◆ ◆ Pineapple
juice, or any citrus juice (lemon, lime,
orange), when rubbed onto the leaves with a
soft cloth or paper towel will also remove such
deposits so your leaves will be nice and shiny. I
suppose the acidity reacts with the mostly alka-
line deposits.
◆ ◆ It has been reported that stale beer may also be
used for shining up leaves, although we’re both
at a loss for how to get stale beer, as it never gets
that way around our house!
◆ ◆ Mix about a 50% dispersion of whole milk in a
quart of water. Using a soft cloth or paper towel,
wipe the leaf surfaces with the dispersion.
◆ ◆ Similar to the milk above, dilute mayonnaise with
water to form a thin paste. Again, apply using
a soft cloth or paper towel, being sure that you
wipe off as much of the paste as you can.
Do Everything Spray
Fermented Compost Tea – take one- to two cups
of some really well-composted organic matter (the
stuff at the bottom of the pile), place it in a cloth bag
(an old sock will work), and immerse it in a gallon of
water at room temperature. Let it stand overnight or
longer until you have a dark liquid. Remove the “tea
bag” and let the container sit outdoors for about two
weeks. Remove the scum that forms at the surface,
filter the liquid and spray. Supposedly, this brew will
be loaded with bacteria and other microorganisms
that attack pretty much all of the fungi and diseases
that harm plants. (It has also been suggested that the
unfermented brew from above, once diluted to about
20% in water, is as close to the food source an orchid
sees in nature as you can get!)
Crown Rot Treatment
Crown rot is caused by letting water sit in the
folds between leaves, resulting in a bacterial or fun-
gal infection, or even both. Prevention is the key, so
water or mist early in the day so the stuff has time to
dry by nightfall. If you do get a case of crown rot:
◆ ◆ Pour a liberal amount of hydrogen peroxide in
the wound and let it stand for about five minutes
to kill the infecting agents.
◆ ◆ Tilt the plant to pour the liquid out of the crown.
◆ ◆ Let the plant dry completely.
◆ ◆ Sprinkle with dry cinnamon.
◆ ◆ Treat the plant normally, being sure to keep the
wound dry. GG
Ray Barkalow has been growing orchids for over 45 years,
and owns First Rays, which offers horticultural products
to the hobby grower. He may be contacted at raybark@
firstrays.com and you can visit his website at FirstRays.com.
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