Cocktails For Better Results Part 2 (if you missed part 1
and would like to see it, go to www.possumsupply.com
and look under Horticulture Hotline tab.)
For plants with perennial insect problems a great
combination to use this time of year is Neem Oil (Triact for commercial people
or large property folks) and Dominion Drench. Horticultural oil is something
you could use in place of Neem Oil. I like the Neem Oil because it controls
certain fungi as well as killing overwintering insects like the oil.
Scale, aphids, lace bugs and whiteflies are a few insects
that are very host specific and attack the same plants year after year. One
easy way to tell if your plants are getting attacked is do they turn black from
the sooty mold every year? The oil will smother overwintering eggs and the
Dominion drench will move into the plant through the root system systemically
and protect the new young foliage as well as the old foliage.
When you do this drench of Dominion, there are many other
cocktail possibilities. SeaHume liquid, SuperThrive, Fish / Seaweed blend and
or 18-00-06 that could be added to the watering can of Dominion.
Crepe Myrtles, especially the older varieties, tend to get
aphids and powdery mildew. The Neem oil will provide short term control of both
of these detractors. The Dominion will be sucked up into the plant and provide season
long control against the aphids.
Scale is common on camellias, hollies, Fatsia and many, many
other plants in the Lowcountry. Scale hides behind a waxy covering it produces,
protecting it from birds, predatory insects and control products. By using
Dominion and going through the plant you bypass this waxy coating.
Gardenias use to be about impossible to grow because of
whiteflies. Whiteflies (scale, aphids, and lace bugs) reproduce so quickly, it
was very difficult to spray enough to keep the whitefly in check. Up until the
early 90’s most gardenias were black from sooty mold. Dominion changed weekly
sprayings into a once a year drench.
Lace bugs seemed to have really flourished during those dry
years we had a few years ago, and have not let up. Azaleas, lantana, oak trees and
sycamores are just a few hosts that really get attacked. Lace bugs are not
quite as bad with sooty mold. The leaves will look mottled and like the fluid
has been sucked out of them. If you look closely, you can see them and their
fecal matter on the underside of the leaves. Their camouflage would make the
folks of Duck Dynasty proud.
Since beneficial bug eaters do not feed on the plant by
drenching Dominion, you do not kill any beneficial insects that feed on other
bugs.
Always read, understand and follow product label. The
product label is a Federal Law.
