# 'Dragon's Blood'



## Orchid Addiction (Feb 27, 2019)

I have been reading some members are using croton lechleri or 'Dragon's Blood' for fungus rot. Does it really work and if so how often does it need to be applied? Tried to purchase from Amazon but it is no longer available so where can I purchase it? Does it come in different strength and if so what is recommended? I plan to try it on both Paph's and Phrag's.
Thanks for any information you can provide.


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## Happypaphy7 (Feb 27, 2019)

I have used it on a few of the issues on my plants in the last few years. Short answer : Yes! 
I generally do not have lots of disease issues on my paphs, but unpleasant things do find their way here and there. 
The most common issues I have had is the brown rot on the leaves on Maudiae type hybrids. When left alone, this disease quickly eat away the tissues destroying the leaf. When I applied thin layer of Dragon's Blood, they stopped spready further. 
Other members shared story of saving a plant from crown rot, but I believe that the sooner you catch the disease, the more likely that you will have success in the case of crown rot. 
You use a raw sap 100%. In my experience, one application was enough to stop minor leaf rot and spotting issues.


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## abax (Feb 27, 2019)

I might add that the stuff on Amazon is not the real thing. Eric New York
City has the good stuff for $26.00 including shipping. It works quickly and
without using a great deal. It's also great for drying up poison ivy rash and
stings from insects. I keep two or three bottles on hand at all times...one
in the house for rashes and stings and two in the greenhouse for any number
of uses.


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## Baileyboo936 (Mar 24, 2019)

How would I be able to get in contact with Eric New York City? Does he still sell this product? I'm new to this and can you tell me how to use it on brown leaf rot? I had purchased a bottle from Amazon but it seems to turn the leaf brown. I don't know it is suppose to do that or not. I would really appreciate any advice or help with this. Thank you.


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## NYEric (Mar 25, 2019)

Is what you got from Amazon pure? The color of the product is a dark red-brown like dried blood and yes it works.


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## xiphius (Mar 25, 2019)

abax said:


> I might add that the stuff on Amazon is not the real thing.



You can find the real thing on Amazon/Ebay. You just have to be a bit careful when buying. Don't buy any product labeled as "Dragon's Blood" without a picture of the ingredient list from the bottle. What you want to look for is 100% _Croton lechleri_ sap. I have some stuff from Amazon that works quite well. Saved a growth on my Phrag. andreettae that was starting to brown a bit (I was quite impressed). Haven't had a chance to try it on anything else; thankfully . It is commonly sold as a natural product for cuts and scrapes.



NYEric said:


> Is what you got from Amazon pure? The color of the product is a dark red-brown like dried blood and yes it works.



The stuff I got was darkish reddish brown. Fairly liquid (and a bit frothy). After a minute or so, it starts to thicken up as it dries. I think the brand was "Raw Food Company" or something like that (listed as a product of Peru).


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## NYEric (Mar 25, 2019)

Yes, it comes from Peru and should dry quickly, forming like a lacquer shell. It is not a miracle product, but it has save a couple of plants I thought were goners and If I see any rot I quickly apply it.


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## TrueNorth (Mar 26, 2019)

Eric, do you have any for sale? I sent you a PM awhile ago (now called a conversation in the new system - envelope at the top right of the screen).


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## Baileyboo936 (Mar 26, 2019)

xiphius said:


> You can find the real thing on Amazon/Ebay. You just have to be a bit careful when buying. Don't buy any product labeled as "Dragon's Blood" without a picture of the ingredient list from the bottle. What you want to look for is 100% _Croton lechleri_ sap. I have some stuff from Amazon that works quite well. Saved a growth on my Phrag. andreettae that was starting to brown a bit (I was quite impressed). Haven't had a chance to try it on anything else; thankfully . It is commonly sold as a natural product for cuts and scrapes.
> 
> 
> 
> The stuff I got was darkish reddish brown. Fairly liquid (and a bit frothy). After a minute or so, it starts to thicken up as it dries. I think the brand was "Raw Food Company" or something like that (listed as a product of Peru).



Hi xiphius, 
I don't know what the ingredients are. I'm not a home at the moment to check. When I purchased it from Amazon here is what it said " 
Dragon's Blood Sangre de Grado, 2 Ounces, 100% Raw Pure Croton Lechleri, No Alcohol, Sangre de Drago". 
Now would this be the real deal? It is a darkish red brown color. The only thing is I am not sure how to apply it on the plant and how much to apply. It is suppose to turn the whole leaf brownish orange color? 

Hi NYEric,
Are you still selling the Dragon's Blood and if so can you tell me how much you are charging please? I appreciate any advice/suggestion as to how to use it. Can you use it on any orchid or plant?

