SUPERthrive

[Russ]

I have heard so much about this product, but cant seem to find it anywhere ??
If you use this, where do you get it from ??

[PeterW]

I have heard so much about this product, but cant seem to find it anywhere ??
If you use this, where do you get it from ??

Bonsai South would have it i would imagine Russ.
Peter

[Leigh Taafe]

Hi Russ,

Yes, Leong gets it in. You can also get it from Hydroponics Supply Shops. I have seen it on eBay fairly cheap. I used to sell it on eBay, now I just sell it from my nursery. I have one small bottle left, but then of course, shipping might make it too expensive for you, depends how far you are from Leong's place.

Cheers,
Leigh.

[Dave54]

Hi guys,
I bought some off e-bay from the USA at a great price but then customs would not let it into Aus because they wanted to know the ingredients. Naturally, the manufacturer would not divuldge his secret recipe.
To cut a very long story short, I got a letter from the manufacturer stating that it did not contain animal or vegetable matter and they let it through.
BUY LOCALLY or make sure it comes with relevant paperwork
cheers
Dave
ps I use as part of my fertilization program with good results

[Russ]

Thanks for the replies. I have since found it on Aus eBay for about half the price of the hydroponic suppliers, although i dont know how much Bonsai South sells it for. I was only there a couple of weeks ago and it completely slipped my mind! Oh well

I want to use it at the moment because of this cold hit we have had in NSW the last week (it seems to go from one extreme to the other at the moment). My young ficus cuttings that are only about 6 weeks old seem to have dropped alot of their new buds and i am afraid that if they dont get a bit of a move on they wont be ready for winter.

Damn global warming. It really is causing some wacky weather

[Willows _FUD]

I was only there a couple of weeks ago and it completely slipped my mind! Oh well

Dont worry, i was there twice in as many days and still walked out each time without it.

I find i need a list and a good set of blinkers when i go to eitheir his nursery, Ray Neci's or the Koreshoff's but seem to always end up with something else.

(Great Website too)

[Tim]

Gday all! Ive read a few articles that state that superthrive does nothing at all to promote growth or stress relief. One report from an american university showed the the plants that had superthrive grew less than the ones with only water. Im not trying to be negative, i own a bottle myself, but is it a myth?

[MelaQuin]

While you are chasing down Super Thrive go for SeaSol or one of the other seaweed products. They are not plant food but stimulate root growth. I have Super Thrive [from Leong Kwong] and Seasol and I rotate. And that reminds me.... 1st August I should Super Thrive several plants.... bye... got some work to do.

[Bretts]

Many know by now this is my favourite subject. These products such as superthrive and most other "plant starters" contain auxin. There are many articles that show when auxin is lacking for what can be many various reasons it will take up and use extra auxin that is added. In general this will increase root development and reduce shoot development. It can be used for many other things such as delaying flower and fruit drop. It is the same active ingredient that we find in root hormone powders and gel but these have a much stronger concentration to act on stem tissue. Too higher concentration on roots and it will kill them.
Auxin can not solve any detrimental problem but it can in some instances help root RE-generation at the expense of shoot growth. Although it is said(in my understanding) that only when auxin is lacking can added auxin have an effect on root growth. Yet there stories with evidence of it being used in the turf industry to reduce mowing and increase drought resistance by growing longer roots at the expense of shoot growth. I have also read about genetically altered trees that are dwarfed with very robust root systems. It was not stated how they where altered but I would bet it was something to do with the auxin level. This is the only reason plant starters can claim better resistance to disease and drought or actual de-stresser. The sound theory is that the more robust root system equals a healthier tree or plant. This is no quick fix tonic. I am sure this stuff is able to encourage root growth in certain circumstances what I can not be sure of is how it can be used to do that and when?
There is very little dollars for profit uses of auxin in the horticulture industry in root regeneration so these studies to answer these questions have not been done. There are studies that have shown root regeneration even in the field but not enough to be conclusive of when and how it can work. I think that the fastest root regeneration after repotting or collecting is a very important factor in bonsai horticulture. I am not sure it is a good idea to use these products without an attempt at understanding what they are capable of and without reason.
Seaweed extracts such as seasol also have other hormones such as Gibberellins that interact with auxin and I imagine further complicates understanding what it should accomplish. My understanding of the other two main ingredients in superthrive is bio-concentrate (or humic acid I believe) and B1 which does have alot of evidence that states it is no use. I have wondered if it is any use to such things as microzia or soil health. But that is just thinking out load as I have not tried to look into this or anything.
I found it interesting lately that I put two largish potato bush cuttings in a very strong mix of seasol and they where rooting within days before being planted into a pot with soil. I was surprised so I put another one in just water it took three times as long to have less roots but I potted it up as well and compared them as they grew. The seasol ones showed less shoot growth as could be expected by the added auxin yet it should have increased root growth under the soil which in time should mean it's overall growth would overtake the untreated one. The other thing to consider is that shoot growth is what produces auxin so will always be a balancing act. A recent repot of the three cuttings showed that the untreated cutting had the most roots. There where many variables that could have caused this such as different soil mix and the untreated cutting was much smaller than the other two which gave a better cutting to pot size ratio. Although I can't draw any conclusions here yet it is a great example of the sought of things we need to consider when using this stuff.
This stuff can drastically change the way our trees grow but we need to be objective with it's use and share our results because no one else is going to do it.
I generally use one of these products when repotting and possibly a couple of weeks after but I don't use it very often in general care at the moment.
I have broken down the doses of the various products and was suprised to find that superthrive may be better value for money than seasol. I believe seasol has some humic content and also has the other two hormones apart from Auxin. I have never used superthrive and I could be wrong as the conversion from gallon, oz litters and ml's is pretty confusing when you start to work out auxin content in each dose

[kvan64]

Hi guys,
I bought some off e-bay from the USA at a great price but then customs would not let it into Aus because they wanted to know the ingredients. Naturally, the manufacturer would not divuldge his secret recipe.
To cut a very long story short, I got a letter from the manufacturer stating that it did not contain animal or vegetable matter and they let it through.
BUY LOCALLY or make sure it comes with relevant paperwork
cheers
Dave
ps I use as part of my fertilization program with good results

I bought a large quantity form ebay US for a super cheap price. Let than 1/3 of the price anywhere here in AUS. The AQIS stopped it and I am trying to claim my money back through paypal. Bad luck!

[bodhidharma]

Hi Bretts. I use a product called ECO-AMINOGRO which works very well. a bit of a beefed up seasol. Or seasol on steriods. It has a list of nutrients as long as your arm, but i dont believe everything i read either. Anyway, it works well for me. Is it available in your state?

[Bretts]

I just had a look at this bodi looks like the active ingredient is L-form amino acids. Never heard of that.
I am using something called Stimulate from nutritech solutions at the moment. Has every known snake oil in one. 70 Minerals, 14 vitamins, hormones, betaines ,fulvic acid oh and also 18 amino acids. I have heard of them