Neem Oil

Could anyone tell me what happens if I spray Red Buds and Junipers with Neem Oil?

I have had so much success in the garden using Neem Oil to control pests and diseases I would like to use it on everything. Last year the leaves on my young Ginko and Harry Lauder's Walking Stick were very badly damaged by some insect I never found, (even searching by night with a flashlight) but when I started spraying with Neem, tree leaves and soil, it stopped it completely, and this year I started early so there has been no damage. However the leaves on my two Redbuds are beginning to be torn and eaten round the edges and my Hollywood Junipers look as though they may have spider mites. I know that these are two trees mentioned in the "sensitive to Neem Oil" category, along with Smoke Tree, and Japanese Maple, (both of which I also have in my garden). Last year I had not read the sensitive list and sprayed my Smoke Tree, it may have set it back a bit but this year it is beautiful.

I googled neem oil and looked at a bunch of results, most of them from co-operative extension/university sites. they all stated that neem should not be used on redbud and juniper due to phytotoxicity (poison to plant). You might try spraying a leaf or two and see if it has any adverse effects. The sites all stated a yellowing of leaves and lesions on the leaves as the symptoms.

http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05569.html

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef429.asp

http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/plant_pests/flowers/hgic2049.html

http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/bp/bp-69-w.pdf

You can also check with your local garden center, not places like Home Depot, Menards, and the such, they have no idea, or call a nursery that carries trees and plants them.
They would have to know about those things.

They should be able to help you find something to help you with your problem.

Have they taken the azadirachtin out of the oil?
I won't allow any in my yard because of the azadirachtin that may still be in the oil.

Thank you people. Guess I will have to use other methods of insect and disease control on those sensitive trees.

CLScott, why are you afraid of azadirachtin?

Here is some information about it.

"Azadirachtin (Neem Oil) was initially found to be active as a feeding inhibitor towards the desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria), it is now known to affect over 200 species of insect, by acting mainly as an antifeedant and growth disruptor, and as such it possesses considerable toxicity toward insects (LD50(S. littoralis): 15 ug/g). It fulfills many of the criteria needed for a natural insecticide if it is to replace synthetic compounds. Azadirachtin is biodegradable (it degrades within 100 hours when exposed to light and water) and shows very low toxicity to mammals (the LD50 in rats is > 3,540 mg/kg making it practically non-toxic).

This compound is found in the seeds (0.2 to 0.8 percent by weight) of the neem tree, Azadirachta indica (hence the prefix aza does not imply an aza compound, but refers to the scientific species name). Many more compounds, related to azadirachtin, are present in the seeds as well as in the leaves and the bark of the neem tree which also show strong biological activities among various pest insects [2][3] Effects of these preparations on beneficial arthropods are generally considered to be minimal. Some laboratory and field studies have found neem extracts to be compatible with biological control. Because pure neem oil contains other insecticidal and fungicidal compounds in additional to azadirachtin, it is generally mixed at a rate of 1 ounce per gallon (7.8 ml/l) of water when used as a pesticide.

Azadiractin is a neuro toxin and it has also been implicated as a
cause of male sterility.

http://www.neemresource.com/NeeminAg&Hlth.pdf

http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC37420#Toxicity

Neem as birth control in humans:

http://www.discoverneem.com/neem-oil-birth-control.html

I'd use it Moon, at my age it doesn't make any difference.

i love neem oil and use it throughout my garden.......now i'm thinking maybe more people should use it! roflol at myself!

Ya may have a valid point there Track.....grin Me too Jim....

I'm watching the DL's you sent me closely. Waiting for a scape to put out. Some of my original ones are starting to bloom.

Shouldn't be too much longer before they start to pop....mine is starting to bud up now.

I am so looking forward to seeing them bloom. Like a kid waiting for santa.

The fans are big and healthy, so I should get a good bloom out of them.

This message was edited May 22, 2010 9:53 PM

I certainly do hope they put on a good show for you.

Neem Oil is listed as a non-toxic, organic, pest and disease control. (I think I heard of it being used in India as a birth control method, but can't remember details exactly, or how its used).

Using it in the garden in diluted form as a spray I am sure is far less dangerous than the highly toxic chemical insect and disease control solutions on the market. If you read the information I posted above, it states that it degrades after 100 hours, so if you are intending to eat anything you have sprayed with Neem just wait a week or so before picking.

P.S. Anyone as concerned as you are about infertility CL should obviously avoid it, better safe than sorry. :)

I have to admit that I'm a chemical poison man. I use one called Pounce. It is phyretharoid if I spelled it right. One hour and it is gone. It will wipe out everything in comes in contact with. We are especially troubled with stink bugs and it will totally wipe them out. So far I haven't had any infestations of anything except black aphids and soapy water gets them.

I am getting ready to apply neem on a rose bed that I discovered grubs in. I am very concerned about my soils microbes though. Does anyone have information on this? Am I going to kill all the beneficial micro-organisms that I have been working on for years? I am overwhelmed with grief about this! Haha! Will the grubs really do that much damage to the roses? And how can these buggers already be out when it is still spring here in the Midwest? I thought they were a heat of the summer bug! Lol. Help me please!

I take Neem capsules everyday. In Ayurvedic medicine it's an adaptogenic herb that is also thought to be purifying in that it helps the body eliminate toxins. I have read about it being used as a birth control method, but I have not read that it causes infertility (and I did read a lot about it before I started using it).

Not sure if that helps, but after taking it as a supplement for a few years, I'm pretty sure it's not toxic!

They may have removed the azadirachtin from the oil?
I can not find the exact contents on bottles of neem so am wondering exactly what is in it.
The toxins are removed from other oils such as canola and flax before they are sold?
Canola and flax seeds contain some cyanide naturally.

I think the neem thing is a grand marketing scheme myself.

PS: I am a seventy year old grandmother with six children and ten grandchildren, so I do not worry about
sterility for humans , but how about the critters which visit my garden?

I've never heard of neem oil being taken by humans, very interesting. I don't know if it helps, but at least you won't get midges, which is what devastated my fairy roses for over ten years before I discovered neem. I am very careful about treating only the foliage of the roses, trying to avoid anything blooming and not getting it into the soil, if possible. My thought is, keep the pests down to a manageable level, not wipe out everything living in the garden. I do go to war against japanese beetles, but other than that, if I can get flowers and foliage and a few little pests, I'm okay with that.
On the other hand, what have I been missing by not ingesting neem oil myself? hmm......