I took 4 hours last night to wipe down all my orchids with a mixture of
neem oil and insecticial soap because the humic acid I was adding to my
fert water caused something to precipitate. Am I obsesive or is this
normal?

On the bright side, B. little starts, one of my catts (something purple
I think) and a NOID plal are spiking.

I also caught 3 of my orchids that were on their way to rootless
wonders, soaking them in rooting my rooting mix before repotting, my
fault, two of the pots had small drain holes that got plugged with
mineral deposites, and the other was in rock wool and s/h which was too
moist for it (catt)

BTW is there something that I can use to cut throught the mineral on
the leaves, the neen oil leaves a nice luster, but some of the spots
are really hard to get off.

Jack

3 days until I get my new compots...

Try milk (whole, not low-fat), cut 50-50 with water. [It will also leave a
slight, natural-looking lustre. If that doesn't work, try weak lemonade or
a weak vinegar solution. The key is the acid, different ones work better on
different kinds of spots. Or look for one of the bottled leaf-shine
products that contains citric acid. Kenni

"Jack" wrote in message
oups.com...
BTW is there something that I can use to cut throught the mineral on
the leaves, the neen oil leaves a nice luster, but some of the spots
are really hard to get off.

Jack

3 days until I get my new compots...

Kenni and Jack,
I remember someone here on rgo (I think it was Al, actually) pointing out
that if one grows orchids indoors then using milk to clean leaves is a
really bad idea, due to the sour milk smell. Why _weak_ lemonade? I have
cleaned Phal leaves with undiluted lemon juice with no ill effect that I
could tell.
Joanna

"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
...
Try milk (whole, not low-fat), cut 50-50 with water. [It will also leave a
slight, natural-looking lustre. If that doesn't work, try weak lemonade
or a weak vinegar solution. The key is the acid, different ones work
better on different kinds of spots. Or look for one of the bottled
leaf-shine products that contains citric acid. Kenni

"Jack" wrote in message
oups.com...
BTW is there something that I can use to cut throught the mineral on
the leaves, the neen oil leaves a nice luster, but some of the spots
are really hard to get off.

Jack

3 days until I get my new compots...

I read about the acid after posting, I also read the vinager is a no no
because can hurt the plant.

Jack

What do folk that show orchids use? They must have something their
plants look so good!
Joe T
Houston

Major self-promoting plug coming.....

I sure sell one helluva lot of Rise & Shine for that. Look at this:
http://www.firstrays.com/RiseandShine.htm

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"jtill" wrote in message
oups.com...
What do folk that show orchids use? They must have something their
plants look so good!
Joe T
Houston

Ray, what is that stuff in those pots, I seem to recognize,,,right on
the end of my toungue.... ;-))

Orange oil and Pine are great cleaners, I buy it by the drum to add to
my carwash soap. Cleans and leaves a great smell in the wash bays!
Joe T

Milk.

K Barrett

"jtill" wrote in message
oups.com...
What do folk that show orchids use? They must have something their
plants look so good!
Joe T
Houston

Joanna: the milk should be rinsed or at least wiped off with clean water.
For the most part, this is WAY too time-consuming, but hey, Jack just
scrubbed them all with Neem, so I figure he's got time on his hands G.
I've used lemon juice, too, but had the same rinsing problem unless it was
weak to begin with [well, it wasn't the smell, but the ants seemed to think
the plant had become a Vitamin C dispenser G] Also, without knowing what
all he grows, I wouldn't want to say that ALL of them would tolerate
straight lemon juice. Same re the vinegar; it never hurt anything I used it
on, but ...

All of above is among the many reasons we switched to RO water several years
ago. If the plants don't get spotted up to begin with, they don't have to
be cleaned. Our system is obviously much larger (and more expensive) than
what a hobby grower would need (although it does also make good drinking
water, once you get used to the total lack of flavor), but I hear that there
are some really small [3-5 gallons a day] household units out now, at
relatively low prices. Kenni

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:Nue2g.129$BO2.28@trnddc02...
Kenni and Jack,
I remember someone here on rgo (I think it was Al, actually) pointing out
that if one grows orchids indoors then using milk to clean leaves is a
really bad idea, due to the sour milk smell. Why _weak_ lemonade? I have
cleaned Phal leaves with undiluted lemon juice with no ill effect that I
could tell.
Joanna

"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
...
Try milk (whole, not low-fat), cut 50-50 with water. [It will also leave
a slight, natural-looking lustre. If that doesn't work, try weak
lemonade or a weak vinegar solution. The key is the acid, different ones
work better on different kinds of spots. Or look for one of the bottled
leaf-shine products that contains citric acid. Kenni

"Jack" wrote in message
oups.com...
BTW is there something that I can use to cut throught the mineral on
the leaves, the neen oil leaves a nice luster, but some of the spots
are really hard to get off.

Jack

3 days until I get my new compots...

We have an RO system under the sink in the kitchen. We originally paid
around $200 for it and change the filters every six months or so. The unit
is good for something like 40 gpd. Of course, we only use it for ice,
drinking & cooking.

Diana

"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
...
Joanna: the milk should be rinsed or at least wiped off with clean water.
For the most part, this is WAY too time-consuming, but hey, Jack just
scrubbed them all with Neem, so I figure he's got time on his hands G.
I've used lemon juice, too, but had the same rinsing problem unless it was
weak to begin with [well, it wasn't the smell, but the ants seemed to
think the plant had become a Vitamin C dispenser G] Also, without
knowing what all he grows, I wouldn't want to say that ALL of them would
tolerate straight lemon juice. Same re the vinegar; it never hurt
anything I used it on, but ...

All of above is among the many reasons we switched to RO water several
years ago. If the plants don't get spotted up to begin with, they don't
have to be cleaned. Our system is obviously much larger (and more
expensive) than what a hobby grower would need (although it does also make
good drinking water, once you get used to the total lack of flavor), but I
hear that there are some really small [3-5 gallons a day] household units
out now, at relatively low prices. Kenni

"J Fortuna" wrote in message
news:Nue2g.129$BO2.28@trnddc02...
Kenni and Jack,
I remember someone here on rgo (I think it was Al, actually) pointing out
that if one grows orchids indoors then using milk to clean leaves is a
really bad idea, due to the sour milk smell. Why _weak_ lemonade? I have
cleaned Phal leaves with undiluted lemon juice with no ill effect that I
could tell.
Joanna

"Kenni Judd" wrote in message
...
Try milk (whole, not low-fat), cut 50-50 with water. [It will also leave
a slight, natural-looking lustre. If that doesn't work, try weak
lemonade or a weak vinegar solution. The key is the acid, different
ones work better on different kinds of spots. Or look for one of the
bottled leaf-shine products that contains citric acid. Kenni

"Jack" wrote in message
oups.com...
BTW is there something that I can use to cut throught the mineral on
the leaves, the neen oil leaves a nice luster, but some of the spots
are really hard to get off.

Jack

3 days until I get my new compots...

In article . com,
says...
~Ray, what is that stuff in those pots, I seem to recognize,,,right on
~the end of my toungue.... ;-))
Slug eggs? ;-))
--
--
Reka

This is LIFE! It's not a rehearsal. Don't miss it!
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