Very Limited Anecdotal Evidence/Coincidence, but...

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by Ray

Actually, it’s not.

Hormones only make up a small percentage of the active ingredients.

I have come to the conclusion that it’s sort of the equivalent of a “plant IV”, giving the plant a lot of the same stuff it would produce for itself, without the need to expend its own resources to do so.

Kelpak has been around for 40 years and has been used on just about every food/nut/fruit crop known, plus turf and landscaping. There is a wealth of info on their website, but none about its use on orchids, as I am apparently the first to try it (at the time, nobody at the manufacturer had any orchid experience, either), so I’m sure there are some interesting benefits we haven’t “discovered”.

Hormones are active at very low concentrations, so I think its a hard argument to make that hormones aren't involved here. I'm inclined to agree with Camille... Plus the other biostimulant components that we now know are really important for the activity of brown kelp have hormonal like action. The company funded research to show that eckol and phloroglucinol are present in high quantities in their product and have unique biostimulant properties. Whether they act directly as hormones or indirectly to modulate them its a bit of an act of splitting hairs. The presence of micronutrients, amino acids and carbohydrates may also stimulate hormones as well.

The effects you observed, and we know are demonstrated in tomatoes and other crops are very much driven by hormonal processes. So whether the actual hormones in the kelp drove this action or whether other biostimulant properties stimulated hormonal changes in the plant... modulation of hormones are ultimately the causative effect here and your point is perhaps overly subtle.

Eckol - a new plant growth stimulant from the brown seaweed Ecklonia maxima

Physiological role of phenolic biostimulants isolated from brown
seaweed Ecklonia maxima on plant growth and development

Quantification of plant growth biostimulants, phloroglucinol and eckol,
in four commercial seaweed liquid fertilizers and some by-products

[Ray]

Where I was going was that if you compare Kelpak/KelpMax to stimulants that are primarily auxins and/or cytokinins, the same degree of stimulation occurs with much lower hormone concentrations.

[SouthPark]

Controls and lots of trials will probably help home in on the answer. Eg. spray with regular water. And other mixes. This could take a while. But is a good start.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

Controls and lots of trials will probably help home in on the answer. Eg. spray with regular water. And other mixes. This could take a while. But is a good start.

For Kelpak and food crops, it’s done and well established.

Orchids, not so much.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Ray

For Kelpak and food crops, it’s done and well established.

Orchids, not so much.

Thanks Ray. For food crops, does that refer to longer lasting blooms on food crops?

[Ray]

Nobody is looking for that.

My (intended) point was that all kinds of studies have been done related to seed germination, pollen tube growth, and all sorts of other plant dynamic aspects.

Flower longevity? I don’t know.

[SouthPark]

Originally Posted by Ray

My (intended) point was that all kinds of studies have been done related to seed germination, pollen tube growth, and all sorts of other plant dynamic aspects.

Flower longevity? I don’t know.

I see. Thanks Ray. This is interesting - because if there is some pattern established for flower buds spraying, then it could also lead to interesting considerations regarding foliar spraying ----- as in possible benefits of foliar spraying.

[Ray]

Originally Posted by SouthPark

I see. Thanks Ray. This is interesting - because if there is some pattern established for flower buds spraying, then it could also lead to interesting considerations regarding foliar spraying ----- as in possible benefits of foliar spraying.

In many cases, foliar application is exactly what's done. The guy that used to own the US distributorship for the US owns a winery and he sprays his vines to get the rachis to elongate, allowing better spacing for fruit development and especially the penetration of fungicides.

The problem with foliar treatments in orchids - and not all orchids - is the waxy cuticle layers on the leaves. An evolutionary adaptation to reduce water loss, the cutex is a barrier that slows uptake as well. Plants with relatively thick, fleshy leaves - phalaenopsis, cattleya-types, vandas, many dendrobiums, etc. - tend to have the thicker cutices. However, they apparently develop more and more with age, suggesting immature specimens of those plants are more easily able to absorb via the foliar route.

[SouthPark]

Thanks for mentioning that and explaining that Ray. That definitely makes sense. The bud spraying sounds convenient and simple enough for testing. A good candidate test for testing.

[Ray]

I've got to say, I don't show plants, but if this holds (no pun intended), this could be a boon to those who do.

Today’s image.