Preventive mix combo of physan 20 and neem oil

[phishin4dmb]

So I was thinking of a preventive mix that I do every 15 days or so that would consist of mixing physan 20 and neem together then spraying down the plants to help keep mold/rot/disease/pests away from my orchids.

Anyone every done this? My research has come up with this mixture...

1 tsp pure Neem oil
1/2 tsp Hand soap
1/2 tsp Physan 20
32 oz Water

This mixture would be a one day mix to spray on all my orchids. I was thinking this would be easier than doing 32 oz bottle of neem and another 32oz bottle of Physan..

Thoughts and suggestion are more than welcome

P.S. I posted this is the bugs/disease section as well

[Swamper]

Try it, keep a log and tell us what happens.

[phishin4dmb]

So I did it today and it came out pretty good.

1) the smell of the neem and psysan seem to dull each other out. The orchids are in the family room and there is no noticeable smell.

2) one 32oz bottle covered about 30 orchids.

3) more to come in the following weeks.

[Ray]

As a preventive, I'd probably halve the Physan concentration, as that is 2 teaspoons per gallons, which is full strength, and some plants don't take kindly to repeated doses at that rate.

[Seiggy74]

It's been several months since you posted your formula of combining Physan 20 and neem oil. How well did you orchids handle this mixture?

[fateisinmyhands]

Seems to have been a few years, but I'm thinking of using this formula to treat a very sick Vanda I just rescued. It has scales and a build up of black mold from the high humidity this guy was getting in a corner, and from the bug feces D: yuuuck!
Just curious if any one else has used this combo successfully since this post! Much appreciated in advance

[PaphMadMan]

Old thread, but a couple comments in case anyone is considering it.

"Hand soap" can mean many things, with vastly different ingredients and concentrations, and usually is detergent rather than soap, and with other ingredients that have no useful purpose. I'm not a fan of the many home-made soap sprays people use on their plants, mostly because people don't really know what they are using, or why. One thing any soap can do is make sure the spray really wets the foliage (and the insects, fungi, etc.) rather than beading up and rolling off without doing anything. With this mix the Physan does that anyway, so if you aren't using a soap with known effectiveness and safety I'm not sure why you would include it.

Combining the neem with so much soap and Physan means it will more easily wash away with the next water to hit the plant instead of stick around and do some long term good. If you want to waste the neem and your time that way, go ahead.

And Ray's point about using Physan (or anything) above the recommended concentration is valid. More is not always better.

[fateisinmyhands]

I was definitely going to reduce the amount of Physan and was considering dropping the soap because Physan is an effective wetting agent. I will definitely do that now, thanks.
So by reducing the Physan and dropping the soap this will be an effective way to treat the issues on this Vanda I want to rescue? I just couldn't find the research to back it up before using the combo.

[PaphMadMan]

I wouldn't expect any problems combining neem and Physan at recommended levels. It should be as safe and effective as using them separately. The kind of long term multiple problems you're trying to address with this plant probably wouldn't respond to a single approach. Good luck.

[fateisinmyhands]

I figured that if I can save this poor guy it's going to require a lot of tedious attention, a sanitary toothbrush, a good bath and a scrub. Thank you for your help