On 01/03/2013 17:22, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
On Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:10:35 +0000, David Hill wrote:

On 27/02/2013 13:25, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
We have two lemon trees indoors by the bi-folds.

They are doing well apart from the aphids.

From recent Googling the biological controls are not available yet
this
year.

Spraying advice doesn't seem to include Citrus in the UK.

Any recommendations?
More importantly, anything NOT to use?

They can be considered ornamental at the moment because they are
showing no sign of flowering.

Cheers

Dave R

Well we've seen a variety of ideas so far:-
My thoughts are as follows Most insecticides have a time before harvest,
even Organophosphorus was 2 weeks,
The chemical of choice in the US is found in Tumble Bug.
Whilst the plants are indoors, I'd move them outside to spray if you
can, then move them back inside.
If you are spraying with anything that may harm bead then don't spray
when in flower if possible, or if the plants are not to big then net
them for a couple of days after spraying to keep the bees etc. off them.
David @ the dull end of Swansea Bay where we are still waiting to see a
glimpse of the sun.

Thanks for all the helpful contributions.

I haven't seen any bees around outside so far this year and there
certainly aren't any inside.
As the lemon (or other citrus) don't have any flowers then they are
unlikely to attract bees anyway.
Lack of flowers gives us a very long time until there is any suggestion of
edible fruit.
It has also been chuffin freezin so taking plants out of a centrally
heated room,


Could this centrally heated room be causing the loss of growing tips, as
well as providing ideal conditions for the aphids? Is there nowhere
else cooler (as well as bright enough) where they could be housed until
the weather improves?



spraying them, then leaving them until they have dried off
enough to come inside may be a little traumatic for them (and me).

So I am really looking for something which can be used indoors without
damaging a laminate floor - small quantities of mist preferred.


Is it possible to put them in the bath while you spray them? An open
window would be essential. Since you're spraying indoors, the safer
soapy spray might be a good first approach. It will reduce the aphids,
allowing you to use less of your chosen noxious spray outdoors in a few
weeks' time.



At the moment one lemon is losing its growing tips - they fall off if we
try and remove the aphids - so spraying with a chemical seems to be the
sensible option.

In a month or so they can be put outside to acclimatise then take their
chances.

At the moment they are growing, which is a good thing as they have had a
hard life.

The root stock with the graft killed off a couple of years back is going
wild and has the look of a potentially large bush by summer.

The lemon cutting bought from the Range a few years back is far less
vigorous and this is the one most in need of chemical help.

Will post pictures of the root stock leaves in a while (see other thread)
in the hope that it can be identified.

I do have this vague ambition to grow the lemon on a bit then try and
graft a bit onto the rootstock.

Which then makes me wonder if anyone has produced a citrus 'family tree'
with lemons, limes and oranges.



Not seen one yet;
maybe yours will be the first.

Cheers

Dave R


--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay

On Fri, 01 Mar 2013 18:12:54 +0000, Spider wrote:

On 01/03/2013 17:22, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
On Thu, 28 Feb 2013 15:10:35 +0000, David Hill wrote:

On 27/02/2013 13:25, David.WE.Roberts wrote:
We have two lemon trees indoors by the bi-folds.

They are doing well apart from the aphids.
snip

Could this centrally heated room be causing the loss of growing tips, as
well as providing ideal conditions for the aphids? Is there nowhere
else cooler (as well as bright enough) where they could be housed until
the weather improves?
snip
Is it possible to put them in the bath while you spray them? An open
window would be essential. Since you're spraying indoors, the safer
soapy spray might be a good first approach. It will reduce the aphids,
allowing you to use less of your chosen noxious spray outdoors in a few
weeks' time.
snip

Just for a bit of context, here are some photos to show the two plants and
their current location.
http://s817.beta.photobucket.com/user/LittleGreyCatUK/library/Citrus

You can see that one tree is growing like a hooligan and the other is
struggling.

You can also (hopefully) see on the smaller tree the major distortion of
the new leaves caused by aphid attack.

