If and when I find mine I was going to use it on a couple of plants but was wondering if it was too early? Keep your fingers crossed for me that I locate that SAFE spot I put it in. I sware I could lose a elephant in a empty parking lot.
Has anyone started to use Messenger yet?
LOL @ the elephant! There are times when I feel the same! Good Luck!
I was just thinking about messengers a few days ago and thinking about using it. I'm anxious to hear from everyone!
My three brug seedlings in the white cups, on the thread After the storm in Arky, were started on Messengers, with nothing else to date...
I have it, just never remember to use it. I did use it a couple of time in the house on the seedlings this winter and they really greened up. Maybe I better dig mine out. I won't do any good sitting in the box.
ditto what brugie said
Do you guys know where it is at? That is the question. LOL...... I still haven't found mine. I fear that I may have thrown it out on accident.
Mine is in a large tan padded envelope. Had Eden on front, plastic box with Messenger shells inside, plus two packets of Mighty Plant Food fertilizer. I used it twice, saw nothing different, never tried it again.
Hope you find it Kristi!
I found mine. Since I have 18 pkts of it, I better get started using the stuff.
I have used it several times and am so disappointed. I wonder if there is a short shelf life. Last year my brugs really showed an effect by the next day. This year I see no change at all. I bought about $200 worth and have so much left. I need to look and see if there is an expiration date on it. I wait to spray it till it is over 60 degrees. Maybe it just wasn't warm enough.
I used it 3 weeks ago and again today. I have buds on some of the older ones. Time will tell on the babies.
I thought that once you open a packet of Messenger, you need to use it up quickly because it doesn't keep. I have several packets that are un-opened and they should have a longer shelf life. I think you might be right Kell, the temperature may also affect how the product works.
I better start using mine also. It won't help my plants if it's sitting on a shelf indoors!
Mine are all closed. I use it immediately upon opening. I should call and ask the company. I really have had no results at all this year.
I have used it with good effects. Some of my hoyas grow and bloom more, others don't. I used it on half of the seedlings (Brugs) I had and that half spurted up higher than the ones I didn't use it on. - how's that for bad grammar!!! I think I will hit them all another time this week.
Carol
I have used it once out in the greenhouse and have buds all over Frosty. LOL If she was dorman from November until March with no food, water and no more than a light bulb across the garage, then first watered in March, is that good or normal, to have buds now?
I wish there was another co-op on Messenger. I have heard such good things about it. Does anyone know of one? Or if one will be started this year?
Julie
I have used Messenger once a month since getting it. To be really honest I am very disappointed. I can't really see any difference from last spring. think I have given plants the same care as always. Since i have the stuff i will keep using it. Maybe the temp. will make some difference. DonnaS
Julie, I believe there was no discount with the coop. I think the company said no. That is why I just ordered on my own. The advantage was as I recall, that you could buy fewer packets, I think. And it may have been at the time that they were giving an introductory discount at the site to everyone so they wouldn't give one to the group. Everyone got it whether you bought on your own or not.
That is why it is hard to evaluate, Chele. The plant could just be responding to it being spring not that you sprayed it. Also, if you are like me, you fertilize early on and alot in the beginning before I get too lazy in the summer. Well the spurt could be from that. Lots of mine got buds early but mine were not really dormant ever, they just did not grow over winter.
I have already used it a couple times and I am not impressed with it. I have seedlings that look better and have grown more that I did not use it on. I will check my pots again tomorrow and carefully evaluate them again. It is actually time for me to use again and I think I will take two seedlings of the same cross and size and spray one and not the other. I am not convinced that it does all that it is suppose to do, but I am going to try again because I have many packages left that I got from the co-op.
You would think I would learn not to order so much of something until I, at least, try it. If this stuff has a expiration date, maybe that's what's wrong. When I placed my first order (not through the coop), I bought the fertilizer too, it was expensive, and I had to use it all to fertilize my brugs one time, and I didn't have so many last year, and the worst thing was that I could tell zero difference. I cannot remember how much it cost but I will NEVER make such a mistake again. If it had worked or made any difference, I would have gotten a night job to pay for more...
Ok you convinced me...lol
I am hearing more negatives than positives here. I thought everyone was raving on about how good it was and how their leaves were looking so green and lush and the growth from it was astounding?? Oh well...I'll just continue using Peter's and organic's
Thanks for all this good info. :)
Julie
I sprayed Messenger on my houseplants in the winter and I would say there was an improvement. Philos that were sort of sluggish started putting out babies in Jan or so. Then I stopped. Not enough discipline. I do know where my stash is and plan to use it. I promised DH no more magic potions until I use everything I have in my gardening closet. DH says the magic grow potion industry is way more lucrative than the magic fishing lure industry LOL
The one I have been using more religiously is the bloom booster and see results overnight. Have also read that overdoing it is not good so I will stop applying when I start seeing mutant petunias cropping up. LOL
I called the Messenger people once and the told me once a packet is opened it has a shelf life of 3 hours so you really have to use the entire packet right away.
My husband used it on all the seedlings and baby plants we have growing under lights: tomatoes, basil, zinnia, impatiens, petunias, first try for starting cucumbers indoors, nicotiana, etc. We heard on NY radio station, Ralph Snodsmith (love him), every three weeks he sprays his peonies and never got botrytis last year, not one bud drop. I would listen to him and read and follow the directions exactly. One person called and mentioned the "use it up once it's mixed" theory and he said he's never heard of that. If the company says use it I would do just that. We're waiting to see if it helps with mildew on zinnia and blackspot on roses. Have calender marked to spray every 3 weeks.
