Question for b54red

[greenthumbomaha]

Bill, I'm curious how far up in the plant you spray. If the disease is visible on leaves almost a foot off the ground on a 2-3 foot plant, how do you know where to stop the treatment to knock down spores not yet visible? What do you do if there are buds forming? Refrain form spraying that close or risk losing buds?

- Lisa

[b54red]

Originally Posted by greenthumbomaha

Bill, I'm curious how far up in the plant you spray. If the disease is visible on leaves almost a foot off the ground on a 2-3 foot plant, how do you know where to stop the treatment to knock down spores not yet visible? What do you do if there are buds forming? Refrain form spraying that close or risk losing buds?

- Lisa

Lisa since you have never used the diluted bleach spray I urge you to use one of the lower concentrations for your first time and to spray the entire plant. You can avoid the growth tips if you wish but as long as you do it the right time of the day and use a fine mist spray you should have no damage. The problem with the lower concentration is that it sometimes doesn't kill the diseases as effectively. As long as the spray is not mixed strong enough to damage healthy leaves it won't bother the buds or blooms unless they are diseased. With the new Clorox Ultra I think you would be safe using 4 1/4 oz added to a full gallon of water. If that doesn't do the trick then you can up it by 1/2 oz at a time. I rarely go above 5 1/2 oz to the gallon unless I am desperate.

Bill

[Mydaddysjag]

Wish I would have seen this, just sprayed everything (at 10pm so no sun) with a mixture of 5oz 8% clorox to 1 gallon of bleach, and a few drops of dish soap. Fingers crossed I dont burn the plants too bad. We have had constant rain for about two weeks here, today is actually the first day it didnt rain.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Mydaddysjag

Wish I would have seen this, just sprayed everything (at 10pm so no sun) with a mixture of 5oz 8% clorox to 1 gallon of bleach, and a few drops of dish soap. Fingers crossed I dont burn the plants too bad. We have had constant rain for about two weeks here, today is actually the first day it didnt rain.

You should be fine. That is the most common ratio I use each time if you added the 5oz of bleach to a full gallon of water like I do. I have used that same mixture multiple times already this year and a slightly stronger mix a couple of times when it was rainy and the plants were still damp.

Bill