Death of unopened flowers in cattleyas

[Roberta]

I have used Orthene and had no bad effects. Bayer Advanced 3-in-1 was great, but the formulation is no longer for sale, They have another formulation that they're now selling in place of it... I can't vouch for the efficacy because I haven't tried it (when imidacloprid started showing up on "banned" lists I laid in a rather large supply of the original formulation so I'm set for several years, I use the stuff very sparingly and surgically for specific problems, not as a preventative) But the new Bayer product is worth a try as a broad-spectrum pesticide that doesn't seem to harm flowers. (If you get that, let us know whether it does the harm to bugs that it is supposed to)

I looked around, I think the new product is called BioAdvanced 3-in-1 Insect Disease and Mite Control Concentrate, there's also a dilute "ready to use" form (not cost-effective if you're going to use much of it but might be OK if you just want to try it)

[Merita]

Originally Posted by Roberta

I have used Orthene and had no bad effects. Bayer Advanced 3-in-1 was great, but the formulation is no longer for sale, They have another formulation that they're now selling in place of it... I can't vouch for the efficacy because I haven't tried it (when imidacloprid started showing up on "banned" lists I laid in a rather large supply of the original formulation so I'm set for several years, I use the stuff very sparingly and surgically for specific problems, not as a preventative) But the new Bayer product is worth a try as a broad-spectrum pesticide that doesn't seem to harm flowers. (If you get that, let us know whether it does the harm to bugs that it is supposed to)

I looked around, I think the new product is called BioAdvanced 3-in-1 Insect Disease and Mite Control Concentrate, there's also a dilute "ready to use" form (not cost-effective if you're going to use much of it but might be OK if you just want to try it)

I used to buy Bayer products, with one of them I made a killing of Phals because he fell into the roots, I still have them stored in the garage. Here I put these to see if any is the one you say, I remember there were several. If it's none of these, could you send me a picture of yours and the Orthene that you use? Greetings and thanks for your help.

[Roberta]

Originally Posted by Merita

I used to buy Bayer products, with one of them I made a killing of Phals because he fell into the roots, I still have them stored in the garage. Here I put these to see if any is the one you say, I remember there were several. If it's none of these, could you send me a picture of yours and the Orthene that you use? Greetings and thanks for your help.

I'm not sure who the "he" is that fell into the roots. But I use the one on the left - 3-in-1 Insect Disease and Mite Control For Use on Trees, Shrubs, Roses and Flowers. It's a liquid concentrate. I use about 2.5 - 3 tablespoons per half gallon (5-6 tablespoons per gallon). I also add a few drops of dishwashing liquid to help emulsify the concentrate, and also to facilitate its spread on the plant. I have sprayed roots, flowers, leaves, and medium and have never had a problem. If the concentrate fell into a pot, of course it could be disastrous. But at this dilution I have found it to be quite benign.

The granules designed for roses I think also contain fertilizer, and the product is scattered over roots - that would be too strong for orchids. Save that for roses or other plants that grow in dirt.

The Orthene product that I use is Orthenex, which is an oily liquid conceentrate. (I think I also have another similar green plastic bottle just labeled "Orthene" in the garage) The stuff really stinks...and I think the Bayer's kills more kinds of pests. I only use the Orthenex as a "back up" or "second product" for an infestation that needs extra "persuasion" since it does smell so bad. This is the stuff :

[katrina]

I had used the Bayer imidacloprid products for years for scale and a couple of years ago I discovered that is wasn't working anymore. I had developed a resistance issue. The scale seemed to be laughing at my spraying. I went looking for something else and heard good stuff about AzaMax so I opted to try that and it has worked great.

For scale, I do 3 sprays at 7-10 day intervals and it knocks out the scale. This past winter was the first in a few years where I wasn't dealing w/scale all winter. As soon as the weather warmed and I was able to open windows, I did start finding some scale but the winter was worry free.

Reading the label...it's also good for thrips and many, many other pests, including spider mites.

This is not a systemic, it works on contact and via ingestion by the pests. It is a growth regulator and it's active ingredient is Azadirachtin...which comes from the Neem seed. I have only had issues w/scale so I can't speak from experience to it's control on other pests but if it works as well w/those as it does w/scale...it will be great.

As a side note...like Neem, it stinks like crazy but the smell dissipates mostly after it dries. Use gloves and protection when using...like you would w/any other insecticide. It may be neem based but it's still an insecticide so it can harm bees if you actually hit the bees so only use it early in the morning or late in the evening when they aren't as active. Personally, I only do sprays very early in the morning.

I get it on Amazon and most Hydroponics stores also carry it.