Velleta I am not a fan of Preventative Maintainance for plants. If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it. Unless you see something (and that goes for orchids also) don't use chemicals. Or anything else for that matter. Just my opinion. Rosie

I agree. Plus violets leaves are so delicate so I am sure they would get damage.

I was just wondering because I watched a video on you tube where someone bought some AVs and she immediately sprayed them with Neem oil.

She said she was getting rid of any unwanted pest or bugs. And I though what bugs?? Ahh well I suppose everyone does their own thing when growing AVS. Thanks Rosie:)

VELLETA

2 things are always happen to me - thrips are coming from outside every summer - and Powdery Mildew fungus happens every spring . This is something I cannot prevent - but I mitigate. As soon as I see sign of thrips - I spray, same - with Powdery Mildew - which comes with warm days and cool nights. The idea - is to squash the problem in a very beginning. I do not think you need to spray on schedule.

Thanks Irina, but what do you use to do your spraying? Velleta

OK in Jamaica we have newmectin for thrips, it's also systemic ( I have this) had a bad case on my vanda orchids and it's really good.

Not sure for the powdery mildew though ( never had it) but I will do my research I like to have my guns at home so the minute I see a problem then I can deal with it.

Thanks again :) velleta

Oh I forgot, on the optimara site they say that they brush the leaves with powdered sulfur and this does the trick for powdery mildew. Velleta

Powdery Mildew is the fungus that happens if you have warm days and chilly nights. It creates a lot of cold dew on the leaves even in a dry climate - perfect for PM to take root - and we have it on roses outside - and on AVs inside.

Doesn't look like you have this problem - count yourself blessed.

I.

Yes blessed indeed, Jamaica is hot most of the time and on ocassion we have a rainy season.

But I have never really experience powdery mildew on my AVS, but then again I couldn't keep them alive long enough either.

But this is definetly my year and since I now know what to use I think I am a lot more relax with them. Thanks again Irina.

Velleta

I tried this with success after reading it on an African Violet site. Lightly spray Lysol Disinfectant Spray on leaves when powdery mildew is first seen. One plant had 3 leaves that got covered overnight. Yes it was brought on by the temp change when summer afternoons warmed up the room to 79, then night a/c temps cooled things too extremely to 68. I sprayed 1 time & it never powdered up again. I opened the a/c vent more in that small room so day temp was cooler & never had the problem again. Hope this helps someone.

Veletta, I would never paint the leaves with sulfur for PM. I just set a small container of it in my plant tray. It always does the trick. And Lysol has never worked for me. Horticulturists these days use something called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Basically, it is a system that only treats when a problem has occurred and only treats to keep the problem at a level the plant can tolerate. For example-some powdery mildew can be tolerated but no number of thrips should ever be allowed on your plants. There is a lot of info on the inter-net if you are interested in learning more. The whole system was set up as an answer to all of the indiscriminate pesticides and such that were going into the environment.

The good feature of Lysol - it smells fresh, probably that's it. But what Tabb did improving the ventilation was the solution.

I've been doing a lot of reading about powdery mildew in particular. I really dislike the idea of waiting for disease to occur and then only controlling it. I guess I'm obsessive that way. But I don't know that there is any definite way of killing off powdery mildew completely. So I am now running a fan constantly for air circulation and I set two dehumidifiers around the violets to soak up excess moisture. I also bought some sulfur powder just in case any mildew dares to show its ugly face! But I no longer spray my plants on a schedule because it wasn't helping. I agree with Irina that ventilation/moisture control is the key.

I would say get prepared to spray for PM at the first sign. It doesn't happen - it doesn't happen. Or use now something that is preventative - Green Cure, Neem Oil, Physan. These concoctions are not poisonous and can be applied any time. You do not need to wear gas mask. Lysol - to freshen up the air.

Thanks Irina, I do have Lysol and physan. Velleta

Velleta - you do not have Powdery Mildew in Jamaica - correct?

Take it easy and don't work too hard.

I.

Yes we do irina. But I don't have an issue with it. Not yet at least. Presently all my plants are healthy and doing awesome.

So I am not gonna do anything just yet.:) Velleta