>BTW, this stuff should slow/stop (kill?) basal growth on
>Nepenthes when given through the pitchers of the main stem, has
>anyone experienced this?
Anecdotal evidence based upon Nepenthes alata and N. gracilis:
I used superthrive in the pitchers of these two plants about a month and a
half ago, and both immediately started new growth from soil level. They
also stopped pitchering, although the old pitchers are still alive and new
leaves are being produced from the main stem. These were both
single-growth, well-rooted cuttings, about 8" tall. The basal growth could
just as easily be due to increasing day length or any one of a million
other variables (like forgetting and leaving the grow lights on for 72
hours, or feeding bugs to the plants), but I'm fairly confident that dilute
superthrive doesn't much affect basal growth.
I've used superthrive in a controlled fashion on cacti seedlings. I
started two pots of Echinopsis mirabilis last summer, one with superthrive
and dilute fertilizer, the other without superthrive, but with the same
fertilizer regime. The seedlings exposed to superthrive are definitely
larger and have superior root systems - probably 50% greater mass overall
than the non-superthrived seedlings. I also lost fewer of them to damping
off. "Cactilizer", sold by the Cactus and Succulent Society of America, is
more or less the same thing as "Superthrive" and is widely used by cacti
growers to provide micronutrients to seedlings and to accelerate root
growth. Both contain rooting hormones and vitamin B-1. In my opinion, the
stuff is cheap enough that you are not risking much, financially or in
terms of plant health, by using either in moderation.
Scott
Madison WI