Hi plant friends! I’ve had this micans for a while & she’s gotten really dusty. For my other houseplants, I clean with Neem oil or my homemade cleaning spray that has Neem oil, Castile soap, a super tiny amount of rubbing alcohol, & water. I’ve heard that Neem oil can be damaging to plants with velvet leaves, so I’m just wondering what the best way is to clean them & pest prevention? Ive just been giving her a rinse with tap water every once in a while when it gets bad, but I would like to use something that has pest prevention. Thank you in advance!
by No-Towel-288
8 Comments
Commenting to boost and come back, I’d love to know as well. Your Micans are gorgeous 💚
Shower.
My micans is one of my largest plants. I’m not spending hours cleaning every single leaf.
Diluted neem is fine on velvet leaves. I use it on my philodendrons. Just make sure it’s well mixed and appropriate dilution (I buy the ready-to-spray kind).
Feather duster for some. Shower in the sink or tub for others.
TBH, I have a hard time cleaning leaves with a damp cloth. I end up injuring the leaf, velvet or not! I don’t trust myself.
I just stick mine in the sink and spray it down with the sprayer on lower pressure
Just hose it down.
Feather duster every watering then the occasional spray down in the shower or sink
Never treat for pests preventatively, it’s awful practise and bad for everything except the pests.
Water is the only thing that should be going anywhere near a healthy leaf. Maybe a foliar feed mixed in.
Castille soap is still soap, and strips the oils from the leaf.
Neem is plain old shit. Stinky shit.
Alcohol does the same thing to plants as it does to us – dehydration. It’s not great for the cells, and that soap will allow it to penetrate deeper, spreading the damage.