To wash or not to wash... Neem Oil.

Hey all! I have read a lot about neem oil and the only thing I am not really clear on is weather or not I should wash it off, and if so, how long should I wait until I do so? Some opinions on this would be greatly appreciated. I have outdoor and indoor grows going if that makes a difference. Thanks!

Everytime that I used neem oil I just applied and never washed off, and I never saw any adverse effects. If you worried about it I guess you could mist the plants as long as there not to far in flower.

Best thing to do is spray it on away from your lights. Let it sit until plant is dry, or you will burn your plants. Its like putting sun tan lotion on your plant. I usually put a fan out to blow on the plant this helps the drying and knocks off some of the extra spray. plants will absorb it though like a foliage food. Depending on what brand you buy you might have to add a drop or two of dish detergent to help it stick. I only use Neem Oil as a preventive maintenance. Its not strong enough to kill off some type of molds, only holds them a bay for a while, same with the bugs. good preventive maintenance but not a good fix. And one last thing... Dont use it on buds!!! It will make them look shity, it will turn your hairs brown. If you do use on buds dont do it after the five week mark. Good luck.

Thanks for the reply guys! Yeah, just using it as a preventative measure. Mites got me last grow. Want to try and avoid that again at all costs! Sneaky little bastards.

I read you should wash it off though so that the oil does not clog up the pores. Is there anything you know about that? I'm mostly just worried about that.

after two or more applications, you can clog the pores and kill the leaves, i always rinse after a day or two

Neem oil dissipates in sunlight, I wouldnt spray in the last 2 weeks. .As its oil it doesnt rinse off too well and find the water has to be over 26 C/78 f to have any chance of diluting the oil with water.

I had spider mites last grow which I noticed three weeks before harvest. Got really bad very quickly. I used a peppermint oil first but found it to expensive so I turned to neem oil and but sprayed off with a compressor (PSI 30) to get rid off as many as I could first. Didn't rinse and it turned out fine. The problem is if you do a grow afterward with the same eguipment you must make sure eveything is cleaned thouroughly or you will end up with another infestation. I also sprayed neem oil on my new clones once rooted and then followed up again when transplanting. As stated above make sure you air dry out of the sun or under lights or you may create problems with burning.