(Neofolis @ Nov. 04 2007,01:47)

QUOTE

Unfortunately any such test requires numerous test subjects of the same species otheriwse you can't rule out different growth being attributed to genetic differences between the individuals.  That said, I still experiment with individuals, because that's all I have space for.  I have been surprised by the significance of growing medium.  I have a Macrozamia moorei (sorry it's not a palm) that was in a 70% sand, 30% compost mix, which is supposedly similar to what they grow in in habitat.  It was pushing new leaves that were stunted, had no leaflets and were pretty much dead looking, while the previous growth looked healthy.  After re-potting in my new mix, it immediately started to produce better looking leaves and is now producing totally healthy looking leaves again.

I have seen just incredible differences in my archontophoenix alexandrae seedlings under identical treatment.  I have 11 seedlings, all in the same shadehouse getting the same nutrients with the exact same soil.  Of the 11, 3 are just runts, only 6" tall.  Another 3 are 12"+ with much larger leaves, the rest are in the middle.  All were the same size(~4") 6 months ago when I received them at the same time from the same source.  The apparent genetic variation is just stunning.

Nigel, what I meant is generically speaking in terms of people wanting additives to work, not solely ST.

Ya'll remember when some guy in the PS was singing the virtues of some other bad a$$ formula and some guy (Howard Waddell) did a great experiment and reported it in Principies? Here we go agin!

I say the PS (or many ps's) give some  more money for research OR we all put some shi3 on our palms and some  ps's put on a party and we all look at each others shi3 and drool!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(Gonzer @ Nov. 04 2007,16:52)

QUOTE

Nigel, what I meant is generically speaking in terms of people wanting additives to work, not solely ST.

Oh yes, people always want some magic formula to work.

But its a no brainer to realise this so called scientist has never done any meaningful tests on ST under scientific conditions because NAA simply DOES work whether its in ST or anything else.

ST do seem to give the impresssion that its  a magic formula with secret ingredients that creates the results it achieves and they obviously want to foster that belief, but anybody that knows anything about plant biology and NAA only has to read the label to realise there is nothing magical about ST at all.

Its NAA .

The label always made me think of a local product out here; Dr. Bronner's Mint Castile Soap.

Hi Matt,

Would be intrested in some of your experiment results after 6/7 months.

Could you please up date?

Dear Matt  

Any updates on this wonder product...iam curious because even iam a fan of this product but have not tried it on my plants.so if iam to import this product,then i must really know how it works !

thanks & eagerly waiting for the visuals...

lots of love,

Kris  

By the way for those who are curious to see this product,kindly visit this site _ the link !

And here is the link to the Main site _ the link !

Any updates?

OK, here is the beginning of my very un-scientific experiment with superthrive.

The subjects are Phoenix sylvestris (Thanks to Palmotrafficante) seedlings. They are all apx. the same size but I measured them all just to be sure.

One will get only water, one superthrive, one superthrive and miracle grow, and one just miracle grow. They will get this once a week for as long as my attention span will last along with regular watering as needed.

I think I will add one more seedling to each grouping as a control.

We'll see how it goes.

Well bud,

I hope your attention span lasts a lot longer than mine, for the sake of actually obtaining valuable results! Good luck with the expo and can't wait to find out who gets the Blue Ribbon!

Sorry gents, I gave up when the wind blew the plants off the shelf I had them sitting on and a few were knocked out of the pots and mixed up.

I started using this product about 6 months ago and so far I have deduced that superthrive can be beneficial in certain situations. It is definitely a root stimulant. For example, I gave a good dose to my C. renda which has its pot sitting in a shallow tray of water. Within two weeks, vigorous new roots were growing out of the bottom of the pot into the water (no other variables had been changed recently). As far as I know, superthrive is just B vitamins and various plant hormones.

-Michael

Another interesting thing I learned from his lecture is this.  Plants in good soil grow MUCH better than plants in poor soil.  However, if you fertilize regularly then it doesn't really matter if you have good soil or bad soil....

Well, not really. If you fert in good soil, you'll get a double dose of good effects, unless you way over-fert.

Also, soil fert is in large part related to structure. (Your soil at your place looks great!)

Snake oil, pure and simple...read the label....nothing but gibberish, albeit there are lots of folks who use it....I now work for an orchid grower who insists on using the stuff...but when asked what the benefits are, the argument always transgresses to "Well, i have always used it and the plants look great!"

Well, I have to have better info than that!

I have been involved in horticulture for 40 plus years, and like so many folks have searched for that MAGIC elixir, and i can tell you it does not exist....

...so instead i will try to educate myself on a plant's natural history and try best i can to mimic it...there will be successes and failures, but in the end it is dependent upon that paradigm.

Rusty

a good rule of thumb is whether or not serious aggies use the stuff

if it was effective (COST effective, that is) they'd all be using it

ever try arguing with a farmer?

a good rule of thumb is whether or not serious aggies use the stuff

if it was effective (COST effective, that is) they'd all be using it

ever try arguing with a farmer?

I use it on my Orchids and hit my palms with it from time to time. Especially my little guys. I believe it has its benefits to the home gardener. Due to the price, does not seem not prudent on the commercial level.

Just my opinion.

Not snake oil, for palms with roots that branch after being cut there is nothing better.

Results in awesome palms, and seedlings are much stronger and more vigorous.

The strongest critics always seems to be those that `read the label` but dont actually try it. If you read the label , at least GIVE IT A GO !

Edited February 14, 201016 yr by Nigel

I was reading this thread and wanted to add that according to some sources, Superthrive has another mechanism of action (the growth factor Triacontanol) besides the ingredients on the label. If this is correct (I'd love to see a lab test confirmation), Superthrive delivers the benefits of Alfalfa soil amendments. I was discouraged from using Alfalfa pellets themselves since deer love Alfalfa.

Steve

St. Augustine, FL

http://www.wichitarosesociety.org/uploads/3/8/5/6/3856708/jan-feb_2011_caprose_final1.pdf

We all know that the human body needs vitamins and hormones

for many different reasons. Roses are no different but

we usually think that by providing them with fertilizers containing

nitrogen, potash, potassium, and some minerals, are

all that they really need to prosper in the garden. However,

for the past several years, I have believed that adding the

plant hormone Triacontanol significantly improved the

growth and disease resistance of my roses. I used to buy Triacontanol

in liquid form that came in a small bottle. A few

years ago, I was no longer able to find this product on our

rose supply market. However, at that time we learned that

Alfalfa Tea contained Triacontanol and that it significantly

helped the growth of our roses. The only problem is that for

those of us who have a very small garden area or grow roses

in pots on our apartment balconies, the making of Alfalfa Tea

was a non-starter.

Thanks to ARF President Dave Maxwell, who is an expert on

fertilizers, I learned that Triacontanol is the primary ingredient

in SUPERthrive, a liquid product sold in bottles of various

sizes at moderate prices at several of our local nurseries

and garden centers. I had been using it for years without

knowing all the ingredients of the product. The label on the

bottle mentions that it contains “vitamins and hormones” but

also notes that the product is not a fertilizer, should not be

used in place of fertilizers, but as an addition to their normal

use. According to the label, SUPERthrive has been on the

market since 1940! The product’s web site does mention that

SUPERthrive contains vitamin B-1 and 1-Napthyl Acid, a

plant growth regulator.