Milk spray works against fungal infections on plants because of the lactobacillus and other types of cultures in it. Dunno about pasteurised milk, but adding some yogurt to the milky make the spray out of would probably ensure or increase its efficacy. I once used just "micro filtered" milk mixed with water and it worked. For the cypress tree disease in Italy, Neem oil (be sure to get the one made for mixing with water) mixed with Marseille soap, sprayed with a big agricultural sprayer, on the tree, and the trunk and on the ground around the tree, when the temperatures won't rise above 30 degrees centigrade, used with magnesium sulphate (Epsom salts)--a few heaping soup spoonsful scattered on the ground around each tree twice a year, or a stronger magnesium solution poured on the ground if the tree is really pale and wan, along with watering weakest trees in periods of drought helps. It is important to also prune allthe dead branches out and to take off any damage at the tip of the tree. The trees can grow back if there is even one good branch left, it will form a new tree. You need to spray in the weather which puts them most at risk, hot humid weather when it rains in the summer--it is tricky to time it properly. Be sure not to plant anything against the trunk that would hold water on the trunk, as it can cause the trunk to rot and kill the tree. I have the idea of trying using the natural mineral fertiliser fulvic acid around the trees at the beginning of summer. The magnesium sulphate makes the trees visibly greener. Neem oil seems to be more than a fungicide and insecticide, it seems to nourish the trees too. Another possibility for the fungal diseases is Effective Microorganisms (EM). The magnesium sulphate furnishes the central mineral that they need to use to make chlorophyl which should help them fight the disease by raising their metabolism. These things should help combat fungal disease on roses too.

Hi woohooman, When I use Neem Oil for PM, I have only ever sprayed it in the cool of the evening. I usually wait until it is almost hard to see outside because if I spray at dusk, sometimes I still see a few bees buzzing around the plants and of course I don't want to hurt them. I have personally never noticed a problem the next morning when it gets hot. I live in San Diego east county so you know how scorching it gets out here! The neem for me has worked well on both my butternuts and by zucchs. I am just starting to see PM on my acorn squash and will spray this weekend. Would be interested in trying the baking soda or the vinegar. If it works, it would be cheaper than the Neem for sure, though the butternuts do like the Neem Oil a lot! How did your plants do with the ACV rinse?

Judging by the vigor and health of my plants, it is definitely not stress, Donn. As long as they are kept watered, many grasses love this hot weather. Mine are growing like gang busters. Also, this is a strange year concerning weather in many parts of the country. Colder and wetter with a late onset of warm temps have been reported by some people posting here while we had an early onset of consistently warmer than normal temperatures starting in late February (70's and 80's). Seems half the country is under one extreme or the other. In any event, I would expect O. grasses grown in the South would always be further along than those grown in the North. I don't know what kind of weather you had there in NC this year, but when I lived there the winters were very mild and spring usually came in early comparatively speaking. I would expect your grasses to be well along by now. The warm season grasses take off as the temperature warms up. It makes sense that those with a month+ of extra growing time would be further along than say, those in Michigan or Long Island. As a matter of fact noting these regional differences, I was wondering if the reason some types of Miscanthus don't have time to produce blooms in more nothern states is based on the onset of warm temperatures more so than the earlier frost dates. Perhaps they need a certain number of days to ripen (like pepper crops) so the beginning of growth would be perhaps even more important than the first frost date in achieving that.

Just got inside after 8pm....it was 23. I let my barn help off today, roads not good, so did everything myself - horses all OK, got chickens in pet taxis in heated greenhouse and insulated room in barn, yanked as many roses as I could inside - some pots frozen where they sat. Have one climber in a big pot that is Heavenly Dawn, a gorgeous apricot that Jackson Perkins offered for a short time - roots grown in ground so didn't want to yank it up but got cushions from deck chairs and totally surrounded the bottom with thick layers, then tied canes together and put feed sacks over thickly and tied. Got all the roses I cant replace in barn, the ones too frozen and heavy I had already mulched. Its to get to 13 tonite. I guess what will live, will live. I did my best. My hat is off to all you who live and garden up north. No way I could do that! Hoping for the best but at least I got all my rare roses I cant replace inside. While I was inside warming up this afternoon, got a notice from Heirloom that Spiced Coffee is now available! So.....what does one do on a frigid winter day while taking a break from protecting roses from the cold? Order more! Along with Spiced Coffee, I got Ann Harkness. How's that for optimism? Thanks ya'll for all the great suggestions! One more night of this then its supposed to warm up and rain. Warm up is the key word!! Judith