Dynamite Fertlizer: Bad Batch?

[cobra2326]

Anyone else notice that dynamite has changed? It has some black pellets in it now and the grey ones are cracked. There's a bunch of powder in them too. I thought I had a bad bottle, so I went to a home depot in clearwater (I live in spring hill) and got the same stuff. I returned both bottles, since I'm too nervous that it'll burn stuff.

[cobra2326]

Btw, does anyone know where to get this stuff in bulk in FL? I remember someone mentioning a place a while ago, but can't find it. $9/bottle is starting to get expensive.

[Pedro 65]

Long time no hear from you Jon, hope all your palms are grow'n well.

Jon, I looked up the fert your referring too which has an NPK of 13 13 13 yes and 9 mnth slow release ??

Jon, now is a great time for you to switch over to a "controlled" release fert of 13 13 13 Plus trace elements, below pics are Oz ratings which in US is 13 13 13 + TE

Ive said it b4 but the grey you see around the Big Island Palms ( especially Bo's and now Kims is this gear, I switched to this a few yrs ago , "wish" I started with it.

Your choice, but "you get what you pay for".

Look fwd to some update pics from you soon.

Pete

[Tulio]

Jon try this place. http://www.bigearthsupply.com/tampa-landscape-supply.html

[cobra2326]

Tulio,

Thanks, I'll give them a try!

Pete,

Yeah, it's been a while. I've been busy with the fam (3 kids) and work. Most of the plants are doing fantastic, though.

I could be wrong, but Dynamite here is just rebranded nutricote 18-6-8 with minors. It looks identical to the stuff J. Marcus uses. I swear by the stuff, but this latest development caused some concern.

Edited January 12, 2014 by cobra2326

[Jeff Searle]

Nutricote is great stuff, but there's many different blends and time lengths.

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

The company that distributes Nutricote in the USA is Florikan. The black stuff in Dynamite isn't Nutricote, it's their own, new technology and it's consistency and field performance doesn't come close to Nutricote. Florikan resells Nutricote (the real product) to distributors like BWI but they probably won't sell directly to you unless you have some kind of business license. But you might call them and find out. You may also use Suncote, a product that wil, perform as well as Nutricote. That would also be available from BWI, but also southern Ag in palmetto, fl.

[rick]

I had a bottle that I had forgotten about in the shed. When I found it again it was exactly like you described. Sounds like the stuff at Home Depot might not have been the freshest batch.

[cobra2326]

Keith,

Thanks for the details. This must have happened in the last year, because I've never had a bottle with the black stuff. I'm not sure exactly what to do now. I guess my next move will be to try to find suncote. If I can't find that, do you have any recommendations of where to look next?

I'd like to continue to use nutricote as I've had good results from it and it's definitely superior to some of the other so-called controlled release ferts that dump more easily.

[kahili]

BWI has a $ 300 minimum to get a delivery from them, but maybe there is a nursery nearby you that orders from them that you could get to order it for you when they get a delivery. I have an order coming from them this Thursday-I wish I could help you out, but I am in the opposite direction!

[cobra2326]

Kahili,

Thanks for the information! I'm going to try calling them since they're in apopka which is only about an hour from here. Otherwise, there are a few growers south of here that I bet are already using it.

[sonoranfans]

I use the 8-2-12 florikan palm special formulated for florida. I get it from big earth landscape supply on US 301 in palmetto. A 50 lb bag is about $57. Its a 6-7month release and has been great. Its a multishade of greys in color. I remember reading that tampa area florida has lots of phosphate and you want a low phos fert in our area. too much phos interferes with uptake of other nutrients.

[cobra2326]

Tom,

I have that stuff too and I like it for landscape use. However, it's not as good as nutricote. It's not all time release and tends to dump more quickly. You can tell by the coating. Nutricote looks plastic and smooth. For container palms, I won't use anything but 100% control release, and the best is nutricote.

