 years steadily and its been a lot of trial and error and it always will be-that comes with the occupation. LOL. However, if something doesn't work for me, I eliminate the product (provided I have done everything according to directions) and I go on to something else. You are in New York and the weather is very different than it is here in georgia so conditions will not be the same. I have always just used just 1 capful of neem oil to a gallon of water and I spray lightly above and under the leaves-within 1 week I saw a difference-that was 3 years ago and it has been a faithful product in my collection of insecticides, pesticides and fungicides since. Marcantonio, keep looking for products to take care of your specific concerns and you will find one-just don't give up because there is nothing like home-grown fruit and produce. It will be worth the effort in the long run! Schucks, a sun-ripened peach is simply indescribable but I guess you know this, thats why you are seeking help. Good Luck.

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

What that means is that when you prune your plant to give it a spray before it starts growing in the spring (while it's still dormant.) You would use a standard fungicide for roses that prevents black spot, etc. You can get these at Wal-Mart. I bought the one that says "Approved by the American Rose Society." You would do this as a preventative measure. Did you remove the leaves that have the rust? You could then spray it again. My friend who hybridizes roses told me to spray mine at least every two weeks. I'm doing what he said because he knows his stuff!

I guess it all depends on how much water your schefflera can safely take right now. I would wait until it needs a good watering to apply the Bayer systemic if that's what you're going to do, since you'll need to water it in or apply in a pre mix solution. Neem and the systemic work differently, so I don't see a problem with using both approaches as long as the soil isn't overly saturated for too long by the treatments. Neem also makes the plant more susceptible to sun burn, so keep that in mind. There will be many generations of aphids on your plant from egg-juvenile-adult, as well as below soil level. Unless you completely saturate the plant and the soil with neem, it won't knock them all out with a single application. Even then, I'm not certain that neem will kill unhatched eggs. And it definitely won't prevent new infestations from happening. I'm not a huge fan of systemic pesticides because they also kill beneficial insects (as does neem), but they are necessary at times to save a plant. A cotton swab dipped in an alcohol solution (or hand sanitizer) will make quick work of those aphids that are visible until you can treat with a systemic. Keep in mind that many systemics come with added fertilizers (designed for shrubs and roses)- which your bonsai may not react well to in its pre-fab concentration. There are a few without fertilizer, I would suggest one of those instead and continue with your own fertilization schedule. I've never used a systemic on smaller plants, just shrubs and roses and a very large copse of prickly pear- all badly infected with various scale insects. I do plan to apply systemic treatment to a potted crested opuntia (almost impossible to manually clean) with scale soon, but am waiting until it shows a spring break of dormancy first, when a soil drench of systemic pesticide solution will be possible. Until then, I'm manually removing the scale as I can once a week to keep things under control. I'm also keeping it separate from other plants to prevent spread of infection. I've found that aphids are often symbiotically socialized with ants that 'farm' them for their honeydew and aggressively protect them from predators. The ants will protect the aphids, almost like shepherds with sheep. Spraying off aphids will eliminate some, but I've also witnessed ants tenderly carrying aphids back to the plant from the soil. It's very sweet, but obnoxious.