How I use Neem Oil for my Cacti  

So happy you enjoyed the video Sylvia :-D it felt so good to start the Neem oil back up again as I had already started to notice the first signs of Beasties haha, thanks so much Sylvia for your wonderful comments and support and for watching, and Hans and I are sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER to Malta for a wonderful Wednesday afternoon XXXX

So happy you love the cactus flowers Jillian :-D and thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, and sending you lots of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday today XXXX

So happy you enjoyed the Neem oil Kath :-D and I hope the weather is as sunny in Wales as it is here, its absolutely beautiful weather here the last few days, thanks so much my fantastic Cactus powered Sister for your wonderful friendship and amazing comment and support and for watching, and Hans and I are sending you and Philip tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER to Wales for a sunny Wednesday XXXX

Thats brilliant news you have had great success with the Neem oil, its so brilliant, and although it takes a lot of spraying to get rid of them it is the best form of bug control especially as the mites and other pests can't build up an immunity from it, thats so exciting that you and your son are building a permaculture forest garden that sounds amazing, thanks so much Mark for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, and sending you lots of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Friday XXXX

Spider mites really are such a horrible 'Beastie' along with Mealy Bugs and Scale and Thrips, the Neem oil works so well at keeping the beasts away as much as possible, thats such a shame that you lost one of your Chamacereus to Spider mites, its shocking how fast they spread and we notice the damage from them almost overnight, our big Chamaelobia is already orange literally overnight from the Spider mites, I have had to move it out in the yard to isolate it from the others and will have to spray it every 3 days with the Neem, thanks so much Clyde for your wonderful friendship and amazing comment and support and for watching, and Hans and I are sending you and beautiful Deb and all the pets and plants tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER to Morris Park for a wonderful Wednesday XXXX

So happy you love the cacti ad the info Kristen :-D and thanks so much for your wonderful comment and for watching and have a fantastic weekend XXXX

So happy you enjoyed the information Ahmed :-D and thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday XXXX

So happy you enjoyed the informative video Jeff :-D it felt so good to start the Neem oil to catch the 'Beasties' before they have a chance to take over the plants haha, thanks so much Jeff for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, and Hans and I are sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER to Georgia for a wonderful Wednesday today XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon Lyn, I'm so sorry I forgot to mention Hans. He did an awesome job with the video once again! With you both making the videos I think of you as the Dynamic Duo!! I hope you both have a Wonderful Wednesday!

@@jeffhayes1223 hahaha 'The Dynamic Duo' this made us smile so much :-D thanks so much Jeff for your really wonderful words, and Hans and I are sending you lots of love and hugs from across the Emerald Isle to Georgia XXXX

thanks so much Dave for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday XXXX

Thanks so much Peter :-D I am so happy its Spring here at last, and Happy Autumn to you and Ellyn, I remember when it was your Spring the time has flown so much, thats brilliant you have bought some Neem, it really is so good for zapping the beasties away haha, thanks so much Peter your wonderful friendship and amazing comment and support and for watching, and Hans and I are sending you and Ellyn tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER to Downunder for a wonderful evening XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon ⚘❤

@@petercalthorpe7966 XXXXXX

haha yes its so good to get those 'Beasties' before they have a chance to take over the plants, it felt so good to start back up with the Neem oil again to help catch the 'buggie beasties ' before they get a chance haha :-D thanks so much Amanda for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, and Hans and I are sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday ahead XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon I just adore you Lyn🥰...you always brighten my day. My heart failure kicks my bum sometimes but your comments and videos are always a lovely distraction from my chest pains...Bless you both.🦋

@@amandaleeborchert3745 Awwwwww thats so wonderful of you to say that about me Amanda

@@desertplantsofavalon Awwwwww...Thank you...I needed that!🥰🥰🥰

@@amandaleeborchert3745 XXXXXX

Thats brilliant you use Neem oil, Castell soap and garlic Patrick :-D Neem oil really is expensive, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER from Belfast to London for a wonderful sunny Wednesday XXXX

So happy you enjoyed the video Daz :-D the Neem oil works really well for getting rid of and preventing Spider mites, when I use it regularly every 2-3 weeks I dont see any mites but a few weeks of not using it especially over the Winter months the 'Beasties' return haha, Spider mites really are such horrible pests and they seem to think our Rebutias, Lophs, and Chamacereus and Lobivias are Caviar for them haha, thanks so much Daz for your wonderful friendship and amazing comment and support and for watching, and Hans and I are sending you and beautiful Edith tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER to England and Singapore for a sunny afternoon and evening ahead XXXX