As you can see, they are in substantial pots so moving them is not a small
undertaking.
The castors on the base help.
They could be trundled into the downstairs wet room for a soapy shower
(hmmm....just put them under the shower?) but their current location is
not suitable for anything other than misting.

They were brought in at the start of the very hard frosts, and at the time
were pretty much waterlogged from the rain, so they responded quite well
to being brought into a light, airy and warm environment.

I would like to keep them in until late April/early May to avoid too much
of a check on their growth.
Previously they have lived outside all year round and not taken well to
the harsher winters.
I may be able to house them somewhere cool and light in a year or so.

However as they grow all the year round, if I can just check the aphids I
think they will do very well over winter in our living area.

Plenty of warmth and light, they generally don't mind dry conditions, and
if they keep on growing all year round they should gain a lot more growth
than spending most of the summer recovering from the winter.

There is also a picture of new leaves on the rootstock (the vigorous one)
in the hope that someone can identify the variety.

Cheers

Dave R

In article , David.WE.Roberts
writes

So I am really looking for something which can be used indoors without
damaging a laminate floor - small quantities of mist preferred.


SB Plant Invigorator - not cheap, but excellent - at getting rid of bugs
and feeding the plant. You mix it up in your own sprayer, so if you
have one that produces a fine mist, Robert is your father's brother.

I use it a fair bit on most plants. Non-toxic - the anti-bug bit is
supposed to be a physical block

Its pretty much too good to be true - I find it eexcellent. Great for
citrus as it also deals with chlorosis, etc.

http://www.sbproducts.co.uk/


--
regards andyw

In article , news
writes
Its pretty much too good to be true - I find it eexcellent. Great for
citrus as it also deals with chlorosis, etc.

http://www.sbproducts.co.uk/

The post might have implied it, but I meant to specifically say that it
is completely non-toxic (in the sense that it isn't the sort of
pesticide that requires regulatory testing).

Re bees - (from the website)

"Unlike many other pesticides SBPI does not harm birds & bees

Used by professional and amateur growers and gardeners worldwide. Helps
to produce quality fruit, vegetables, flowers, bushes, shrubs and trees.

Controls a wide range of important pest species that include Whitefly,
Aphid, Spider Mite, Mealybug, Scale and Psyllids.

SBPI has a “physical mode of action�. The mode of action is
non-chemical and non-biological. If applied correctly pests will not
become resistant to SBPI.

There is no harvest interval after applying SBPI. The efficacy is
excellent."

Someone will probably turn round and say it is just expensive washing up
liquid with some plant feed in it - but I swear by it (and despite the
gushing praise, I'm nothing to do with the company).

Best to do top and bottom sides of leaves - so even with a fine spray
you might want to put some newspaper on your laminate around the plant.


--
regards andyw

On 04/03/2013 09:35, news wrote:
In article , David.WE.Roberts
writes

So I am really looking for something which can be used indoors without
damaging a laminate floor - small quantities of mist preferred.


SB Plant Invigorator - not cheap, but excellent - at getting rid of bugs
and feeding the plant. You mix it up in your own sprayer, so if you
have one that produces a fine mist, Robert is your father's brother.

I use it a fair bit on most plants. Non-toxic - the anti-bug bit is
supposed to be a physical block

Its pretty much too good to be true - I find it eexcellent. Great for
citrus as it also deals with chlorosis, etc.

http://www.sbproducts.co.uk/

ROTFLMAO.

I had a look at the ingredients, and they seem to have missed the main
one off - Snake Oil.

You said it yourself "It's pretty much too good to be true".

--

Jeff

On Wednesday, February 27, 2013 1:25:59 PM UTC, David.WE.Roberts wrote:

We have two lemon trees indoors by the bi-folds.
They are doing well apart from the aphids.
From recent Googling the biological controls are not available yet this
year.
Spraying advice doesn't seem to include Citrus in the UK.
Any recommendations?
More importantly, anything NOT to use?

Spraying water upwards wipes aphids out


NT