I googled it Tug and found it called Vitax a Copper mixture and for sale on amazon uk for £5.82, hope its on your Amazon

Can't remember the last time I saw (or heard of) this. Quick check in Internet give a how to make your own from Mississipi State University http://msucares.com/newsletters/pests/infobytes/19990915.htm which suggests that the raw materials are available in the U.S. even if the ready made version isn't (have you tried Home Depot? - they seem to sell absolutely everything!

Apparently the EU banned Bordeaux mixture from retail sale from the end of 2013. However there's nothing to say you can't buy the copper sulphate and slaked lime ingredients independently to make up the solution yourself. The only caution I have about Bordeaux mixture is that excessive use can cause too much copper to build up in the soil

EU bans don't apply in the States.

As I said Vitax bordeaux mixture is widely available........maybe its been brought up to E U standards

I think the ban never happened. A mistake was made by somewhere in 2013 and then everyone assumed it was true so it got repeated everywhere.

Pamg is right - Vitax Bordeaux mixture is freely sold in the UK.

Tugbrethil, who asked the question, is in the States! Bans/availability in the UK/EU are irrelevant!

Well I thought he could try Amazon!

Bad day at work again, Urbanite? Maybe a change of job would help....

It is difficult to work out, Tug - the RHS still lists Bordeaux mixture as being withdrawn here in November 2014, all stocks to be used up by November 2015. That might mean that all the Vitax product currently available here will no longer be available past November this year, not sure. Quite why its been withdrawn, but other copper based fungicides haven't, is a bit of a mystery - certainly, the copper content is an environmental hazard, but that's primarily from use by commercial growers rather than a few people spraying a single tree or two. There's one called Champion++ in the States which is a copper based product, but not sure that's available to home gardeners.

Otherwise, there's a recipe for making your own from Mississippi State Extension Service here if you've not found it already

http://msucares.com/newsletters/pests/infobytes/19990915.htm

Exactly. Since we live in the UK, and the last time I checked this was a UK site, and the question on the availability of ready made-Bordeaux Mixture in the UK is unclear to say the least, it can't hurt to discuss the situation over here. I haven't been able to buy BM in any garden centre for some considerable time.

Bendipa - if I understand correctly, we won't be able to buy even the Vitax version from this November onwards, apart from possibly a few vendors still illegally trying to shift any stocks left. The source for that was the RHS, and I have to say, I do trust their information, so it seems the situation is somewhat clearer. Although to me, that means it shouldn't have been sold after November 2014, but there may be a loophole that assumes any that is sold will be used up by November 2015. Sounds like the States is following suit...

It is a uk site Bendipa, I do think that the folk downunder ,across the pond and other places in the world add a great deal to Goy
taking us into gardens very different to ours, plants that we consider tender or grow as houseplants may grow wild in their natural habitat. ...
fascinating!

Well, it sounds as if everyone else is as confused as I am! All that I have been able to find out is that most--if not all--of the manufacturers in the U.S. have dropped "Bordeaux Mix" from their product line, and some of them are now carrying a "copper fungicide powder" that is identical in appearence and dilution rate. If there is a difference in composition, I can't tell! It's as if the product is perfectly all right, as long as you don't call it "Bordeaux mixture"! :/ I was just hoping that someone knew what was going on.

I think Bamboo is on the right lines Tug....mstbe buy some of the power now before thst dissappears too

Don't know if you had Chesunt Compound there but thats gone too
it used to prevent seedlings damping off I seem to remember.....

Well I wonder... I do know that Jeyes fluid is still marketed, but its use by the manufacturers is no longer recommended for spraying plants and other stuff its always been used for, so its sold as a disinfectant only. This has occurred because companies selling these types of product had to pay a lot of money for some sort of licensing thing in the EU to continue selling the product were it recommended for use on plants and in open soil - the makers of Jeyes didn't want to pay it, so they took the other option - carry on selling it but just don't tell the customer its anything other than a disinfectant. Maybe the same's happened with Bordeaux mixture, so any copper based treatment now available HAS been licensed and the manufacturer has paid the money to do this. And maybe, Tug, the USA is following suit because of the incipient/proposed TTIP trade agreement between the EU and the USA. Just a theory...

I can't imagine why the US might be following suit on that particular aspect though - if the TTIP goes through, Europe's food standards will all go and we'll have to adopt America's instead, a prospect that fills me with absolute horror - chickens washed in chlorine, antibiotic laden meat, GM crops, Canola oil instead of natural rapeseed oil, Cheshire cheese that doesn't need to be made in Cheshire and no proper labelling on foods.... sorry Tug, but I've long been grateful to live in the EU and not the US from the food point of view... Long may the protest in Europe and here reign, I've joined up to protest already, although I despair - governments don't really take any notice, but I can't sit back and do nothing.

