What the heck is Turbo Thrive™?

[Jayfar]

Has anyone tried Turbo Thrive? There are no reviews online that google can find.

The orchid cheat? Botanic Garden mega-flower in bloom — thanks to fertilizer! • The Brooklyn Paper

All I can find is a facebook page for the product and the company site they reference there goes to a domain parking page. They do describe it as a foliar fertilizer. A google search finds it for sale only at Norman's/Orchids.com, but the pic on that site is too small to read the label.

In the Brooklyn Paper article, the BBG orchid curator seems to outright endorse the product: “The amount and quality of the flowers is more than likely from the new fertilizer,” admitted Horak.

The trademark owner's street address is the same as that of Norman's and elsewhere I see that the company name Alva International Inc. is an aka for Norman's:

TURBO THRIVE - Trademarks411, Trademark Search Made Simple

[Ray]

I have emailed Dave Horak (assuming I guessed correctly at his email address).

The simple fact is though, that a fertilizer will not force a plant to bloom. Giving it fertilizer when you have been starving the plant might...

[Jayfar]

I found a little more info on the composition (I couldn't quite read the label in the small photo on Norman's site). The only thing that strikes me as unusual is the lack of phosphorus.

Fertilizer Product Database

Nitrogen 3.00%
Potassium 4.00%
Boron 0.32%
Molybdenum 0.100%

[Ray]

Yep, Dave Horak at BBG sent me there, too.

It is actually a 3-0-3, with the N being from urea, plus as you stated, the extra boron and moly.

Being urea-based, it is only good as a foliar feed for orchids, so will be of little value if applied as a drench to the pot.

[Jayfar]

Originally Posted by Ray

Yep, Dave Horak at BBG sent me there, too.

It is actually a 3-0-3, with the N being from urea, plus as you stated, the extra boron and moly.

Being urea-based, it is only good as a foliar feed for orchids, so will be of little value if applied as a drench to the pot.

Hmm, I think maybe BBG is using an earlier formulation; the California Agriculture Dept. site lists both a 3-0-3 and a 3-0-4 formulation and 3-0-4 is what the orchids dot com website is currently showing.

So would one use this as a supplemental foliar fertilizer, in addition to a regular fertilizer including phosphorus and the missing micronutrients? I guess I'm not getting what the main premise is of using this foliar fertilizer, other than the vague description on the website: "special foliar fertilizer formulated to specifically promote strong growth on all ornamental plants through every growth stage from seedling to flowering, from transplanting to reinvigorating stressed plants."

[Cym Ladye]

Jayfar,

Fertilizers come and go all the time with new formulations and wild claims. People will try them because they are "unique" or promise wonders, and as Ray said, something may be better than nothing for a short while. This appears to be a brainstorm Normans Orchids came up with and is hustling. With the components, or lack of, which you have stated, I certainly wouldn't waste my money on it.

CL

[Jeff Bradley]

I call Turbo Thrive "Norman's Mystery Formula"....I have been growing orchids since I was 6 and now I am 58. NEVER have a seen a product that will cause eyes on back bulbs of cattleyas to pop like Turbo Thrive. I have been using it for over 6 months since I was since the initial bottles to test. What ever is in it I do not not but it works magic on roots. I am a "closet phal" grower and the stem props that have been treated produce roots that are almost as large as the plant itself. I could write an entire article on on and plan to with photos. The one thing you MUST do is keep the fertilizer (although very very weak) going at the same time.

Jeff Bradley
Houston, Texas

[silken]

This is interesting!

[Arenalbotanicalgarden]

Originally Posted by Ray

I have emailed Dave Horak (assuming I guessed correctly at his email address).

The simple fact is though, that a fertilizer will not force a plant to bloom. Giving it fertilizer when you have been starving the plant might...

Orchids, and most other flowering plants and trees, flower as a shock response to adverse conditions (usually overly hot and dry) to make sure the species lives on. Flower, Seeds, Yunguns to 'live on".
It's a survival"instinct".
March and April here are terrible times to visit ( hot-dry-windy) but if you want to see flowers, get down here now !

[Jayfar]

https://www.facebook.com/megathrive

There's now a video animation on the FB page that outlines how Mega Thrive works.