Oh my!! That's not good news for those of you that have a pack opened already, but how about I wonder if it's not opened yet? What's the shelf life then? Wow!
Julie
Thanks for all the great information. As of today I'm still at a loss where mine is. GRRRRRR
lol Kristi! Put an APB out for it lol...I have so much junk out there in my garden area inside the porch I can hardly find anything either. I should go clean it up....hmmmm...Nah, think I'll wait hehehe! It will be there tomorrow!
This message was edited May 2, 2005 3:09 PM
Pirl, good point you bring up. The Messenger is not just meant to make plants grow, but also to build disease resistance. I personally didn't notice a problem but I will say all houseplants are doing good. Was it the Messenger? Don't know for sure.
As far as the "use it once mixed", the Messenger people specifically told me that the formula has in it (or consists of) a protein, which is an organism with a limited life span. They told me it would continue to be 100% effective if remaining amount was vaccum re-packed; other than than, they would not stand behind warranty on product that was opened and not used immediatelly (unless vaccum packed). When I asked if that meant product stops working beyond the 3 hour period, they just said effectiveness declines quickly and it would still be effective, but not with the results they claim.
Pirl, I have been spraying Messenger on my roses since they leafed out. And I have black spot and mildew. So forget that theory. LOL I need to spray with a fungicide now. I have been too lazy and it is spreading.
I do have incredible blooms but I did last year also without using Messenger. I discovered putting epsom salts down a month before they leaf out does the trick. They explode in spring. I also gave them my alfalfa sludge very early on. Really helps.
I use it on everything, and do believe it makes a difference. Brugs are blooming like crazy, Broccoli put out huge heads, and Iris are so fat wide and healthy they don't look like iris anymore, except that the blooms are beautiful and abundant. Clematis too is just breath taking!
Blooming seems to be the biggest visible thing that is affected. It seems to encourage plants to set buds (if old enough) within days of spraying. The biggest problem with it is remembering to use it!
I bought a full case this spring (near 300 $ of it) and already had some from the winter. But then, I have over 300 Brugs, and 3ooo sq. ft of flower beds, plus hubby's very large veggie garden I'm planning to treat all year. The results I saw last year made me a believer in this stuff! I have heard it isn't good on new cuttings or tiny seedlings OTOH, which may be due to the lack an of established root system.
Do you have before and after photos?? I surely wish that was the case here...
lagata2 - do you use up the entire package when you mix it up? Wish they'd put a warning not to use it for seedlings - we have every one sprayed. It's been about 10 days and none have died so maybe we're safe. So good to hear of your success with it!
I really think it makes a difference on the blooms. Of course, the plant has to be mature enough to bloom for it to work.
Yes, I use the whole package, either the one gallon for the greenhouse, or the three gallon for outdoors. It may be fine on a lot of seedlings, and while all data isn't in, it doesn't seem to do well with brug seedlings with less than several 'real' leaves. As to older seedlings, I had several brugs bloom at only 4 months old.
Thanks Linda and lagata! I understood that it would sort of immunize them from plant troubles. I'll be able to report once everything is in the ground. I appreciate your help.
I didn't use it on my cup seedlings until they had several sets of leaves. Tell me this: Do you mean that you are using Messengers, exclusively, and that you have quicker, better, bigger blooms?? If so, are you using fertilizer too. If so, how do you know which one is causing the improvements. If you are getting quicker, better, bigger blooms with Messengers, without fertilizer, I'll give it another go!!!! Thanks.
Sherry, it is my understanding that Messenger is not a fertilizer or an insecticide, it just helps boost the immune system and promotes more blooms. It would be like taking vitamins, you still need food.
I have used messenger on all my seedlings, they seem to be growing fine, and my petunias put on blooms in 2 weeks time after spraying. I also use it on unrooted cuttings. I sprayed all my unrooted coleus cuttings right after I put them in promix and they rooted in 3 days, and are beautiful. My brugs are all setting buds, I like messenger. I want to spray my outside plants, but I'll wait until it warms up.
Glad to hear the thing with the cuttings cathy; Mine didn't like it, but I only did it once in the winter, so it may well have been other factors. When I heard bad reports with newly sprouted seedlings, I just didn't chance it. It's a bit early to say there are any hard fast rules for brugs with it yet. Thats what I meant by 'all the data not in'.
Sherry, I use the same bug sprays and fertilizers I always have. Only the messenger treatment is any different from what I've done in the past. And I'll try it again on cuttings, and see if it does better than before. I'll wait for more reports on new seedlings before doing that however.
Good anology Linda
Thanks, Linda, now I totally understand!!
I put my coleus in plain water and they sprouted in two days, I couldn't believe my eyes, I wasn't even trying to root them, just keep the perky to enjoy. I just cannot tell at this time of the year if a plant is doing better because of a product or if it's just the growing season.
I always have used the messenger on brug cuttings as well as ones just potted up, I do notice a big improvement, but that is just my experience, last fall I had brug seedlings, I used it on one and not the other, big difference, but I can't evaluate those on account of the flood where I lost all due to freezing, sooo...................... I still vote that it's helped my plants. I also use alfalfa on all my plants, and can say without a doubt, that definitely gets good results :)
I have to say I did see a difference in my house plants when I used it over the winter 1-2 times. Of course, that could just be because I remembered to take care of them since I couldn't play outside. LOL My plants did seem to green up and bloom more so I really cannot say.