Will dish soap kill flowers

Answer 1

My credentials: NONE -- just a homeowner with a very green yard and beautiful flowers.

I do use mild, diluted home dish soap on my plants occasionally. Soap increases water absorption by soil, knocks down bugs, and cleans plant leaves. Dish soap is a detergent and a surfactant and a mild alkali. If you have acidic soil, the soap will make it more neutral. If you already have alkali soil, I don't think soap makes much difference to the pH.

The reduced surface tension caused by soap helps water soak in better on clayey soil. I started doing this years ago after reading it in a lawn care book.

I have bottles of weak dish soap that I get at "99c Only" stores just for this purpose. I want the cheapest stuff there is, since it probably has the fewest unwanted additives.

I don't put the pure soap directly on the flowers -- you could really burn them. Dilute the soap, spray them, and water them in well afterward.

If you're really worried, try your soap on one plant first.

Answer 2

Soapy water is great for flowers. If poured directly on the leaves it will also kill all soft bodied leaf eater that destroy your flowers. I spray my flowers every week with a soap solution.