Thank you both,
Baileyboo936


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## xiphius (Mar 26, 2019)

Baileyboo936 said:


> Hi xiphius,
> I don't know what the ingredients are. I'm not a home at the moment to check. When I purchased it from Amazon here is what it said
> "Dragon's Blood Sangre de Grado, 2 Ounces, 100% Raw Pure Croton Lechleri, No Alcohol, Sangre de Drago".
> Now would this be the real deal? It is a darkish red brown color. The only thing is I am not sure how to apply it on the plant and how much to apply. It is suppose to turn the whole leaf brownish orange color?



Probably. Assuming the highlighted/underlined part is accurate according to the actual ingredient list. In my case, I was using it on a new leaf on a new growth that was starting to rot a bit. So I just dripped a couple drops into the new crown and wiggled the leaves to make sure it got down in between the leaves. I wouldn't necessarily cover the whole leaf. If there is a spot, I would just apply it to the spot (with a generous margin around the spot) on both sides. Like Eric mentioned, it is not a miracle cure, but it does seem to help dry out (and stop the spread of) rot spots.

If you cover the entire leaf, it might make it hard for the plant to respire.


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## NYEric (Mar 26, 2019)

Someone else from the forum said they are selling it on eBay and I don't want to interfere with their business. rub or drip some on the affected areas and try not to wash it away. eventually the rot will stop and new growth will occur. Do not mix with alcohol, somehow that stops the Dragon's blood from working. ??? You can use it on any plant or animal tissue!


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## TrueNorth (Mar 26, 2019)

Eric, I want to buy some from you and pick it up in Montreal. Are you going this year?


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## NYEric (Mar 27, 2019)

I'm up in the air and it's next weekend! eek!


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## xiphius (Apr 1, 2019)

NYEric said:


> Do not mix with alcohol, somehow that stops the Dragon's blood from working. ??? You can use it on any plant or animal tissue!



Hey Eric, how do you store yours - fridge or room temp? Just curious. I have been keeping mine the fridge, but I am not sure that is necessary. Also, have you noticed a "shelf life"?


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## TrueNorth (Apr 1, 2019)

I stored mine at room temp for several years. All the red stuff eventually precipitated out and settled to the bottom. I bought some fresh stuff on Amazon but it hasn't arrived yet.

The red precipitate is soluble in alcohol, but the consensus seems to be not to use alcohol.


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## gonewild (Apr 1, 2019)

TrueNorth said:


> I stored mine at room temp for several years. All the red stuff eventually precipitated out and settled to the bottom. I bought some fresh stuff on Amazon but it hasn't arrived yet.
> 
> The red precipitate is soluble in alcohol, but the consensus seems to be not to use alcohol.



Do not ever mix DB with alcohol. Just stir or shake to mix in the sediment back into suspensiom. Even without the sediment the clear liquid works as does the sediment as a paste. Store at room temperature. As yet I have not encountered a shelf life that prevents the intended use on plants, in fact aging is important.


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## NYEric (Apr 15, 2019)

There you go.


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## TrueNorth (Apr 19, 2019)

The product I ordered from Amazon has finally arrived. It looks like the real deal. It doesn't smell quite as strongly as the stuff I got from Eric. Perhaps it's a bit more dilute. It was around $20 for 2 ounces from Blue Organix..

*Dragon's Blood Sangre de Grado, 2 Ounces, 100% Raw Pure Croton Lechleri, No Alcohol, Sangre de Drago *


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## Ozpaph (Apr 21, 2019)

once it dries out I cant get it to redisolve even in hot water. I mash it up and apply directly.


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## NYEric (Apr 22, 2019)

That's a good price. let me know how it works.


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## xiphius (Apr 23, 2019)

TrueNorth said:


> I stored mine at room temp for several years. All the red stuff eventually precipitated out and settled to the bottom. I bought some fresh stuff on Amazon but it hasn't arrived yet. The red precipitate is soluble in alcohol, but the consensus seems to be not to use alcohol.





gonewild said:


> Do not ever mix DB with alcohol. Just stir or shake to mix in the sediment back into suspensiom. Even without the sediment the clear liquid works as does the sediment as a paste. Store at room temperature. As yet I have not encountered a shelf life that prevents the intended use on plants, in fact aging is important.



Thanks for the tips! Good luck with yours True North. Like I said, my DB from Amazon seems to work just fine. I have only had to use it a couple times though, and not on anything that was very far gone.


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## NYEric (Jun 24, 2019)

This is a photo of the effect of Dragon's Blood. The plant had a SERIOUS infection in the crown of the leaves. I applied DB and kept the area relatively dry. A couple weeks later you can see a new growth to the left of my thumb. I am not selling the product, just letting you know how it works. YOu can see the plant was in trouble.


