Insecticide on flowers?

[boxerfan]

This might sound kind of stupid, but here goes. Is it safe to spray flowers/buds with insecticide and/or fungicide? Don't laugh too hard, this is a definite newbie question. Thanks, Lisa

[turkeytaker]

If there are bugs on the flowers that are harmful to your plants, it's better to harm the flowers than to not spray.

Most things won't make flowers happy, but I've had okay luck with bugs and soapy water/Safer's soap.

Unless you've got a reason to spray the buds or flowers, like obvious signs of bug problems, it'd probably be best to leave them be. If your flowers have botrytis (fungus that can show up on flowers), no amount of fungicide is going to make the spots go away, so it's better, in my opinion, to leave them be.

[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

Pyrethrin on flowers will have to be a very light dusting, or it will hurt them. Neem doesn't seem to hurt flowers much, but mites are chlorophyll eaters, so won't need to spray flowers with neem if that is your problem. Imidaclorid seems to not harm most flowers, and Phyton 27 seems to be OK. Anyone else have some experience to share?

[jerrymeola]

I am using Worm Tea for flowers as an insecticide. It works against most insects and is harmless to flowers.

I am using Worm Tea at outdoor shows 5-6 times a day on the flowers to protect them from heat damage. It has been extremely successful. Oncidium this past weekend did not suffer in direct Florida Sun for hours at a time. No drying of the flowers and no browning of the leaves.

[Second_Chance]

What exactly is worm tea and where can I find it? I thought it was more like a nurtient rich fertilizer water. Thanks