Neem oil + silicon + wetting agent = new growth twisting/cupping?

Hello guys.

I would appreciate any advice on my plants. I have looked in the various stickies and didn't really find anything that fits.

All of the new growth on my plants are twisted and cupping (some plants worse than others) the a couple days after I sprayed them with Neem oil with Green Cure. Some of the plants show signs of deficiency though (rust spots and overall more yellow color) so not sure...

I made a mix of:
1 tsp Dyna-Gro Neem Oil
1/2 tsp CES Bulletproof Si (Sodium Dioxide, Silicate)
1-2 ml of Coco-Wet wetting agent.
1+ tsp of Green Cure (Potassium Bicarbonate)
1 Liter of tepid water

I blending this until thoroughly emulsified and sprayed it all over the plant underside and on top until runoff. I sprayed them about 10 minutes before lights off.

The lights are 3 feet away (yes, 36") and only running at 50% (500 watts). Room runs 72-78 degrees and humidity runs at 40-55%. Both the temp and humidity ranges include the night time swing.

Questions:

1. Was this caused by the wetting agent? I have read it can be caused by soaps used but this was yucca extract
2. Was this caused by the Sodium Silicate? I have read this can cause an imbalance in potassium but I also had Green Cure in the mix which is potassium
3. I am sure its not environmental conditions and not light related.
4. Can I fix this or is the new growth too far gone? What would you recommend?

thanks for the input, pictures attached.

Look at those leaves, the curling edges scream too high humidity.
I've had plants like that before outdoors, they become a large tree full of popcorn nugs. not sure how much genetics come to play.

ANC, thanks for the reply. Humidity has only gotten to 55% at its highest and never stayed consistently that hight. Even at 55%, I don't think that's super high....not enough to curl leaves like that. Maybe I'm wrong but I have never had any plant to this at 55% and like I said that's a spike at night that is not the constant level.

my guess is the Bulletproof
but try to apply these things separately for better results. these leaves may die, but you'll recover soon

I would guess clogged stomata from the spraying. I've seen similar when I've sprayed Neem too strong back to back. Just a guess, seems a little odd given good humidity level.

My guess is the bulletproof doesn't mix well with the greencure.
Are you trying to treat something with the neem oil?

chemphlegm said:

my guess is the Bulletproof
but try to apply these things separately for better results. these leaves may die, but you'll recover soon

Click to expand...

Mixing a bunch of stuff together is not good. Do a silica spray one day. Maybe Neem another day,

Have you calibrated your humidity meter thingemabob?

One often sees curled extended leaf edges with high humidity, it gives the leave extra surface area to transpirate.

Did you try rinsing that mess off with pure water? Looks like you OD'ed it with the neem or all of them. Silica is very alkaline so that could be it too. I've seen that when people don't read the instructions and spray straight neem on their plants instead of the 1 or 2mls/L they are supposed to use.

WTF were you thinking?

Good luck.

OldMedUser said:

Did you try rinsing that mess off with pure water? Looks like you OD'ed it with the neem or all of them. Silica is very alkaline so that could be it too. I've seen that when people don't read the instructions and spray straight neem on their plants instead of the 1 or 2mls/L they are supposed to use.

WTF were you thinking?

Good luck.

Click to expand...

Silica was used as an emulsifier. It says right on the back of the Pro-Tekt container to mix the Neem oil with silica for that exact purpose. I only used 2.5ml/L. Yes, I rinsed them after I saw them like this two different times with RO water. Thanks for the insult too, great advice, helps tremendously.