This is a copy of what I reported on the "Botany Forum" a week ago. Nothing's changed except that I've now applied the product 4 times at approx 2 week intervals.

"Over the weekend, I treated my plants to the third (now fourth) application of Messenger at approx two week intervals. I applied it to about 100 trees & shrubs in training for bonsai, about 30 containers I have scattered about the garden, and another 50 or so smaller individual containerized plantings. At each application, I included a foliar feeding of 5-1-1 fish emulsion and a Daconil treatment.

I build all my own soils & have a good working relationship with them. They perform very well & I have pretty much worked out all the problems. This allows me to keep containerized plants looking near their peak potential. For that reason, I cannot say with any certainty that my plants look better than in past years, but I think they do. I can also say that I think bloom time is extended. I have 2 plantings of containerized pansies that are still blooming strongly & looking good. In past years, they had faded by this time. I have eliminated temperature as the reason they still look appealing, as we've gone through a couple of really hot spells that should have laid them low, but it could be something I'm unaware of, still. Other bloomers I regularly pot up seem to have more persistent blooms as well. All the containers are showing lush green foliage & are producing plenty of blooms, but as noted, its not much of a departure from normal. It's difficult to make short term judgments on the trees & shrubs for bonsai, so I'm observing floral stuff most carefully.

I'm usually very careful about drawing conclusions from what would surely be considered anecdotal observations, so I have to say "The jury's still out", but I'll continue to observe for the rest of the summer."

Expensive, though. ;o)

Al

Thanks, AL. I haven't applied it as much as you, and did not fertilize at the same time, just did my normal biweekly feeding of either fish/seaweed emulsion or Earth Juice.We've had a severe lack of sunshine and overabundance of rain, so that could be my problem. I won't draw any conclusions yet, either.

I actually bought some of that but haven't tried it yet. Since I have a daily hummer visitor, I have been very conscientious about what I do to the stuff that she nectars from or may nectar from. I'd really like to try it on one of my honeysuckles that needs a boost about now (thanks to some awful powdery mildew that I'm battling here), but that is a favorite of hers.

Well.. this is my second year useing it in the summers... I'm more than a little impressed with it.. I still have some mildew on the honeysuckle also... but not at all like in years past...Jenny>>> no need to worry about the hmmer... it's not a peterolum based product... it's not a posion in any form... it's a protein that's in plants... but when introduced with a spray....triggers the plant to go into a bunch of defencive reactions.. like from being attacked.. like better flower I might die lets make alot and make them big] I've no blackspot , mildew or any other problem on the roses... and my lilac looks like it has the leaves of a dark succlent..rathere than it's summer weakness
The way I think of what it is like... If you were inside and were thinking about just how nice it was out there in the garden,, then you go out and it's just that pretty way... everything is looking so good..
Good Growing.. Gordon NYC

Thanks for relating your experiences Gordon. I think I may give it a shot. :-)

do Jenny... if you are ever getting yourself away from the flowers there .. let me know and I'll hoast a tour here ... Gordon

I've used it all summer on all my plants and like Al, I THINK it works, everything is doing well in spite of terrible hot weather (100+) a lot of the time. I believe it works enough to use it again next year. Like Al I have pansies doing well too, when they would have been history by this time last year without Messenger.