So happy you loved the video Bernadette :-D Neem oil is so wonderful for both plants and humans and animals, and its lovely for the skin and hair, I mix a small dab of it in my night cream and it makes my skin feel like silk, I hope the weather is beautiful in York too, its amazingly sunny and warm here again today, Spring is here at last YAY :-D thanks so much Bernadette for your wonderful friendship and amazing comment and support and for watching, and Hans and I are sending you tons of love and happiness and CRYSTAL and PLANT POWER from across the Emerald Isle to beautiful York for a sunny Wednesday XXXX

So happy you love to use the Neem oil too, it really does work so well and its so wonderful that it does not harm beneficial insects and Bees, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, and sending you lots of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a sunny Friday today XXXX

So happy you enjoyed the information Angela, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday XXXX

Oh WOW HAPPY BIRTHDAY Zcoan :-D oh what I would give to be 15 again haha, I hope you had a wonderful birthday, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday today XXXX

So happy you enjoyed the video Scott :-D and thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon I'm just back from allotment ,been starting my new project a walk in greenhouse for my cacti and succulents, all repotted and ready to go ,no water for 2 weeks yet....I'm learning 🤣🌵x

@@scottgardiner7438 Thats brilliant news you are starting a new project with a walk in greenhouse, thats so exciting, and the weather is absolutely beautiful too, the perfect way to start the spring, sending you tons of love and happiness and sunshine from Belfast to Scotland for a sunny afternoon XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon ye fantastic day Lyn , tables are all in and plastic down just fit to fill the drip trays with gravel ,git to be washed,that's tommorows job lol ,wish I was able to send snaps on here 🌵x

@@scottgardiner7438 Oh WOW well done Scott :-D and this good sunny weather is said to last for a good few days too, so happy you have your new greenhouse and with the perfect weather for it too XXXX

haha thats good you are nearly convinced to give it a go :-D the Neem oil really is great at getting rid of and preventing the Mealies and the Spider mites, but the problem with it is its very pricey, but a little goes a long way and is cost effective long term, and its fantastic to use as a soil drench too for preventing root pests, I hope you are enjoying the gorgeous heatwave haha, thanks so much Claire for your wonderful friendship and amazing comment and support and for watching, and Hans and I are sending you lots of love and happiness and PLANT POWER from across the sea for a sunny afternoon XXXX

Thanks so much Magda :-D if the plants are Mammillarias or Ferocacti or Thelocactus or Opuntia or Tephrocacti it may be caused from the sticky honeydew like residue that come from their areoles and this is harmless, they are Extrafloral nectaries and can cause a sticky or watery like droplet on their plant bodies, and you don't need to worry at all, but if its on your other cacti or Succulents it may be caused from something else, I sometimes find sticky droplet like residues on some of my cacti and succulents and I find signs of mealy bug nests hiding under their pots and saucers, your plants may be absolutely fine but it may be best to treat them with rubbing alcohol or neem oil just to be on the safe side, thanks so much Magda for your wonderful friendship and amazing comment and support and for watching, and Hans and I are sending you lots of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful new week XXXX

Hi Odette :-D yes you leave the Neem oil on and you don't need to wash it off, the good news it won't burn the leaves as long as you don't spray in direct sunshine, and if its going to be overcast for the next two days thats the perfect time to spray your plants, thanks so much Odette for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, and sending you lots of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a fantastic Tuesday XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon YAY!!! Thanks so much for all your help and advice!!! Done the spraying and 80% rain due to start. All plants snug indoors and in their greenhouse. Have a wonderful afternoon and sending LOADS of love 🥰🥰🥰😀🌵🌵🌵🌧🌧🌧🤗

@@odettev8955 XXXXX 🥰🥰🥰🥰😃😃😃☔🌧🌧🌧

Hi Nick :-D yes I use the Neem oil on all my Trichocereus too, I leave the Neem oil on and don't wash it off as the Neem left on carries on working, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and and for watching, sending you lots of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday XXXX

Hi there, yes some of the taller cacti can get a bit top heavy and have a tendency to fall over haha, I often put a stone or a crystal in the pot to help to support the taller ones, you can also put the pots into heavier 'planters' to help to stop them from falling over, I sometimes have to support the taller ones with bamboo canes too, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday XXXX

Hi there, Yes I use it on my more mature seedlings that are 6 months or older, I would avoid using it on very young seedlings though, I don't think that the Neem would harm them as its pretty safe to use, but because I have not used it on seedlings younger than 6 months I would not want to risk it, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, and sending you lots of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a terrific Tuesday XXXX

The good news is the Neem oil doesn't harm the buds or flowers, but I do still avoid spraying the buds and flowers as much as possible as the spraying action may affect their petals, but the Neem oil is safe to use on the buds and flowers, if I spot any bugs on the buds or petals I will dab a little brush into rubbing alcohol to remove them, I find that Aphids and mealies really love to hide under the buds and they are such a pain as it can make the plants drop their buds, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, and sending you lots of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday today XXXX

