Terpguy, I'm grinning about the Dr. Bronners. In the 70s, when all the back-to-the-landers first got going, anything "natural" was way in, and nothing was more way in than Dr. Bronners peppermint soap. We used it full strength for showers - poured on rough loofahs, of course. :) Washed dishes with it, cleaned floors and windows and cars - it was ubiquitous. I feel more grounded w/ a small bottle in the cabinet at all times and have never minded the strong aroma - probably still influenced by the mindset of the time. When the eucalyptus and almond Dr. Bronners came out - well, the stratosphere was a better place. That said, a commercial grower offers this recipe for a homemade insecticidal soap: For a gallon of water - 1/2 to 1 cup alcohol 1 tbsp cooking oil - Canola being preferred 1 tbsp Dawn dishwashing soap One question - what are people's thoughts about 1600 X-clude? It's also recommended by one of the commercial growers. The label says active ingredients are Pyrethrins; Piperonyl Butoxide, Technical (equivalent to 1.76% [butylcarbityl] [6-Propylpiperonyl] ether and 0.44% of related compounds); and N-Octyl Bicycloheptene Dicarboximide. All these are under 3%. It's swell to use - in the garage (if it's gotten too cold outside), outside w/ no wind and in late afternoon (no direct sun), or in the greenhouse, put a lot of plants together, stand a couple of feet away, and spray with a few sweeps back and forth. Repeat in a week. Supposedly, it's okay to use in the house, except for fish and birds, but I won't do it w/ our 3 cats and 2 dogs. The can has those warnings about if it's swallowed, if in the eyes, if on skin or clothing, and if inhaled. Nope. The label says it kills just about everything that attacks indoor/outdoor plants and ornamental trees, including ants and gnats, plus kills cockroaches, spiders, flies, crickets, silverfish, fire-brats(???), and moths. There are several pdfs available online that give complete label info, but I don't know how to link to them here. This last summer, my plants stayed inside. The 2 summers before, they got sprayed w/ the 1600 X-clude twice before coming in, plus a couple of times during the summer. This year is the first time I've had problems w/ pests. Dunno if it's cause and effect. Spider mites got going before I even knew it - barely beyond newbie grower. Since then, I've used lots of Safers or equivalent and have wiped a lot of leaves w/ alcohol. Another factor may be that I used to wash leaves w/ my fingers under running water whenever plants were flushed, and I've cut way back on that for several reasons - too many orchids being one. Bottom line is so far, I've been reactive, rather than pro-active. Good topic, Kevin, esp. because orchids have to be inside in the Northland. Whitecat8 Here is a link that might be useful: 1600 X-clude

Kevin, thanks for the offer but I don't really have anything to haul it in. I did call Alpine gardens and they told me they were not going to have the red one but they did say they would have a lime green one and a green one with red splotches on it. It was a kid I was talking to so I am not sure if it is the Abyssinian Banana or maybe I different type. I plan on going up there sometime in April to see what they have. I would love some more of your cannas if you can spare a few. Thanks Linda

I lost my big beautiful tree fern to scale, which has now infected nearly every plant I have. I washed each leaf,stem, etc. with dish soapy water several times, finally started using some spray that is supposed to kill them but is more environement safe and I don't know yet if it is working. Scale and mites are the messiest bugs! Bad enough they kill the plant but in the process they produce this disgusting sticky substance that literally drips off the leaves! I remember finding a solution to your problem, take a cotton swab and dip into rubbing alcohol and touch each one. Unfortunately, you have a rather large infestation, so will take some effort to get that many. Do it at least once a week and they should start dying. good luck, I hope you can save yours. BTW do you have any starts of tree fern that I could trade you for? I would love to find one again. The nurseries here rarely have them.

Is it presently growing indoors? How is it mounted? How old is it? What species is it? Does it have any shield fronds?