how do you clean greenhouse dust and dirt off your plants?

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Sofonisba Questa, NM(Zone 5b) Dec 24, 2007

Just got this yucca today at Home Depot. They made me wait 15 minutes while they wandered around looking for a sku on it. Turns out, it was only $2 and some change.

Anyway, its leaves are covered with a white sediment... or something. I don't know what it is. I tried cleaning each leaf off by hand with water and a sponge. Each leaf needed to be wiped 3x and then it was clean. After an hour or so of that, I wasn't 1/4 way done, so I stuck the plant in the shower and turned the nozzle on jet spray. I sorta knew it wasn't going to work, but I thought it couldn't hurt. Here's a pic. Any suggestions how I should clean it?

Thanks!
Harper

Thumbnail by Sofonisba
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stogeo Hermitage, TN Dec 24, 2007

Great bargain!

Cleaning plants in one of my least favorite chores. It's not fun, and it's terribly time consuming. Some "stuff" is quite stubborn and seemingly takes forever to come off.

anyway, you can buy leaf cleaning solutions... they generally work pretty well, but you still "should" wipe each leaf after spraying. So, not so much a time, effort saver.

I recently had to clean to very large, VERY dirty arbicolas. The thought of wiping each and every leaf nearly made me pass out. We decided to go for the big guns.
We took a spray bottle, and mix about 3:1 parts white vinegar and water and hosed it down. The acid in the vinegar really helped draw the dirt away.
after spraying with vinegar, of course you MUST spray it down with water to wash off the vinegar.

I just realized you're in NY, so doing this outside right now isn't really an option for you. Sorry.
Maybe look for Pokon, or Foliglow. They are leaf cleaners... they work, and you could probably get away with out wiping the leaves after spraying.

If you do decide to spray ANYTHING on the yucca, make sure you tip the plant, and give it a shake, to spill any water out of the plant. leaving it will cause it to rot.

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stogeo Hermitage, TN Dec 24, 2007

also, it is advisable to wear latex gloves when cleaning plants. some of that residue you see could very well be pesticide/fungicide, and you don't really want to unnecessarily expose yourself to that

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Sofonisba Questa, NM(Zone 5b) Dec 24, 2007

Thank you stogeo. I might try the vinegar thing. The plant can fit in my shower. I'll be sure to drain the water and wear gloves. Thanks!

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tommyr2006 Poughkeepsie, NY(Zone 6a) Dec 26, 2007

I give mine a shower in the bath tub.

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Sofonisba Questa, NM(Zone 5b) Dec 26, 2007

I do that too, normally, but this photo is after the shower. Well, it does look better than when I first got it from the store. Eventually, I'll wipe the leaves with a cleaner or try the vinegar trick.

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