tjcher, some good advice. Take a look at my post#4 in the topic heading:Help Growing Seedlings re SuperThrive. Could not agree more with you. Mike
My Purple Ghost seems to be content with producing two new pairs of leaves on a single new stem. My A.p. Katsura, on the other hand, has extended its tall main stem to the extent of three new pairs of leaves with a new growth bud emerging. So I pinched off this terminal bud. It really seems too late in the season here for this much late growth. Already the nights are growing cool, and an early frost could come in as little as one month (though usually, this close to the ocean, we dodge the first couple of frosts and get our first real freeze sometime in October). At this point, I want the plant to focus its energy on, first, completing the maturation of the new leaves, and then on ripening and hardening-off the new stem growth for winter. Katsura has proven winter-hardy for a Maple Society member in upstate New York, who probably has more severe winters than we do here -- he just grows it in the ground in a fully exposed location. But since this is a new graft (the baby plant arrived with grafting tape still in place) and a very small plant in its first year in the ground here, I don't want to push the envelope. I may inadvertently have pampered it a bit too much, since it is exposed to afternoon sun and the soil tends to dry out quickly. This just seems a recipe for winter die-back and spring heartache.
I grabbed a small Superthrive and have administered a few doses. It had some effect on many and no effect on a few. On AS 'Garden glory' it took off like crazy as did one stem of an AP 'Orangeola'. AP 'Aratama', 'Mimaye', 'Myoi' 'Shin deshojo' all seemed to like it. Mike & TJ do you follow the directions on the container?
growth on aJ Takinogawa, Usugumo, Stella Rossa and several others. Gil, I use SuperThrive for hand watering by 1 gal cans so what I do is buy the 1pint size and mix several bottles of the 4 fl oz size by pouring pure ST from the 1 pt container into 4 oz bottles filling the latter 1/4-1/3 with ST and the rest water cuz u want to dilute ST. Because it has no salts I don't have to worry about using it often and flushing it out of the pots. Glad you have become a convert, Gil. My plants are too Mike
I just follow the instructions and add 1/4 tsp to a gallon container and water by hand. I have found it to be very helpful. Tom
Gil, I forgot to mention in my post that after I dilute ST into 4 fl oz bottles I then put 1 capful into my gallon of water. Tom's advice above sounds good as well. Mike
Thanks Guys, Appreciate the follow up. One last question. Is there any way to get a deal on ST. It is pricey if you've got a mini aceretum! gil
Gil, Amazon offers 1 gallon ST (128 fl oz) for $159.95 which is $1.25/fl oz vs 4 oz bottle at $6.45 ($1.61/oz) vs 16 oz PINT $30.99 ($1.94/oz) vs 32 oz QUART ($1.56). My local hydroponics shop offers PINT at $26.50 so shop around Philly but the gallon seems best. Mike
Nope more questions! : Do you all use it when transplanting into ground? I have seen it recommended by the mountain maples folks. I have a big transplant project coming this fall, but am unsure of the utility if the plant is essentially dormant. Dumb question, but do you soak the root ball in the solution when transplanting or just water after putting into ground. here is the blurb on the mountain maple website with citation: "The original vitamin-hormone solution for transplanting and reviving. We use it in the nursery when we transplant at the 10 drops to a gallon rate for a 15 minute soak. Or mix it in a gallon of water and water it in with your watering can. It is very effective. NEVER exceed the recommended dosage, however, or serious growth distortions can result" http://www.mountainmaples.com/show_detail.php?ClassNo=376
I wouldn't hesitate to soak the root ball once planted, but I would err on the conservative side. You could always call Mountain Maples and ask exactly what they do.... Tom
just a quick observation: some of this late summer growth has not necessarily been desirable: twiggy offshoots that seem out of keeping with the rest of the plant - wilson's and kamagata in particular got a little haircut last weekend.
