Cinnamon as a fungicide

Has anyone had any experince dipping the cut ends of cuttings in cinnamon for use as a fungicide? Martha Stewart reccomended it. Apparently is has mild anti-fungal properties.

I've never used it, but just saw this a few minutes ago on the Orchid forum.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/663376/

Go about halfway down, and you'll see some discussion.

Sharon

Thanks for the post , I was thinking about dusting with cinnamon on Dahlias and on seedlings for damping off .
All the info helps .
I copy , paste and save .

I think I saw a thread somewhere where horseshoe used it. Try dmailing him.

Yep, I've used it quite a few times over the past ten years. Seems to work just fine for me. When I've used it there has been no sign of damping off, fungus, etc. However, to be open-minded about it I must admit I seldom have those problems to begin with.

I will still use it though, mainly because I'm a miser and feel it to be an inexpensive way to stop fungus growth where you don't want it!

Shoe.

(Darn, now I'm right up there with Mawtha!?) Oh m'gosh! :>)

Shoe,

How do you apply it?

Howdy YardQueen...

I use it the same way you'd use a powdered rooting hormone. When taking your cuttings, clip them, dip the ends into water (usually when I take cuttings I put them into water immediately), shake the excess water off then dip the ends into the cinnamon jar. (If you are worried about contamination you can pour some cinnamon into a separate jar.) Shake off the excess cinnamon then put your cutting into your rooting medium. (I like to stick a hole in the rooting medium with a pencil so during the inserting it doesn't rub all the cinnamon off.) Once your cuttings are in the pots/rooting medium, lightly water them in, this pushes the medium around your cuttings and closes up the hole.

Shoe.

Thank you for the info Shoe. I have a lot of bottles of cinnamon I got on sale a while back. I had found out it was good for diabetes but then I found a liquid so here I am with several bottles of extra cinnamon...

How do you use it for seedlings? I need to know that because I am going to start seeds in the greenhouse for the first time. I have always just bought plants... But thanks to DG I have a TON of seeds now.

Carol

Hi, I'm the one who posted to Orchids about cinnamon. And I echoe Shoe, me and Martha, what is the world coming to? You need cinnamon with a lot of the essential oil in it, so old cinnamon won't be as effective as newly purchased cinnamon.
I sprayed my roses this summer with a mixture of cinnamon oil and baking soda (bought as RosePharm spray, safe to use around food crops, pets. etc.)- I had no black spot, it got rid of Japanese beetles, aphids. I am sold on using cinnamon oil outside a lot, and it smells nice too.

I've never used it on seedlings, never had the need to.

Are you worried about damping off? If so, just keep your seed trays moist but well-ventilated and you shouldn't see any fungal problems. Some folks have used diluted peroxide to water their trays with and have had good results; others have used chamomile tea and claim it halts damping off.

I know, I know, that doesn't help you with all that cinnamon does it! :>) Maybe you could try a light dusting on the surface of the soil but I'm not sure I'd dust them all, maybe just a sample tray or half tray and see if it is useful. And remember, too much cinnamon applied to young roots may have a negative affect and inhibit root growth.

Shoe.

edited to say howdy to bbinnj...guess you were posting while I was wandering off outside.

Thanks for the tip on getting rid of black spot. Sounds like a good use for cinnamon!

This message was edited Oct 25, 2006 11:47 AM

Shoe,
The post by tonyjr refers to seedlings, and then dmj1218 said to d-mail you about it and then you posted so I thought you were responing to that too. But I was planning to use H2O2 to germimate and now I will use it for watering too. Thanks for the info...

Carol

Howdy Shoe! I should clarify, I had only a little BS and the cinnamon helped keep it that way when applied once a week. I also have to point out that it can be used only when prevailing temps don't go above about 85 deg F, or else the leaves fry a little. I was applying evenings when the weather was predicted to be below 85.

Thanks for re-directing me Carol/yardqueen...now I see Tonyjr was talking about seedlings; my apologies for not paying close enough attention.

