My houseplants are the neglected siblings of my outdoor plants; they get a raw deal when it comes to care and attention. As a result, they’re pretty pathetic specimens. This year, I’ve resolved to be ruthless with them: either they shape up or ship out.
Of course, it’s me who has to do the shaping up.
My umbrella plant (schefflera) has a nasty scale infestation (see above), my rubber plant (Ficus elastica) is covered in water spots, and all need a good dusting.
My rubber plant got me thinking about that aerosol leaf shine spray so favoured by malls and dentist’s offices. Out of curiosity, I googled something like “organic leaf shine” and found myself reading about the things people wipe on their plants: milk, the insides of banana skins, lemon juice, and even mayonnaise. Wow. I had no idea.
The other thing that kept coming up was neem oil. Gardeners were raving about the stuff. Seems its naturally-occurring insecticidal, anti-fungal properties help to control and prevent houseplant pests like scale, all while repelling dust and adding a natural shine. Cool, I thought. I’m sold.
Then I discovered a product called BotaniWipe. BotaniWipes are biodegradable leaf wipes infused with organic neem oil and lavender that do triple duty as a leaf polish, a nutritive, and a mild insecticide fungicide.
BotaniWipes really did wonders for my long-suffering houseplants. I’m sure they would have looked better even just with a quick wipe with a wet cloth, but I figure, if you’re going to do that, you may as well take care of the nasties (disease, pests) and give them a boost at the same time. They come in a convenient “baby wipe” format but are completely biodegradable (even flushable), and they left my plants looking pretty damn fine.
I was impressed with the results, but curious about this neem stuff. Could it really do all the stuff it’s purported to do? So I asked Andrew O’Brien, founder of BotaniWipes, to tell me more. Turns out Andrew has a lot of experience using neem. As the manager of a small organic flower farm in California, he used neem oil to control disease and improve plant health.
“Neem oil is pretty amazing,” says Andrew. According to him, neem has properties that are beneficial in treating and preventing pest infestations, molds and
mildews in plants. As well, amino acids in neem oil act as a nutritive and natural antibiotic. Combined with the anti-fungal,
anti-bacterial, anti-insecticidal properties of lavender oil, these oils, “in appropriate mild
amounts, really promote plant health,” says Andrew. And unlike conventional leaf sprays, the oils in BotaniWipes won’t clog the plant’s stomata (pores).
I was curious: how does someone come up with an idea like BotaniWipes? “When my son was
born I looked up at a dirty, distressed houseplant while wiping his
bottom,” Andrew relates. Ah. There’s hope then: maybe a brilliant business idea will come to me one of these days too!
Elaine says
I enjoyed reading this entire post — what a great last line. I wouldn’t be surprised if you do think of a brilliant business idea.
Thank you for this very helpful information. Your research and explanation plus the before and after photos have convinced me to try the Wipes. I have one very faithful, but neglected plant needing a good cleaning.
Can you smell the lavender in the Wipes? Now this would be a bonus because it’s my favourite scent.
I’m also wondering if the neem would be effective in repelling aphids. I may try it on some of my outdoor balcony plants.
Great research and writing. Thank you.
Eric says
I like this idea, but would most likely make my own, but can see its usefulness for apt. dwellers or the like that may not have the space to keep all the requisite products.
The only real problem I have is that I can’t grow houseplants very well at all.
And to the commenter above re. aphids. It probably would help, but the larger issue is that aphids won’t be a problem in healthy plants. They may be present, but will only kill a plant that was asking for it. It could be water, nutrients, genetics, environment, etc. but something is wrong for a plant with an aphid problem. When we see aphids on a plant, we usually just let them have at it, or yank the plant and compost it. They have a definite place in this world as a weeder of bad genes.
Cheers
gardeninginconverse.com
Andrea Bellamy says
Thanks Elaine. You can’t really smell the lavender – it’s just more of a nice, fresh smell. You can buy them in Vancouver at the Plant Shop on Main St.
Eric – good point. I’ve been battling aphids on my euphorbias. I wonder what ails them? I think you’re right – they’ve got to go.
Elaine says
Thanks, Eric. That’s a new way for me to look at my aphid problem. Usually only a few of my plants fall victim, particularly the violas. I completely agree with you except my current crop of violas look very healthy and have been thriving since last fall. I’ll have to see if in fact they may be “stressed” — my environment is a real challenge and I certainly have transferred many plants from pots to compost over the years.
kate says
This sounds like a good product … I like the way the inventer came up with the idea.
Chrissy says
I’ve had the pleasure to work professionally with interior plants for many years now and dusty plants is my biggest heartache! Keeping houseplants dust free is so important, as you know they breath from the top of the foliage, and if you have plants in low light even a thin layer of dust can prevent light absorbtion.
Neem is the best thing ever!!! I do all my gardening with organic and natural technques and I can not say enough about neem. I love it. I have even had success with using it systemicaly, but be careful cause it can clog the roots.
I would not recommend milk or mayo…it really attracts dust, and bacteria or fungus can be an issue. And actually, with you schefflera you can use a dry organic cotton cloth and wipe the leave in a circular motion and that will help the natural oils in the leaf come out.
Sorry for the long comment…once I start talking about plants I can’t stop.
Sunita says
Neem is the most fantastic ….. a gardener can lay hands on (fill in the blanks)! Really…. just ask any of our farmers here in India. We’ve been using it for thousands of years to get rid of the nasties from our plants.
If there is any drawback at all to neem oil, it has to be the stink ! Like stale pee …. I’m sure Andrew’s mind made a good connection there too.
I guess thats where the lavender comes in and does its work like a good cover-up agent.
I dont know if I would ever use it if it was available in India … I have too many plants to go around wiping their bu… er, leaves. I’d probably mix up a bucket of neem oil solution and drench them with it. But what an absolutely interesting idea!