[sonoranfans]

Jon,

the florikan website(makers of florikote and nutrikote) lists dynamite plant food as florikote, the same stuff in the florikan palm special.

http://florikan.com/dynamite.html

The uniformity of the color has more to do with what mix is inside the prill. the prill shell is clear. The specifications for release(temp and wetness based) are the same for both. I am not sure there is a difference in the coatings, though I did not see any nutricote palm special, just florikote palm special. Florikote in dynamite is citrus/palm, not palm specifically. I can still see old shells from the florikote palm special after one year or more on my 6-7 month release. I also have seen no signs of deficiency in a number of potted and in ground palms when using this stuff over the last 3 years. the florikote polymer coated palm special has all the traces in the amounts specified for palms by University of Florida. the thickness of the coating determines the release profile. Our water and soils have higher than usual phosphates, hence the 8-2-12, and there are Fe Mn Mg B Cu etc spec'ed for palms.

[cobra2326]

Tom,

Sounds like you may have the real stuff then. The florikan palm special stuff I have is definitely different from nutricote, but like you said, florikan does distribute nutricote so maybe we have different stuff.

I ended up just buying the dynamite stuff to hold me overuuntil I can source the real stuff.

[sonoranfans]

Tom,

Sounds like you may have the real stuff then. The florikan palm special stuff I have is definitely different from nutricote, but like you said, florikan does distribute nutricote so maybe we have different stuff.

I ended up just buying the dynamite stuff to hold me overuuntil I can source the real stuff.

According to florikan the florikote is coated with a 2 layer patented polymer coating that prevents cracks in the surface and nutricote coated with a polymer resin that resists cracking/damage in mixers. It may be that nutricote is best for mixers, which I do not use. I also cold be that nutricote is more robust with abuse in shipping as the resin will be more resilient to abrasion and load.

[cobra2326]

Tom,

Sounds like you may have the real stuff then. The florikan palm special stuff I have is definitely different from nutricote, but like you said, florikan does distribute nutricote so maybe we have different stuff.

I ended up just buying the dynamite stuff to hold me overuuntil I can source the real stuff.

According to florikan the florikote is coated with a 2 layer patented polymer coating that prevents cracks in the surface and nutricote coated with a polymer resin that resists cracking/damage in mixers. It may be that nutricote is best for mixers, which I do not use. I also cold be that nutricote is more robust with abuse in shipping as the resin will be more resilient to abrasion and load.

Is this 100% controlled release? The bag I have of Florikan "Palm Special" is only partially controlled release and partially soluable.

[Alicehunter2000]

Not to derail the thread, but would the same ratio be best for me in the northern part of the state. Sandy and slightly acidic from the predominant pine and oak flora.

[cobra2326]

Not to derail the thread, but would the same ratio be best for me in the northern part of the state. Sandy and slightly acidic from the predominant pine and oak flora.

Alice,

I'm not an expert on fertilizer or anything. I grow most stuff in containers and just follow UFs guidelines for nutrients. It does seem you could probably aim for more equal parts N-K (no need for high P really). I'm not 100% sure what to do with magnesium, but you may need to increase it a bit (UF already recommends 8-2-12-4Mg). See the attached chart for nutrient availabilities at various pHs.

Also, if you view this slideshow there is some good info on ideal leaf nutrient concentrations, so if you want to get scientific about it you can. A soil nutrient profile isn't too expensive and it may be worth doing.

Hope that helps some...

[sonoranfans]

Tom,

Sounds like you may have the real stuff then. The florikan palm special stuff I have is definitely different from nutricote, but like you said, florikan does distribute nutricote so maybe we have different stuff.

I ended up just buying the dynamite stuff to hold me overuuntil I can source the real stuff.

According to florikan the florikote is coated with a 2 layer patented polymer coating that prevents cracks in the surface and nutricote coated with a polymer resin that resists cracking/damage in mixers. It may be that nutricote is best for mixers, which I do not use. I also cold be that nutricote is more robust with abuse in shipping as the resin will be more resilient to abrasion and load.

Is this 100% controlled release? The bag I have of Florikan "Palm Special" is only partially controlled release and partially soluable.

my fert is all coated and rated for 6-7 month release at 77F. I have not noticed any deficiencies in my nutrient hungry palms. Florikote is all control release according to florikan. they make this stuff up to 12 month release. What is your release spec? Anything coated is control release, if it isn't coated its not controlled. the coating hangs around for a long time, after 6-7 months for sure.