Cleaning orchid leaves

[Spider]

Milk, simply use a cottonpad with a few drops of milk. It does not harm the plant and it works wonders.

[katfemme89]

Here's what I want to know: WHY is Leaf Shine frowned upon? I don't understand. I use it and it does fine... I mean I don't see why people would rather use mayo or milk which stinks after a while than use something odor free in a convenient spritz bottle?

Just wondering.

[IdahoOrchid]

Originally Posted by katfemme89

Here's what I want to know: WHY is Leaf Shine frowned upon? I don't understand. I use it and it does fine... I mean I don't see why people would rather use mayo or milk which stinks after a while than use something odor free in a convenient spritz bottle?

Just wondering.

Actually, I don't use anything other than water and light toothbrushing on leaves I want to clean. Mostly I don't use anything.

What is it about leaf shine? I don't thing there is anything inherently wrong with leaf shine. It is the JUDGING people that have decided it is not a good thing. If you don't plan on having your flowers judged, then proceed as you have.

[cupcake]

Is that full fat mayo?

[katfemme89]

But why do the judging people disapprove of it? Is it viewed as some kind of a quick-fix or something?

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by katfemme89

But why do the judging people disapprove of it? Is it viewed as some kind of a quick-fix or something?

As an AOS Judge, I personally don't have any problem with these sorts of "cleaning" ideas, but they aren't really necessary.
When I see a shiny leaf, I usually suspect insect troubles such as scale or mealybug. It just makes me look a bit closer. Good clean water works as good as anything for cleaning leaves. If you have a lot of minerals in your water then that is another story......

[IdahoOrchid]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

As an AOS Judge, I personally don't have any problem with these sorts of "cleaning" ideas, but they aren't really necessary.
When I see a shiny leaf, I usually suspect insect troubles such as scale or mealybug. It just makes me look a bit closer. Good clean water works as good as anything for cleaning leaves. If you have a lot of minerals in your water then that is another story......

Would you not select or award a flower that had scale or mealies, even if they were not directly on the flower?

If not, why not?

[Bill_NeOh]

I've always used Murphy's Oil Soap that comes in the spray bottle on a paper towel to clean orchid leaves. I always rinse well after cleaning but not sure rinsing is required.

[Phantasm]

Originally Posted by IdahoOrchid

Would you not select or award a flower that had scale or mealies, even if they were not directly on the flower?

If not, why not?

A plant that is infested is automatically precluded from being looked at and should be pulled from the show so it doesn't spread the problem. If a plant has such noticeable problems it is likely that it will have a short lifetime. Good culture is an important part of an award quality blooming and poorly grown plants are rarely awarded.

If you had a plant in a typical orchid show would you want your clean plant staged next to a plant covered in scale?

[Gwenchanter]

I use Botaniwipes

I absolutely love them!! SO easy to use and they smell nice too. The guy who sold them to me at the WOC in Miami said they help keep pests off of them too. Sometimes you have to clean them twice with the wipe to get all the water spots off, but once they are clean they stay clean and they are pretty but not overly glossy/shiny. They just look like healthy leaves. I paid 10 dollars for one box which has 50 wipes.

Here is the website wwBotani Wipe