Richard

Excerpt from Beware of Gardening Myths, by Robert Cox, Horticulture Agent, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension:

Many consumers assume that products on the store shelf must have been tested to prove their claims. Certainly, fertilizers have to meet nutrient content requirements, and pesticides are rigorously tested for safety before EPA registration.

For some other garden products, however, no such testing is required before sale to the public.

A good example is vitamin B1 (thiamine), often sold to "prevent transplant shock" and "stimulate new root growth" when planting trees, shrubs, roses and other plants. A study in the 1930's provided the basis for such claims. Pea roots cut off from the plant were placed in a culture medium in the laboratory.

The researchers knew that thiamine was normally found in roots, so they put thiamine in the culture medium and found that root growth did occur. Vitamin B1 is manufactured in 0lant leaves and sent to the roots, but if roots are cut off and placed in a petri plate, vitamin B1 stimulates growth of the roots when it saturates the culture medium.

Planting trees in a soil environment, however, is vastly different from a laboratory culture. Most important, gardeners aren't in the habit of cutting off the root system when planting. Several studies using intact mums, apple trees, orange trees, pine, tomato, beans, pepper, corn, pear, watermelon and squash have failed to demonstrate that vitamin B1 treatments provide any type of growth response.

Some "root stimulator" products contain a rooting hormone and fertilizer along with vitamin B1. These materials may increase rooting and growth, not the vitamin B1.

The bottom line: While root stimulator products are not necessary for transplant success, if you do use one, make sure it contains a rooting hormone and fertilizer rather than just vitamin B1. The vitamin B1 is for marketing purposes rather than actual effect.

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saltydad

Hey Richard- what about SuperThrive and Messenger? Both are highly touted, not as ferts but as vitamins/hormones, plant defense stimulators. What do you think?

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Ohio'sBest

I was in the grow shop this morning, and two of the rooting products had pictures of vegetable plants on them.

Richard

A single application of SuperThrive will perform as advertised. Repeated applications to the same plant typically causes the plant to focus on root development and often to the point of exhaustion. I have seen many dead plants come into the nursery from over application of SuperThrive. When you pull the plant out of the pot, you find roots like parsnips!

The formula for SuperThrive has been kept a secret but the patent has expired. Two major manufacturers now claim to have reverse-engineered the formula. Cheaper "copy-cat" products are on their way. I suspect though, that seaweed extract will still be cheaper and a better choice in the first place.

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Richard

There are two things to be aware of.

1st, manufacturers print labels by the millions and some don't update labels until they run out. If you are in a state that has outlawed the use of specific root stimulants (e.g., IBA or NAA), then the manufacturer might have shipped bottles with an add-on label. Ohio as I recall, went kicking-and-screaming into regulations for produce labeled "organic" and thus there might be no restrictions in your state.

2nd, there are several other unrestricted, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic compounds and/or hormones that will achieve the desired results. Gibberellic acid is one of them.

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Ohio'sBest

I just thought it was misleading to print on back 'not to use on edibles', but then show a veggie on front.

Richard

Yes! And it lowers my opinion of the shop owner as well.

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turtile

Superthrive has the synthetic hormone NAA which breaks apical dominance in roots. At high concentrations, it will limit growth and may kill.

Plants have to recognize a disease in order to activate their defenses. Messenger says that it is a protein recognized by plants as a sign of disease. I guess you'd have to test it out and see what happens. I can't see how it would help a plant to have it expending energy on disease resistance when it isn't needed at all times.

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Lagniappe

!!!!!!! Are IBA and NAA carcinogens??? I've been using the Dip-n-grow tonight and surely got some on me....I just know it.

Richard

Yes, sorry. It's a new finding that affects a small pre-disposed portion of the population. The ban went into effect due to increased use with vegetable plugs and a higher susceptibility among children.

Institutions that buy Dip-N-Grow etc. a drum at a time probably won't learn about it until they have to restock next year. For example, my colleagues at one of the germplasm repositories were completely shocked when I told them about it!

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OrganicBananac

I agree with the opinion of cheap advertising visuals of vegetables on products "not for use on food for consumption". Sad.
IBA is so commonly used on products that are consumed, and not many realize this.
A great natural replacement for the rooting hormones available in store is-

Go find a willow tree in your area, one hopefully grown without chemicals.

Chop off many branches and crush them up very fine, mix into a bucket of pure water. (ratio is your choice, i tend to prefer rather strong and thick soup)

Let mixture sit for 24-36 hours. Strain and bottle in a clean jug.

Use mixture as a soak (12hours) before putting plant into a rooting medium of your choice.

Willow trees have a hormone in them that promotes rooting. I have never tried this method back to back with plain water, so i can not quote on effectiveness. Hopefully this helps save some money and carcinogens.

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Richard

Is the hormone in willows specific to a few species or present in the entire genera or family?

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OrganicBananac

Any shrub or tree of the Salix species should work. It is actually naturally occuring indolebutyric acid (IBA) in willows that is most concentrated in the growing tips. Another odd but interesting thing is the natural salicylic acid in willow, hence also where aspirin was first derived from. Plants make salicylic acid as an indicator to trigger natural defense mechanisms against viral, bacterial and fungal infections.

Or honey could be used just like rooting gel, if you want to steer far from the IBA (natural or not).

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Richard

In California and several other states it is illegal to use any form of IBA for rooting plants to be used for food. It is a demonstrated carcinogen -- the highest risk group are children. So I'll skip the willow extract ...

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OrganicBananac

It is interesting that IBA is naturally occuring in Willow, because it has been a homeopathic remedy for many things for a long time. (headaches,toothaches, anti-inflammatory) I wonder if there is a distinction between synthesized IBA and naturally occuring IBA?

Honey has always been more sweet anyways.

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Richard

In commercial agriculture, rooting stimulators are rated by "striking range" -- the probability of a cutting striking roots (over an average selection of plants). IBA alone is 50%, seaweed extract containing gibberellic acid is 40%. I haven't come across any data for honey.

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OrganicBananac

Human, honey, swarm of bees... 100% strike rate! Everytime! Hahaha.

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Richard

LOL!

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