Neem Oil & its Many Uses for Palms?

[Howard007]

Just curious who uses neem oil as part of their arsenal in caring for their palms, and how do you use it? I've read it's an excellent broad use insecticide, used as a leaf shine, a fungicide, a protective agent for various palm ailments, etc.

So how do you use it.......mostly straight up, heavily diluted with water or rubbing alcohol, in liquid form, a foliar spray, in conjunction with other products? Please share your uses and experiences.

[PalmatierMeg]

I buy neem oil concentrate, dilute it according to label in a pressure sprayer and spray for insect pests. You can also buy it RTU in spray bottles but you pay more. A lot of organic insect sprays relay on neem oil but you pay for brand names. Read the ingredients.

[sonoranfans]

I have found another non neem brand "organicide" to work better than neem in my florida yard. Its 92% fish oil and 5% sesame oil plus emulsifiers.

http://www.arborgrow.com/organocide.htm

The organicide smells like fish for a day, so it doesn't have the pleasant smell of neem, but it seems to work on a larger array of insects and it seems to work for a little longer before reapplication is needed. the sprayer that comes with organicide also probably doses properly and can reach overhead fronds 15' up and more. It could be that effectiveness is related to dosing, and dosing with a sprayer will depend on the formulation and emulsification for the particular sprayer.

[richnorm]

You need repeated applications to break the insect lifecycle. If you want something organic diatomaceous earth is worth a try and wont be mixed with any nasties which I have heard can be the case with neem. BTW if you have young kids neem works well on headlice- just be sure to get an organic one for use on humans, it's not expensive.