Bonide Captain Jack's Copper Fungicide, 32 oz Ready-to-Use Spray for Organic Gardening, Controls Common Diseases

Background: New England Zone 6a/6b (big snow, ice, and frigid winters), first attempt at growing citrus in container pot. I know, who up here even tries! Gourmet chef (or sad Wannabe) whom cultivates my own herbs for my dishes year-round.Subject: ~ 2’ tall Meyer lemon tree in container pot.Situation: Never used a fungicide before, but total success with Captain Jack’s de-bug product. For those new to the line, I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to read their products’ comprehensive brochures from beginning to end before using. I bought this copper fungicide product to help me combat what I suspect was early powdery mildew on my baby Meyer lemon tree. The tree is my very first citrus, in a container I immediately transpotted with bottom pebbles, Coast of Maine organic worm-casting potting soil, lots of perlite for better drainage and to monitor its roots through the clear plastic. Success! It was thriving all summer outside, and even exploded in new blooms and put out about 15 baby lemons, most of which dropped (because Meyers sacrifice when it senses its young stems can’t support). Then I brought it indoors to winter, still fruiting with three green globes, and placed it under one of my grow lights in a heated low humidity room.What baffled me was, despite my attention to the amount of natural light, temperatures, and minimal water it demanded, it was suddenly showing signs of mildew. To my surprise, the fungicide’s brochure explained how powdery mildew is unique and doesn’t require any water to take hold. It made sense.Remedy: I’ve cared for all of my indoor plants either where they are or in my kitchen sink. But being I’m so fond of this little lemon tree, it’s got thorns to kill, and I mean business, this one wasn’t going to be just a sink job. Armed with the Captain Jack’s fungicide, I first removed and pitched the topmost crust of soil and anything dead or remotely white, then sprayed-turnedover-sprayed the first few inched of soil, lower stems, and lower leaves in the sink. Then when dry, I moved it to the tub, massaged the top two inches of soil with more spray, and retreated the tops and underside of every leaf. I let it air dry. The most egregious white spots reappeared as it dried, but I resisted the temptation to spray it again, knowing the fungicide just takes time to work. I returned it to its place under its grow light (a Soltec canister beam).One week later, the Meyer Lemon’s leaves, while not out-of-the-woods, are showing signs of stability, if not improvement. New buds have emerged at many stem’s ends, and its spikes have grown and hardened, as if to protect its remaining nascent fruit. The fruit is looking good. 🍋Another week later, the tree is looking great, with only a few tiny stubborn (or resistant) patches of powdery mildew (?) remaining. The 3 fruits look great, and all but one of the many new buds are growing. It’s lost no leaves since last week, and definitely thriving. I reapplied the fungicide spray again to the fruit, leaves, and soil. Conclusion, Captain Jack’s Copper Fungicide saved my Meyer Lemon.

I live in Phoenix, where the dry heat can be tough on plants, and my orange tree started showing signs of leaf spot. I tried Bonide Captain Jack’s Copper Fungicide and was really pleased with the results. After a couple of applications, the tree looks much healthier and the leaf issues have cleared up noticeably.I appreciate that it’s organic and safe to use on fruit trees. The ready-to-use spray bottle is convenient and easy to apply, even in the early mornings before the heat kicks in.

Product worked well on my young mango trees with white powdery mildew but a bit expensive for the quantity of product.

Time will tell if it works but it was fairly easy to apply.

Current that curly leaf that most plants come with from the nursery now

It’s nice that they give you a significantly hefty bottle, since it doesn’t actually prevent future mold growth. I used this on a house plant’s soil and it would kill the mold for a couple days… then it would regrow.I don’t think it’s worth it unless it’s a highly-susceptible to copper based mold.

Works great!

Works to kill bugs and it sprays on very well to help remove brown spots on my Laurels. Good value for the money, easy to use, the bottle is a good size.