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Tea Tree oil for Blackspot and Powdery Mildew?
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Posted by Zinia z7NC (My Page) on Sat, Aug 13, 05 at 2:10
Has anyone used Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca alternifolia oil) on roses for black spot or powdery mildew? I do know that the oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties for humans, animals and I'm aware that it has been used in horticulture.
I was imagining that maybe it would work in place of the horticultural oil recommended in the Cornell formula. I don't know how to compare the 2 oils and exactly how the C. formula works.
Tea Tree oil is very effective for some infections as I've had some personal experience. It is effective in low concentrations and although it kills bacteria and fungus, it does not damage healthy tissue.
Zinia |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Tea Tree oil for Blackspot and Powdery Mildew?
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| I have used tea tree oil to treat powdery mildew successfully. It did nothing to treat existing blackspot. I would be leery of using it as a preventative substitute in Cornell Formula because it is heavier than horticultual oil. There may be some unnecessary risk of damaging the leaves. |
RE: Tea Tree oil for Blackspot and Powdery Mildew?
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| I tried teatree oil in water and in spoapy water, it did nothing for my roses with mildew. I find that milk and water spray works better. I have tried grapefruit seed extract against mildew and it did have some effect but not as good as the poisons on spray cans. Works very well against spidermites ! Can harm leafs if dilution is too strong. At some point I started to use seaweed meal in the soil around my roses. I am convinced that this streangthens the roses considerably against fungus problems like blackspot and mildew. I use it every spring now and I find it a must when I am growing my garden organic.
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RE: Tea Tree oil for Blackspot and Powdery Mildew?
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| I'll never understand why folks keep seeking more expensive, untested replacements for scientifically proven materials, such as the horticultural oil and baking soda in the Cornell formula. Oh, well. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. |
RE: Tea Tree oil for Blackspot and Powdery Mildew?
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RE: Tea Tree oil for Blackspot and Powdery Mildew?
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- Posted by
Eileen Jones 5b (eejones@ku.edu) on Wed, Jun 25, 08 at 22:49
| I am trying tea tree oil on blackspot and I think it is helping. It is supposed to have antifungal properties and I had some around so... why not? I can't be sure of the result because I've hit my roses with several treatments at once. I added a few drops of tea tree oil, a teaspoon of baking soda and a drop of dish soap to a quart of water in which I had boiled fresh rosemary and mint. (Rose Pharm product's active ingredients are oils of rosemary and mint.) I am spraying my roses (in pots) with this mixture every couple of days. I scratched cornmeal into the surface of the soil (this is rumored to support beneficial fungi that fight the blackspot fungi). I'm new at this so it's all an experiment. I ordered 8 roses by mail and the Cl. Iceberg arrived with blackspot, so now I'm fighting it on my Katy Girl and a few of the others. |
RE: Tea Tree oil for Blackspot and Powdery Mildew?
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Far too many people have been conditioned to think that the solution to a problem must come from a store and that, generally, the more it costs the more effective it will be. Then there are those that will use severla solutions at one time and will never know which one was effective and which were a waste of time and energy, not to speak of money.
The first step any real organic gardener/farmer will take to prevent problems with insect pests and diseases is to try to make the soil the plants are growing in as healthy as possible which can prevent many problems. The second step is to determine in the perceived problem is bad enough that some action is really necessary, followed by the third step which is to identify the problem and seek the least toxic solution to that problem. Fourth is to stand back and observe what this action did, before doing anything else. Lastly review the process and determine if this action produced the desired results and if needed go back to step 1.
What affect does Tea Tree Oil have on beneficial insects? |
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