Superthrive - it Works -myth

greerhw

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It gives Mohetoes a tangy flavor.

Harry
 

Ang3lfir3

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Ahhh Supertrive.... ppl love this one!!!

I say it certainly doesn't give the results as on the label... and for the $12 a bottle cost me I am not too worried about buying one a year or so.... I mix it with my Fertilizer (1 cap to 1 gal) as well as adding chelated iron.... we call it "soup".... so when i feed the trees they get whatever micronutrients are in supertrive and not a single one has died from it.

Does it help... who knows.... I certainly don't care.... will i stop using it... prolly not.... not becuase i think it has magic powers... but because i believe it simply can't hurt... and its relatively cheap.

I have seen it used in airlayering (soaking sphagnum moss in it)... I don't know what it is supposed to do there but i will stick with root hormone.... right tool for the job.
 

Attila Soos

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I add two capfuls of Superthrive and three Hail Mary's to my collected junipers, I've never lost one. But don't ask me for a controlled experiment with and without prayer, I don't have one.
 

Eric Schrader

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I've never used it. But, B1 seems like wishful thinking to me. That said, I believe I read somewhere that Superthrive contains plant hormones (perhaps on the label) and those could certainly have an effect on the plants....not sure if it would be positive though.
 
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AcK!

Can we tackle one myth at a time?


From the same article that spawned the recent discussions:


myths_snake_oil.jpg


"Miracle potions pop up from time to time shouting out the wonders that can be accomplished with just a few small drops of their B-1 enriched formula. Super-Thrive is the latest of these that I know of and one small whiff is enough to tell you that its main ingredient is indeed B-1. Someone always knows someone else that swears by this elixir of life and beginners are quick to try some of this magical concoction so that they too can have bigger, better, healthier bonsai, just like the pros.

The myth of B-1 spreads like the plague; it seems there is always someone crediting B-1 with reducing transplant shock, stimulating root development, increasing crop yields, and other such claims that sound too good to be true, and are.

I am sorry to say there is little truth in the claims of the advantages B-1 provides. Let us look at what the experts have to say.

Lauren Bonar Swezey in her article, "Does vitamin B1 help transplants take root?" stated that "…University of California research on vegetables failed to prove that B1 reduces transplant shock or stimulates root development. Researchers found "no discernible differences in color or vigor among treatments" when B1 and B1 plus iron, manganese, and zinc were used on peppers, pole beans, squash, sweet corn, tomatoes, and watermelons. Elsewhere, studies on chrysanthemums, citrus, and roses have reached similar conclusions."

Sue McDavid, UCCE / El Dorado County Master Gardener, states that "Using vitamin B1 to prevent transplant shock has shown no benefit whatsoever after multiple experiments, both in a laboratory setting and in the field, on a variety of plant species. Using B1 may make the gardener feel good and certainly the manufacturer, but your plants will be totally indifferent to it."

Looking again to Linda Chalker-Scott, an Extension Horticulturist and Associate Professor at the Puyallup Research and Extension Center of Washington State University, she states in her article, "The Myth of Vitamin Stimulants" that "Applying vitamin B-1, or thiamine, to root systems of whole plants does not stimulate root growth. This is a myth that refuses to die, though it has been repeatedly refuted in the scientific literature."

Vitamin B-1, aka thiamine, does not reduce transplant shock or simulate new root growth on plants outside the laboratory.
Healthy plants will synthesize their own thiamine supply.
Healthy soils contain beneficial microbes that synthesize thiamine as well.
It appears B-1 is just another myth that has been debunked in scientific literature by experts in horticulture and biology and yet refuses to die. B-1 or thiamine does not prevent or help transplant shock; it does not encourage root growth, and essentially does absolutely nothing for your plants as they manufacture their own thiamine.

Buying any B-1 based product is the same as throwing you money down a well, in fact in one study it was shown that the plants watered with plain water did better than those watered with B-1."