The more I think about it though maybe cinnamon, lightly dusted on seedlings, just might help those who have damping off problems. I should set up an experiment! :>)

Thanks bbinn, oils can certainly do some damage when applied in hot temps and or direct sun. Good to point that out so others won't end up with "stir fry on a stick" in their gardens, eh? ;>)

Shoe.

Yes Shoe, so true.

Haven't used this myself but somewhere recently I read to buy cinnamon oil, put a few drops in your sprayer with water and use this to spritz the seedlings.

Stella, that's what I'm going to switch to, but essential oil of cinnamon for this purpose (cinnamaldehyde) is actually hard to come by! Used to be available commercially as Cinnamite but not lately. If you find a source (and it's only the cinnamaldehyde that's the fungicide/miticide/larvacide in cinnamon oil) please post!!

Edited to say I'm pretty sure you need 0.5% cinnamaldehyde for it to work, a few drops in the sprayer and spray for a while it might be too dilute.

This message was edited Oct 27, 2006 11:47 AM

Had problems with damping off on seedlings a few years ago, always use cinnamon, never had a problem since

Thanks, biscombe!

Did you just lightly dust it on the soil surface? Or was it in a liquid spray form?

Shoe.

dust the soil surface

I have treated seeds with a equal mixture of cinnamon,sage and garlic powder with excellent results.

This message was edited Nov 9, 2006 8:27 AM

Seems like everytime I'm down at Walgreen's they have a table of 2/$1.00 spices just full of cinnamon. =)

Very interisting tread, learned a lot :o)
I collect oxalis and my biggest problem are aphids and rust. Fot the apids I use soap water with good effect, but when it comes to the rust…. Well lets say I often have headache LOL.
The only metod that has worked so far is removing the leaflets.
But sence many oxalis only produce a few leaflets and (as other plants with bulbs) need to draw nourishment form them when going dormant, it does not always seems as a good idea.

Would it help to drizzle a bit of cinnamon directly to the leaflets? The cinnamon and baking soda seems good and easy, but I don`t think we have cinnamon oil here.

Hey folks: Cinnamon oil is available on Amazon.com, both in the Gourmet Foods department and in the Health department. Hmmm. Would you spray it on seeds as well as for fungicide on plants?

One of my tasks while working at a historic site was to run magnolia leaves (Magnolia Grandiflora) through a shredder. They sure smell like cinnamon. The fuzz on the backs of the leaves looks like cinnamon. I wonder if it chemically is the same thing, so that maybe you could use magnolia juice as a fungicide??? Well, I just thought I'd ask.

Some of the constituents in Magnolia Bark include volatile oils (eudesmol, bornyl-acetate, etc.), alkaloids, tannin, magnolol, honokiol, zinc, copper, calcium, potassium, iron, magnesium and manganese.

Beneficial Uses:
Magnolia Bark has been used in Chinese herbal medicine for at least two thousand years as an aromatic, pungent and warming stimulant that treats various disorders of the digestive system and strengthens stomach function. It is a bitter relaxant herb that acts as a tonic and improves digestion, relieving stomach pains, gastroenteritis and flatulence. It calms diarrhea and vomiting associated with indigestion, stimulates poor appetite and alleviates fullness and distension of the abdomen.

As a mild diaphoretic, Magnolia Bark is said to increase perspiration and sweating and thus reduce fevers and cool the body. It has been historically used in cases of malarial fevers and fevers of a typhoid type.

Magnolia Bark is believed to have antiseptic, antibacterial, antifungal, antispasmodic, expectorant and anti-inflammatory properties. As such, the bark is thought to relieve the pain and inflammation of rheumatism and gout, counteract yeast infections (such as leukhorrea) and combat upper respiratory tract infections and spasms, including asthma, coughs, profuse phlegm in the lungs, shortness of breath and fullness and pressure in the chest area.

In the fight against obesity and weight management, Magnolia Bark has recently been recognized as

Magnolia as antifungal.