Ready to Defend!

I looked through my arsenal of insecticides and found Neem Oil by Natria.  It is approved for organic gardening.  It will also solve some disease problems like rust and powdery mildew.  I'm going to use it on the Mandevilla vine that has been invaded by aphids.

This will be a step up from the Earth-Tone Insecticidal Soap I have been using.  I have applied the soap spray every 3 days for 10 days to no avail.  I hope the Neem Oil will take care of the aphids.

I also bought Earth-tone 3 in 1 Disease Control.  Both Earth-tone products are by Espoma.

I have had good luck with that brand and Bayer products also.  I especially liked the Bayer 3-in-1 but it is not available in Connecticut any longer.  It has a tobacco-derived product that some people think is harmful to bees.  The expert at my lawn and garden center does not agree!  I have used this product in the past and have many, many bees in my garden then and now. I think I agree with her.

The 3-in-1 product disease control I can spray on my roses.  I found at least a dozen Gypsy Moth caterpillars on my two plants this afternoon.  I need to spray them directly so I'm not sure if this is going to work. It is late to try to eradicate the caterpillars.  I found the soap spray kills them on the birch tree.  I stepped on a lot of them when they were small, but these are as big as your little finger now!  Too much squish!  My garden guru told me to prune back the roses and fertilize them with Espoma Rose-tone.

Poor roses!