What do you use on your indoor plants to get their leaves to shine? I'm great about doing a monthly wipe down with Dawn dish soap and paper towel (pest prevention) but would love the leaves to be shiny; in particular my Tineke Rubber Tree
Put a teaspoon of neem oil in with your soapy water. I’ve been using Castile soap, neem oil and water. Mix the soap and water first, then add the neem oil. I’ve also got a pair of microfibre gloves that I use.
Neem oil! Derp! Why didn't I think of that!? Lol. Thank you!!
좋아요 1개
i just use castile soap and water. and a soft cloth. i really wouldn’t recommend adding neem oil since its overuse has contributed to many pests being resistant or even immune to the chemical compound in the oil. its not appropriate to use a pesticide like neem oil as a pest preventative or as a leaf-cleaning agent. i’ve been meaning to write a long post on this since the use of neem oil for other purposes is recommended seriously often but its overuse has detrimental effects on the environment.
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That’s good to know! Thank you for sharing that! As for Castile soap, does it have to be specifically peppermint like the liquid brand one a lot of folks seem to recommend around here, or does any kind of Castile soap work?
좋아요 1개Wasn't necessarily looking to use it as a pest deterrent but more just for shine. I have pest preventatives that I use regularly. I have heard that about Neem though as far as it not doing much for pests...
좋아요 1개 adrian, i use dr. bronner’s unscented liquid castile soap. it works great on its own. i purchase the large bottle every year or so as i also use it personally as shampoo and body wash, as well as to wash my wool items. add a few drops per cup of water to make an insecticidal spray. you can add isopropyl alcohol too but i’ve found the soap quite effective alone. you could use the bar of castile soap for this purpose also but it will be more difficult to dissolve in water. plant dad, i’m happy to hear that neem oil’s ineffectiveness is being talked about more. it has been touted as a cure-all in online plant communities for a while now. to shine those leaves, i’d say just keep doing what you’re doing. if you have hard water and the soap is leaving a residue on your plants’ leaves, it may be helpful to follow up with an acidic rinse. try adding a teaspoon or so of white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of water and dip a soft cloth in the solution to wipe the leaves. to anyone reading— paying attention to your plants is the best pest preventative. it will allow you to spot any pests before they become a serious problem. inspecting and dusting monthly is the best way for me to do this; find what works for you.
4개 좋아요I agree. Inspecting and cleaning your plants regularly is the best preventative. I recently, very early on, found spider mites on some of my plants. I wiped all of my large leaf plants (Tinkeke, Monstera, Rattlesnake plant...) down with Dawn dish soap and paper towels and immediately ordered some beneficial mites... Because I look at my plants regularly (probably too much lol) I was able to catch it early before they took everything over.
좋아요 1개 Thank you! Good to know I picked the right stuff up 😊 I wasn’t sure about using the peppermint Castile soap I was recommended, so I went for the unscented 👍 thanks for always leaving such in-depth answers for everyone’s posts
좋아요 1개The scent of peppermint is a good deterant for pest
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