I would be most grateful for any organic suggestions

Many of the soap sprays that are marketed fit in with an organic program. In particular, you'll want to look for the words *potassium salts of fatty acids* on the label.

Spray in the evening or the morning, any time there is no direct sun on the plants. Important to spray all surfaces of plant, bottoms of leaves especially. Rinse off all of the soap spray after a couple of minutes if you wish, as it can make plants photosensitive in hot climates if left on. The soap spray works on contact by rupturing and dehydrating soft bodied insects. Treat twice a week for a couple of weeks (many soft bodied insects are on a 3 day lifecycle), then once every 7-10 days afterwards.

Thanks Suze! Is it ok to spray INSIDE the blossom? Unfortunately they are inside the blossoms in the heat of mid-day, so I was afraid spraying would burn. The problem is I don't see them during the cool early am or evening, when I don't have to worry about burning -- and the spray requires direct contact. Ok, you gave me an idea... I'll try shaking the plants till they fly off, then try spraying them as they fly off... hope the mist will catch some of them. Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Came across your post and I think I may have the same problem. I just started noticing that none of my blossoms on one of my Brandywine plants had no petals. Upon closer inspection most of the blossoms are brown and damaged looking.

I just bought and sprayed with some kind of insecticide... none of my other plants are having this issue, should I worry about it spreading?