Hi Christine, I am not sure as I have only used the normal Neem oil with the soap, so sorry I am not able to say, but only Neem oil that is safe to use for horticultural use should be used as some Neem that is water soluble is only suitable for skin care, thanks so much for watching and have a wonderful Sunday XXXX

Hi Dena :-D I find the Neem oil does have a bit of a tendency to take off some of the 'powdery hue and fuz' off some of the Succulents especially the Echeveria types, although it doesn't harm the plants it can spoil their appearance a little bit, but I prefer to use the alcohol on the fuzzy type succulents and I use a little brush dipped in alcohol to dab on the plants to remove the bugs, its not as effective as the neem but if you keep on top of dabbing the bugs and nests off with the alcohol it does help to minimize the bugs as much as possible, it can be more difficult with Spider mites though as they are so tough to see, if you use the neem oil early evening when there is no chance of any sun until the morning the leaves shouldn't burn, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon Thank you, I really appreciate the fact that you took the time to answer my question. Your detailed answer is exactly what I needed. Thanks again, and Happy growing 💛💚🧡

@@dena9968 XXXXX

I buy the Neem and soap from AMAZON and its by a brand called Pink Sun, it is a bit pricey but its very effective and a little goes a very long way, thanks so much for your wonderful comments and support and for watching and have a fantastic plant powered Wednesday today XXXX

Hi Emily :-D thats fantastic you use Hydrogen peroxide and Neem for your cactus, the good news is the Neem oil mixture doesn't harm the hairy cacti if the mixture drops onto the hairs, I notice that some of my hairy cacti do sometimes have a bit of a light yellow residue after using the neem, I use a bot of soapy water in a little bowl and rub my fingers over the hairs to separate any of the mixture that is still on the hairs, I use a little toothbrush to comb them after and it works well, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, and sending you lots of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful weekend XXXX

Hi Rhea :-D argh the dreaded Mealy bugs are such a pain, its best to use an unscented natural washing up liquid like the ones made by 'Ecover' or some of the natural soap based ones from the health shops and Holland and Barret, thanks so much Rhea for your wonderful friendship and amazing comment and support and for watching, and Hans and I are sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER from down the road haha for a wonderful sunny Wednesday today XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon Hi Lyn thanks for your suggestion.I will get the Ecover mix it with neem oil to treat them with mealy infestation.I really appreciate all the tips and advice you kindly and always share.Wonderful friendship indeed;)

@@rheashumblesanctuary9976 XXXXX

Hi there, the only problem with dishwashing soap and other soap is that it contains chemicals that can harm the cactus especially as some of the mixture can get onto the soil, its best to only use a horticultural soap to be on the safe side, thanks so much for watching and have a wonderful Wednesday XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon Oh no, I have sprayed some mixed with dishwashing liquid but only on the surface, would that do a lot of damage? The plants seemed fine so far.

@@Pollymichaelis The good news is if none has gone deep into the soil your plants will still be ok, XXXXX

Hi there, its due to corking from age, often these tall types of Cereus cacti will form scabs and scars as they age, thanks so much for watching and have a wonderful plant powered Tuesday XXXX

Hi there, if the yellow is at the very bottom part of the base of the Cactus it can be normal for Peyote Lophophoras to go a bit yellow at the very lower base during their rest period, its possible that your Peyote is still shrivelled due to it still being in its dormancy despite being watered, but if the yellowing has only appeared after you watered it, then if I was you I would remove your Peyote from the pot and carefully inspect the roots and under the base of the cactus to check that there is no signs of rot of insect pests under the base of the peyote and also on the roots that could be causing the yellowing, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon thank you for your feedback, i think that replanting might be my best bet then. Though I'll have to wait till the end of the month untill i can buy some proper cactus soil, cause right now it's planted in a mixture of dirt and sand which holds more water than i want it to. Do you think the waiting would make a difference? The yellowing hasn't worsened since i gave it water, and the dirt is completely dry so i don't expect it to suddenly escalate

@@desertplantsofavalon also, do you by any chance have an affiliate link for any website that would sell cactus soil and or fertilizer? I'd love to support you back for always being there

@@catcat4697 Thats brilliant news that the yellowing hasn't worsened since you gave it water, and if the dirt is dry it should be safe to wait a month, awwwww thats so kind of you to ask if I have an affiliate link for any soil and fertilizer, unfortunately I don't have any affiliate links for soils or fertilizer, but I make my own cactus soil by using a loam based soil ( John innes no 2 or 3 ) and horticultural sand and grit and I use it at 3 equal parts, XXXXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon thank you for the reply, I'll have a look into mixing the soil once my paycheck comes (:

