The following message was received in the bonsai newsgroup. Anyone have any
comments?

I've read (here) several times that one of the strikes against horticultural
amendments like "Stupidthrive" is that plants don't use vitamins (vitamins
being a major portion of Superthrive's claim to effecacy). As I am not a
botanist and can find no articles on the topic, I'm wondering if anyone here
does have conclusive findings on or clear evidence of or knowledge of
studies on whether vitamins are beneficial to plants.

I ask because I see and read claims of B vitamins being of benefit as either
a foliar treatment or soil treatment and can't figure out why it would be of
benefit. Anyone care to weigh in?

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

I have never seen any research studies indicating that Superthrive is
of benefit to plants compared to a regular fertilizer. Superthrive
seems to advertise using testimonials rather than scientific research.

Research with mutant plants that do not synthesize vitamin C indicated
that vitamin C plays an important antioxidant role in plants. It
especially protects them from air pollutants and UV light.

http://128.252.223.112/posts/archive...7642.Bt.r.html

Thiamine (vitamin B1) does seem to promote root growth in some
cuttings, and there are also commercial fertilizers for transplants
that contain thiamine.

http://128.252.223.112/posts/archive...2194.Bt.r.html

One webpage lists thiamine benefits for transplants as a "gardening
myth."

http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopE...den/beware.htm


David R. Hershey



(Iris Cohen) wrote in message ...
The following message was received in the bonsai newsgroup. Anyone have any
comments?

I've read (here) several times that one of the strikes against horticultural
amendments like "Stupidthrive" is that plants don't use vitamins (vitamins
being a major portion of Superthrive's claim to effecacy). As I am not a
botanist and can find no articles on the topic, I'm wondering if anyone here
does have conclusive findings on or clear evidence of or knowledge of
studies on whether vitamins are beneficial to plants.

I ask because I see and read claims of B vitamins being of benefit as either
a foliar treatment or soil treatment and can't figure out why it would be of
benefit. Anyone care to weigh in?

Kind regards,
Andy Rutledge
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)