One product I've just started to experiment with is sulfur. Sulfur use in the Hoya community seems to be on the rise due to the increase in mites among collectors. It can be used to treat various pests such as mites, thrips, and scale. It also has been effective in treating powdery mildew. I purchased the Bonide sulfur dust. You can use sulfur in dust form, mix it with water to make a spray, or mix with water to create a paste to paint on. I opted for the spray as I decided to treat my whole collection. To make the spray combine 3 tbsp per 1 gallon of water. The sulfur mixture can clog up spray bottles. I used my usual glass spray bottle and didn't notice any issues. The spray will leave a residue on your foliage and it does have a slight odor. It is recommended to wear a mask while spraying. Additionally, it is stated on the label to not spray during hot temperatures and do not use sulfur within two weeks of an oil spray such as neem. My plan is to leave the sulfur on the foliage. From what I've heard you can either leave the sulfur on the leaves or wipe it off. If you choose to wipe it off I would give it two weeks and then wipe off with water or leaf shine. I also experimented with the paint on method via H. 'Silver Dollar'. The other day I noticed that three of the leaves had some type of unknown scabbing on them and I figured a treatment of sulfur couldn't hurt. I didn't measure out a ratio of water to sulfur dust while making the paste. I mixed enough water into the sulfur to get a pasty texture. I used a paint brush and went to town. If you do paint on the sulfur, I would recommend wiping it off within a week or two because most likely it will be harder for the plant to photosynthesize properly with globs of sulfur on the surface of the leaves. Sulfur is also a fertilizer and can help promote plant growth. It will decrease soil pH as well as sodium levels. I have heard good things about people seeing new growth on their Hoyas from using sulfur two weeks after application. Moreover, I read on one of the Facebook Hoya pages that you can water sulfur into the soil to help with bacterial infections. The user said to mix 1 tsp of sulfur per 16oz of water. It seems like there are a lot of benefits to using sulfur and hopefully I will be experiencing them soon.
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