Hi Maria :-D the good news is that Neem doesn't leave any trace on the fuzzie woolly ones haha, as long as you keep shaking up the spray mixture the soap helps to stop the Neem from sticking onto the hairs, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday today XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon I must need to follow mixing instructions better. But I will remember your ratios! I had to actually give my old man cactus a bath this past fall when I brought him In because he was grimy 😂

@@snoywntr2 XXXXX

It depends where you live. Where I live the nights don't get cold in March nor does it rain much. Where Lyn lives it may get cold and wet. It is very crucial to make sure you know when to water. You may water too early or too late. If your nights go below 39f 3.8c its not ideal to water. If you think your nights are a bit warmer, it is perfectly fine to water. When watering always use a ph of 5. This is because where these plants come from their ph averages out to 5. I ad 1 teaspoon to every gallon to keep the ph to 5. I also use 20-20-20 and Ammonium Sulfate(21-0-0).

Hi there :-D yes Zcoan has answered this perfectly ( thanks Zcoan

Hi Terilyne :-D yes Neem oil is fantastic to use for both indoor and outdoor plants, the smell of Neem oil can be a bit off putting for some in the house, as the Neem oil scent can linger for a few days, although thankfully I like the smell of Neem haha, the flies ( Sciarid flies ) are a real pest especially for young seedlings as their larvae grubs eat the delicate roots, watering the Neem solution into the soil helps to kill the larvea and I use little yellow sticky paper plant traps that are for putting into the pots and the flies are attracted to the colour and get stuck onto the sticky paper, this kills the adult flies and eventually kills off their cycle of reproducing, thanks so much for watching and wishing you a fantastic plant powered weekend XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon Thank you so much for responding! I am trying to gather as much information as I can because I am basically planning a mini Cactus project. Right now I'm trying to figure out the next mix for soil for cacti. And then I need to find out which are the smaller cacti that don't get too big. And I'm looking to find real thorny cactus that also flower. Basically the project is doing a line of poke Cactus along my rails on my balcony to try to keep the squirrels off of my balcony and digging into my plants. I love squirrels but boy can they cause a lot of damage. So if I occasionally ask you questions please bear with me.

@@terilynemarroquin8050 Awwww I am always happy to help with any questions Terilyne :-D XXXXX

Hi Maria :-D the good news is that Neem oil is harmless and non toxic to Bees, but its always best to spray the Neem oil late afternoon or early evening when most Bees will be less active, as the strong scent of Neem oil may put Bees off from wanting to pollinate flowers, thanks so much for your wonderful comment and support and for watching, sending you tons of love and happiness and PLANT POWER for a wonderful Wednesday XXXX

@@desertplantsofavalon oh good. I had read somewhere that neem as a soil drench cared systematically in the plant and I wanted to make sure the pollinators were safe!

@@snoywntr2 Its so good that Neem oil doesn't harm the Bees and the natural good insect predators like Ladybugs too XXXX

Hi Anna

Thanks for your advice Lynn! Very much appreciated!! I decided to hold back on spraying this morning because temperatures are in the 90s today and I noticed last time I used Neem oil on little epithalanthas, Because they have very tight spines and almost like a fine fur on them, although I had sprayed the night before, I noticed that the following day one of them burnt a little bit, and that was probably because it is harder for the oil to dry in between all of those tiny little spines, so I figure I will wait until the temperatures dip down a little bit just to be on the safe side and then maybe keep stuff in the shade for the next day. I really wish I had a poly tunnel or some type of set up like you do! it has been so crazy I have my plants out on tables and I am constantly moving them when it rains or if it’s just too damn hot like it is today, because they don’t have any type of natural shade. I really need to build some type of Cactus shelter but I am not the handiest type of person lol, but I definitely need to think of something quick that will provide them some type of shade/ shelter. another quick question that I wanted to ask you is if you actually change the pH of the water that you use to water your cacti? I know some people add some vinegar before they water I wasn’t sure if you do this? thanks in advance for your help!

@@annacaucci7644 Hi Anna :-D it can be such a challenge for us cactus growers and the weather, and here in Ireland its either too sunny or too rainy haha, I am lucky here with our water pH as our tap water is the perfect pH at 6.5pH but when I lived in the south of Ireland, the pH of the tap water was a very high pH9 as it was very high in lime, I used to add white vinegar to the tap water to bring down the pH and tried to use rainwater as much as possible when I could collect it, the white vinegar works very well at bringing down the pH of hard tap water, and the vinegar doesn't harm the plants, I used to use a little pH test kit that you can buy from the aquatic shops for testing water for fishkeeping, XXXXX