Popular soap/cinnamon spray

[Carlie]

Hello, I would like to clarify the ingredients of this popular orchid spray. 10 drops of dish soap and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon extract (here is my question-I have always made extracts with either vodka or rum. Am I to use alcohol on my plants, will it burn them? Or, do I use straight cinnamon powder?) and 2 cups of tepid water. If the above is correct with cinnamon extract, I would appreciate your reply. Thank you,

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by Carlie

Hello, I would like to clarify the ingredients of this popular orchid spray. 10 drops of dish soap and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon extract (here is my question-I have always made extracts with either vodka or rum. Am I to use alcohol on my plants, will it burn them? Or, do I use straight cinnamon powder?) and 2 cups of tepid water. If the above is correct with cinnamon extract, I would appreciate your reply. Thank you,

That sounds about right, but no, not straight cinnamon powder. Cinnamon extract happens to contain alcohol anyway. This is reputed to be good for getting rid of critters and I believe is an anti-fungal as well.

Some say it also gets rid of spider mites, but whether it's effective against those is a matter of debate. Seems to have worked for me, although the leaves need to be sprayed (particularly the undersides) at least a couple times a week apart to get newly hatched eggs as well.

[Carlie]

Thank you for your reply. I was afraid that the extract would be too strong for the leaves. I shall give it a try.

[Island Girl]

I have made cinnamon extract with isopropyl alcohol & cinnamon powder... You just have to be able to strain out the powder before you use it, or you would clog your sprayer. I soak/steep the alcohol/cinnamon powder mix overnight (24 hours, usually), then strain w/ coffee filter. I just pour it back in the bottle the alcohol came in from the drugstore.

Is using (drinking) alcohol the same as isopropyl? I didn't think so, but maybe I'm mistaken?

[HighSeas]

It isn't the same. Isopropyl alcohol is nearly 100% alcohol. Alcohol used for human consumption is ethanol based and far less toxic because of the distillation and fermentation process.

The alcohol in the extract is the ethanol based variety and is mixed with distilled water. I have read that the extracts, once introduced into the distilled water, break down and emulsify rapidly. Apparently their effectiveness is greatly reduced in as little as 24 hours.

Because of this reduction in effectiveness, I prefer using Cinnamon powder and isopropyl with bit of dish detergent and oil. Since the Cinnamon powder in the isopropyl can be caustic, it's important....as has been mentioned, to strain it fairly good first.

[Carlie]

Thank you very much for your help. My local store seems to carry only the cinnamon powder, so I shall try that recipe. Thanks again,

[Vanda lover]

I was using this mixture with the cinnamon extract, but at a garden club meeting a speaker suggested using brewed rhubarb leaves with dish soap for insects on plants. I decided to try this, and added a little alcohol.
It works better than any homemade remedy I have ever tried. The oxalic acid is the active ingredient.

[Discus]

Originally Posted by HighSeas

It isn't the same. Isopropyl alcohol is nearly 100% alcohol.

Its chemical formula is also different - isopropyl alcohol (aka "propan-2-ol") has three carbon atoms in it while, ethanol, two and methanol, one. In high school chemistry I eventually rote learned meth-eth-prop-but-pent-hex and so on for carbon chains (1,2,3,4,5,6 in a row in the order given).
In this molecule, the "alcohol" part of the molecule (the -OH) hangs off the middle carbon atom in the chain of three.

So, long story short, no, drinking alcohol - ethanol, and propanol (whether it be isopropyl or otherwise) are not the same thing.

It's not necessarily nearly 100% pure propanol either - but it does tend to evaporate slightly less easily than ethanol.

[Carlie]

Vanda Lover and Discus, thank you for your replies.

[RosieC]

I've read the different molecule size of different alcohol types means some are absorbed into the plant while others aren't. For safe use on plants you want the sort not absorbed. Not sure if that's right, but that's the reason I always stick to Isopropyl for plants.