Well, my ignorance is showing, then. My understanding was that canola oil was rapeseed oil--though, admittedly, not particularly natural! The rest of what you say is true, though. Sad, because the U.S. pioneered food labelling back in Teddy Roosevelt's day. I keep hoping that our food labelling will get better, with the agreement, but that's not the direction it's going, is it?

I just wish the WHOLE of Europe abided by the food standards that we do......I have grave doubts.....

No, Tug, its always about the money, and the big agrochemical companies have a lot of the stuff and are waving it about as bait. It is a great pity that Europe does not seem to be saying the USA should change their food standards to ours instead - but then the agrochemical companies wouldn't be waving money about, would they...

As for Canola, its made from GM rapeseed, and that leaves a substance (the name of which I can't recall) in the oil that's toxic and carcinogenic to humans, plus Canola is hydrogenated, making it unhealthy. Whereas straight non GM Rapeseed oil is a very good oil - balanced omega 3,6,9, small amount of saturated fat, high smoke point, very little taste, no gum deposits. I'll be switching to lard (pure saturated animal fat) if we have to put up with a version of Canola, it's the next healthiest thing available, believe it or not.

To get back to the Bordeaux mix, I was hoping that someone knew the stated reasons why it was banned, in case I needed to modify my recommendations to my customers--or modify my own use! Ditto for other copper-based fungicides.

I suspect its to do with the licensing regs, some being licensed for the use, others (like Bordeaux) no longer being so.

Thanks for that info Bamboo, I understand butter and lard are better than heating sunflower oil to high temperatures , that converts it so something nasty it seems....

Yep, latest research says avoid polyunsaturated oils to cook with, particularly those with a low smoke point, but monounsaturated ones (like rapeseed) are fine. Jury's still out on butter - it produces two other 'things' once heated and they don't know what they are yet, nor whether they're harmful. Honestly, its hard to keep up isn't it...

Coconut oil is good and healthy to cook with - provided you don't mind absolutely everything tasting like coconut. 'Subtle coconut taste, won't drown out other flavours' is what they say, what a joke - I couldn't even taste my smoked bacon in the sandwich, everything tasted of coconut, won't be doing that again... I'll have to use it up on my hair instead!

Ugh can't stand coconut!

honestly.... every few weeks its don't eat this or that...or don't use that spray!
the chemicals are so weak we'll be getting poison resistant bugs and weeds, a bit like antibiotic overuse Then where will we be!

This from the HSE may explain why some say can still buy Bordeaux mixture. (Vitax is the company).
You can use the product until the expiry date shown 30/11/15

For certain authorisations granted under COPR, final product expiry dates have been extended to 31 December 2021 for disposal, storage and use. For these COPR Authorisations, whilst the search results screen shows the final expiry date as 2021, this may not be reflected in the last available notice which may show an earlier date. This is because the extension to the expiry date was issued as a blanket amendment, as explained in Regulatory Update 24 of 2010. Please note that authorisations may expire prior to this date if an earlier decision is taken that impacts upon the COPR authorisation.

I read that local organic gardeners in France string copper wires over their plants so the rain drips off the wire and onto the plants...apparently they have been doing it for years as an alternative to Bordeaux mixture.

Bamboo, Armatillox like Jeyes is also only listed as a disinfectant.
Every time I go to the GC another ones gone. I particularly lament the banning of malathion & permethrin & Roseclear but I think we still have systhane for roses.

This link from the RHS is handy & informative.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=820

There's Roseclear Ultra now though, Green finger...

Yes, Bamboo, I have Bayers Fungus Fighter too.

They say when a product is banned a new one appears.

I have still been researching this, and have made a very little progress.
There is no sign of any actual ban in the U.S., although it has been quietly disappearing from the shelves.
In the EU, it is "recommended for banning as viable alternatives become available", as of February 2015. Green Fingers obviously has more recent info than me! :)
The main issues appear to be runoff of the copper ions into local streams, lakes, and coastal ecosystems; toxicity to earthworms and other soil organisms with chronic use; and toxicity to field workers with prolonged, careless exposure.
I am still trying to find out if the substitutes--all carefully not labelled "Bordeaux"--have a lower concentration of copper in them.
For my part, as a master gardener, I am not recommending wide spraying of copper fungicides for foliar diseases--little change from my usual practices--and will be looking for substitutes for the spot applications that I still recommend, such as for citrus gummosis, and sooty canker. Still researching the differences in consequences for the "copper soap" products.
Wish me luck! :D

Tug, Control of Pesticides Regulations (COPR) is a UK gov body, I don't know what the US equivalent is but that is probably the people that have the answers for you.

I did try University of California (UC IPM) but the info there appeared old.

Yes, part of my info is from UC, and I noticed that. I'll try the COPR site--ironic acronym!! :D

Hmm...according to that site, impurities of lead, cadmium, and arsenic are also concerns. Old info, though (October 2014). Still looking!

Well I wish you luck, and hope you'll let us know what's going on if you can find out - cos clearly, something is!