sick coral honneysuckle

[snookerdude]

my two coral honeysuckle plants are in trouble. they have cast a lot of leaves and many of the vines are drying up. i sent samples to the U of Fl for diagnostic review and they told me i had mites [or rather the plants did]. the best info i could come up with for treating them is neem oil. however, application needs to be done with no rain for 24 hrs. after applicaltion. how does one do this in central florida in the months of july or august? meanwhile, the mites are winning and i and the humming birds are loosing. anyone else had this mite problem???

[snookerdude]

i did the neem oil treatment a couple of times and the results are rewarding. i did no pruning back of the less affected plant and it now has a good bit of new growth and several blossom clusters. the sicker plant i cut back severely and had little hope for it's recovery. but it has put out a lot of new growth and i believe it will soon be blossoming. the trunk, just above ground level is about 2" in dia. so it has an excellent root system. i will try to add pics. later.