The complete text on superthrive and other B-1 products, as well as the complete article with references and sources can be seen at http://www.knowledgeofbonsai.org/misc/debunking.php


Will
 

greerhw

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I add two capfuls of Superthrive and three Hail Mary's to my collected junipers, I've never lost one. But don't ask me for a controlled experiment with and without prayer, I don't have one.

I think the Hail Mary's are to forgive your sins after confession, did you get permission to collect the trees, or did you steal them.

Harry
 

Walter Pall

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Instead of Superthrive I suggest:

depending on your orientation:

either pray six rosaries every day on behalf of your trees.

or sing the International Socialistic Hymn to your trees. If you can sing it in Russian or Chinese it helps even more.

Anyway it is cheaper than Superthrive.

Superthrive can sometimes be of obvoius advantage though! If someone never or almsot never feeds his trees then if one day he uses superthrive they will look happier. But the same effect could have been achieved by using plain fertilizer as one should anyway.
 
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Considering things here now, I may have to learn the International Socialistic Hymn anyhow. ;)

Waving an old boot over your bonsai produces about the same effect as superthrive, based on my experiences, and you can reuse it forever.



Will
 

darrellw

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Waving an old boot over your bonsai produces about the same effect as superthrive, based on my experiences, and you can reuse it forever.

Will

Hi Will,

Do you recommend the left or right boot? Or do you select the boot based on the material?

Thanks,
Darrell
 

greerhw

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Down here in Oklahoma, either boot will work as long as it's the pair you've been wearing in the cattle pen. Sometimes misting with superthrive while you are waving does wonders.

Harry
 

Dwight

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I think the Hail Mary's are to forgive your sins after confession, did you get permission to collect the trees, or did you steal them.

Harry

Maybe change them to Bloody Mary's.

We used to throw a fish in the hole when we transplanted wild one-seed junipers on the ranch. Over 75% success.
 

milehigh_7

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Considering things here now, I may have to learn the International Socialistic Hymn anyhow. ;)

Waving an old boot over your bonsai produces about the same effect as superthrive, based on my experiences, and you can reuse it forever.



Will

Will! You may be on to something. Depending on what you have stepped in with those boots, you may be able to shake off some organic feed! I would suggest the boots that we have to use around this site to wade through the . . . discussions. :D
 
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LoL! Now this is getting funny!

I actually find that high heels work the best, but waliking in them in order to wear them out is tough ;)
 

Asus101

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I have only seen superthrive once down here in Aus, I just guess we are not as gullable as you yankees are.

:)
 
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I have only seen superthrive once down here in Aus, I just guess we are not as gullable as you yankees are.

Wasn't it one of you Aussies that had the great idea to import a few rabbits in for sport? ;)



Will
 
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Good planning? Thomas Austin may have thought so....his words, "The introduction of a few rabbits could do little harm and might provide a touch of home, in addition to a spot of hunting," reflect your own.

"The effect of rabbits on the ecology of Australia has been devastating. One eighth of all mammalian species in Australia are now extinct (rabbits are the most significant known factor), and the loss of plant species is unknown even at this time. Rabbits are also responsible for serious erosion problems as they eat native plants which leave the topsoil exposed and vulnerable to sheet, gully and wind erosion. The removal of this topsoil is devastating to the land as it takes many hundreds of years to regenerate. Some of this erosion may also be the result of settlers clearing much of Australia's land for farming (and use of unsuitable agricultural techniques) and to make room for housing." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbits_in_Australia


Man, let's hope they don't develop a preference for bonsai! ;)





Will
 

king kong

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Finally, a subject Mr. Heath is insightful about, rabbits.

Hold on to your seats. The best orchid grower in the SouthEast United States, maybe the Country uses Superthrive. I have used it on orchids and the plant showed definite effects from the use shown in the blooms. If you over do it, The Vanda flowers in this case, would show it in a negative way. Their cell tissue would overgrow and the flower would cripple. There is some stimulation effect to some plants....how and why I have no clue but I have seen the results.
Go to http://www.rforchids.com then go to how to grow and look for fertilizer treatments.
 
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