Question
Hi,
My name is Justin. I am from San Diego California, and I had a couple of questions

I would like to make sure my Sarracenia are safe from aphids this season (Had a run in with them last season). I was wondering if I sprayed my Sarracenia's Rhizomes and the newly emerging leafs with systemic killer by Ortho will it prevent aphid damage on any newer leafs coming through and not just the ones I sprayed?

My next question is will it harm my plants if as I'm spraying my sarracenia some of the Ortho systemic gets on the soil?

My last question is, will the ortho systemic also prevent sooty mold? I have a problem with the sooty mold and now that I have trimmed all of the old vegetation off of my sarracenia, I'm hoping to keep this problem at bay.I can't really just wipe it off with something like neem oil because I have a fairly large collection of Sarracenia. Any other suggestions on the prevention of sooty mold?

Thanks for your time

Good Growing,
Justin

Answer
Hi Justin,

Spraying the new leaves and rhizome surface works great.  It'll give you several weeks of protection since what systemic means it that the insecticide goes into the plant tissues.  Getting some in the soil won't harm them.  This insecticide is very safe for the plants as long as you mix it according to directions.  It just smells terrible.

The ingredient in the Ortho systemic is called Acephate.  It is not a fungicide.  However, ortho makes a product called RosePride that has both Acephate and a fungicide called Trifirone.  I've never personally used this product, but a friend of ours has used it safely on Nepenthes.  You can try it on one plant and see if any damage occurs, then use it on the others if it seems safe.  If you check some garden centers I'm seeing more products that use a combination of Pyrethrins and sulfur.  This is a combination of a botanical insecticide and fungicide.  You just have to use it more often.

If you're really having a problem with the mold, I recommend spraying with a sulfur based fungicide mid-winter to prevent the mold so you don't have to treat for it once the mold has developed.  Prevention is easier than cure.


Good Growing!

Jeff Dallas
Sarracenia Northwest
http://www.cobraplant.com