New Superthrive formula fried my Lepanthes

[clintonsparsons]

I Sprayed "ready-to-use" Superthrive on my Lepanthes tentacula. I have used the regular superthrive on all plants for years, in high amounts.

This new product seemed so convenient, so I used it on my Lepanthes. All of the moss on the mount was dead and brown overnight. I flushed the mount with RO, but by day three the the dead moss was molding with a light blue fungi that looked like mineral deposits, but was mold. The moss already had cyanobacteria/algae in it anyway, but that was dead now, too, and became gross. It dropped seven leaves, and I only have two left that look like crap.

I carefully dismounted it, removes as much material as I could without harming the healthy roots. I drenched the whole mount in a Captan solution (1 TBSP per 54 oz.) I have more than sufficient air circulation, my humidity is set to 90%. What else can I do at this point? I have never had any mold issues of any kind. The mold was not growing on the plant it's self, but was feeding on the rotten moss.

I am just shocked that so many of you use superthrive original concentrate but this ready-to-use spray completely obliterated this plant. I sprayed an L. calodictyon as well but it only dropped two leaves. All of it's moss died as well so I went ahead and re-mounted it also. I have never mounted anything before, so hopefully it will be ok.

[estación seca]

Ouch!

[JScott]

There has long been an ongoing and lively debate about whether Superthrive is beneficial, or whether it even has any effects at all. Here's a link to a discussion about Superthrive. Most of the things expressed here are opinion, but there are some links to some more legitimate scientific information as well. I've tried Superthrive, and I just can't tell that it makes any difference in the health of my plants, although I also know people who swear by it. Anyway, here's the link (yes, I know it's in a forum about growing marijuana, but the principles still apply):

All you ever wanted to know about SUPERthrive | Grasscity Forums - The #1 Marijuana Community Online

Here's another article by Barry Rice, who is respected in the horticultural community, if the marijuana angle makes you uncomfortable:

The Carnivorous Plant FAQ: About SUPERthrive

[Roberta]

My experience with it is anecdotal. But for awhile (a year or more, probably 2 at least) I added a couple of drops per gallon to the fertilizer water (so light application every couple of weeks on average. Then I started having some blooms (particularly with Catts) producing defective flowers - one or more segments fused. At that point I did a web search on the subject, and others also had anecdotal reports of similar mutations. I stopped using it and the problem went away. Was there a cause-effect relationship or was it coincidence? I don't know, didn't do a controlled experiment. (At the rate that orchids grow, it would have taken at least a year) But I didn't see any negative effect when I stopped using it. So based on that, no way would I use it again. And that's the original formula.

[Ray]

Superthrive contains synthetic auxins to stimulate growth. I imagine that different plants have different tolerances to them.

Don’t forget that the herbicide 2,4-D is an auxin.

Stick with KelpMax and you’ll not see such issues.