Scale on Phalaenopsis

[David E. Ross]

I have a Phalaenopsis in a greenhouse window in my breakfast room. It seems to do quite well there, blooming every year. However, it and the other plants in the window seem to get infested with scale.

I've treated the other plants in the window with a soil drench of imidacloprid, a systemic insecticide. It seems to be effective and give long-term results. Is this safe to use when watering my orchid?

[David E. Ross]

Phalaenopsis does NOT grow in soil. Mine is growing in bark chips. Other growers prefer fern fiber.

While I do use some organic principles in gardening, I'm not dogmatic about it. See my

.