Help!!!!!

[Ak_Orchid]

I'm not sure If I might have permanantly damaged most of my orchid collection. I had been having problems with Spider Mites throughout the winter. I treated them with an 80% Neem solution a while back, and it didn't even seem to even completely kill the first wave. About a month or so later I went looking for something else to treat them with. I found an Organic Pestiside at Lowes that I purchased.

Just this last weekend I treated every plant in my house (mature plants & rooted seedlings) The Pestiside has a VERY strong peppermint/wintergreen smell. The plants that seemed to take it the worst were the Cattleyas. Fortunitly I was already looking for a good home for them, and didn't plan on keeping them. Unfortunitly, my phals also took a serious hit.

I've since run water through all of the plants (1 or 2 days after applying) however there seems to be severe root damage. All the tips have been fried, and many roots have just shriveled up. I know I made a HUGE mistake by not testing it out on a couple plants I didn't really care about. I've learned from that. Now I'm trying to save my plants. There's sooo much damaged to some of the younger plants I'm scared I could lose them all. I've currently have over 500 seedlings, and 50+ Mature Plants. I think that the mature plants are just gonna hate me for a while, but I want to try something to salvage my seedlings.

PLEASE HELP!!!! (please don't tell me there's nothing I can do )

Thanks,
Sean

[janet_a]

what kind of pesticide was it? what's it say on the label?

[Ak_Orchid]

The Company the makes it is called "Green Light" Organic Insect Control. Everything on the lable led me to believe that it was safe to use on ANYTHING, indoor and out. It even says that with Fruiting plants that you can use this produce till the day that it's picked. The reason I chose this particular one is because it said it was safe around pets. The last product I used had a very unplesant odor to humans, and my dogs were acting a little lathargic. I've re-checked most of my plants after coming home tonight, and sad to say the seedlings are still being affected the most. The leaves are very soft, not firm at all. I really don't know if there's anything I can do now, but I'm willing to try anything.

Thanks
Sean

[janet_a]

-scratching head-

was this a mix-it-yourself thing, or one of their ready to use ones?

http://www.greenlightco.com/

if you mixed it yourself, maybe the concentration was too high?* otherwise, you may very well want to give them a call and tell them what happened. if it was this stuff

http://www.greenlightco.com/products...ct%20Spray.pdf

and you put the plants back in the sun, they may have gotten cooked by all the oils. also some oils can be very strong--pure peppermint oil can actually burn sensitive skin.


* for instance, i note in your original post you said 80% neem-- i trust you meant .8%? normally neem sprays are very dilute.


for the moment, you may want to put the babies in plastic bags to prevent them drying out until they can get some new roots. next time, try a mild neem or horticultural oil spray at two week intervals for about six weeks. nothing really gets every bug the first time. good luck!

[Ak_Orchid]

I feel like such a newbie. Well I took the day off of work to try and save my orchids. I'm removing them out of the medium they're in now, and flushing them with water. Most of the root structures are destroyed or being destroyed. It looks like root rot on the roots in the medium and any roots outside of the pots just shriveled up to nothing. I might be able to save a few, but sad to say this is going to be a VERY expensive lesson for me to learn. I'm going to lose 95% of the seedlings and even a few mature plants. *sigh* This is definitly the saddest day in my orchid history. At least it's spring, and I can order more flasks soon. Time to pick up the pieces and move on. Thanks for your help.

Sean

while you a culling the collection, now is the time to get rid of anything with mites. do you grow in your home? or is this a green house setting? a strong blast of water can help control many small pests till the insecticide takes hold,most of the time orchids are pretty hardy. maybe when you settle things out u might try a systemic. i have never used one but others have had success.

[Ak_Orchid]

LOL, at least I got a laugh out of something. Actually, after treating the orchids, there's no sign of any pests. The orchids that I removed from their medium and soaked in water for a while, then repotted them, MIGHT survive. I put a lot of them into community pots as I didn't want to possibly waste time and resources putting them into individual pots. I mostly tried to save my Violacea crosses, and species orchids. Only time will tell now.

Sean

[janet_a]

well, i'm feeling a touch of your pain; i treated my brother lancer for rot, and took a look at it last night and the damn thing was getting *moldy*. so i pulled it out of the pot completely, cut all the bad roots off, soaked it in H2O2 for about 20 mins, dusted the bottom with cinnamon, and now it, with its three good leaves and three good roots (basically just the crown of the plant) is sitting in a plastic bag out of the sunlight.

remind me again WHY we try to grow these things?!

[Heather]

I have had MORE trouble with "safer" soap and "organic" pest controls.
My advice - if it is a small infestation, just a few mites on a couple plants - spot treat with alcohol on a q-tip!
Ditch those nasty organics. I have had them dessicate leaves and kill roots.

No more! Just cause it sounds safe doesn't mean it is!