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## SouthPark (Jun 25, 2019)

Nice options. Who was the first to start using this remedy on orchids? Apparently you can even buy the slowing growing plant itself, from which the sap comes from heheheh.


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## NYEric (Jun 27, 2019)

Hmmmm, my post from yesterday did not show up!!! 
Again, the sap from croton lechleri has been use to treat damaged tissue for centuries.


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## gonewild (Jun 27, 2019)

SouthPark said:


> Who was the first to start using this remedy on orchids?



That would be me. 
Check this original post:
https://www.slippertalk.com/threads/natural-treatment-for-bacterial-infection.2106/


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## SouthPark (Jun 28, 2019)

gonewild said:


> That would be me.
> Check this original post:
> https://www.slippertalk.com/threads/natural-treatment-for-bacterial-infection.2106/



Nice!!! Thanks for mentioning that. It certainly appears that by the numbers of people saying it works for them too ----- it has very good potential. Nice work.


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## justagirlart (Jul 12, 2019)

Be careful with it. It killed my small phrags


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## NYEric (Jul 15, 2019)

justagirlart said:


> Be careful with it. It killed my small phrags


I doubt that. Please explain.


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## h_mossy (Sep 12, 2019)

justagirlart said:


> Be careful with it. It killed my small phrags


Is is possible they were already beyond saving?


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## Ray (Sep 12, 2019)

A good question.

The key to any "rescue", is promptness of detection and treatment. _Nothing_ repairs damage, and even if the cure stops the ailment cold, the plant needs resources to tap into to recover. Plus, when you consider that most of the ailments our plants get come about because of shortcomings in our culture, no chemical treatment corrects that, so the plants might still be stressed.


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## southernbelle (Sep 13, 2019)

h_mossy said:


> Is is possible they were already beyond saving?


Same thing happened to me with a Jason Fischer that was struggling. I tried Dragons Blood on a shoot that had damped off and could not save the rest of the small plant. Maybe too little too late, I don’t know.


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## h_mossy (Sep 14, 2019)

Ray, your reasoning appears to be quite sound. Thanks.


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## justagirlart (Oct 5, 2019)

I used Dragon's Blood on some of my other larger Orchids. It did a good job drying up the diseased parts. It did not stop the progression of the disease for very long. That is probably due to the cause of the disease was not removed. I am only cautioning people to use it sparingly on small phrags because it "dried up" the whole orchid and it died in one day. The disease was not within the entire orchid. It would have died slower. Sorry about not being more detailed in my post.


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## Ray (Oct 5, 2019)

justagirlart said:


> I used Dragon's Blood on some of my other larger Orchids. It did a good job drying up the diseased parts. It did not stop the progression of the disease for very long. That is probably due to the cause of the disease was not removed. I am only cautioning people to use it sparingly on small phrags because it "dried up" the whole orchid and it died in one day. The disease was not within the entire orchid. It would have died slower. Sorry about not being more detailed in my post.


I really hope you don't get the impression that I'm picking on you, but you seem to be missing some details.

When a plant is diseased, the _entire_ plant is diseased, not just the parts that are showing symptoms. Yeah, the damage has progressed more where it is visible, but the disease is certainly not isolated to that part. If we have the flu and get a headache, that doesn't mean the pathogen is only in our heads.

I would also caution you not to lump all products into one when you praise or damn them. There are dozens of different "dragon's blood' products available, ranging from pure, unadulterated _Croton lechleri_ sap, to dried resin from a variety of other trees, to oil- or alcohol-based dilutions, and they do not all perform the same when applied to plants.


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## gonewild (Oct 5, 2019)

What Ray said is correct. If the Dragons Blood is processed incorrectly it may not work well. Pure sap from Croton lechleri will not harm tender seedlings. If it is from a standard commercial source it probably has additives like alcohol to "stabilize it" and make it more suitable to mass marketing. The pure aged sap is alive and stabilizing kills it.


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## tomkalina (Oct 5, 2019)

Great information! So let's assume I need to buy "Dragon's Blood" (Croton lechleri sap) to eliminate erwinia. Who sells the most effective product?


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## Ray (Oct 6, 2019)

Eric


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## NYEric (Oct 7, 2019)

Wow! Right under the bus, thanks Ray!


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## Ray (Oct 7, 2019)

NYEric said:


> Wow! Right under the bus, thanks Ray!


Sorry... Exactly the reason I prefaced my comments as I did.


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## NYEric (Oct 17, 2019)

I wish I had enough to sell. But that is for a more relaxed time.


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## justagirlart (Nov 2, 2019)

Okay. I am an idiot. Disregard what I said. I know nothing about growing orchids. You are the experts.


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