I recommend you use diluted seaweed extract when ever you water as with superthrive. I would only use fish emulsion early in the spring if you expect flowers. It has too much nitrogen which becomes a problem after the first month. Too much energy goes into growth and leaf production and not into flowers.

Bill,

You use Suerthrive with the seaweed extract? What dilution rate (Superthrive). Jennifer

I use a gluk of seaweed and a glock of ST. Since neither is a fertilizer technically in a gallon of water I put maybe a quarter ounce seaweed and 5 drops of ST. You need very little ST. I keep both in old cleaned out mustard plastic containers and I give a good squirt of seaweed and a small squirt of ST. I think this used in conjunction with Spray-n-grow and cocowet is outstanding.

First off, HELLO Andrew!

I am just getting growth on mine. Yow, it took forever.

I also wanted to say thaks to Bill and many others for all you have taught me

Mike

Thanks Bill,

I know somewhere I have the link(I think..lOL!) for your feeding program. I was told by a reputable nursery owner, that Vitamin B-1 is almost the same as the ST and with it being much cheaper, I now use this instead.

I have heard of the Spray and Grow but I don't remember the amount and when to spray. I don't know ANYTHING about the Coco Wet.

I am going to have to look into buying all this stuff. I also know you recommend the Doc. Earth. I have that (starts with an M) beneficial bacteria). You had said that this works great together with the super thrive? If I have the bacteria, dhould I still by the Dr. Earth and is this a soil additive also?

I know I will have a massive repotting job this summer when all these cuttings that are rooting need to be repotted.

Thanks for all the help Bill. All of us newbies really appreciate it!

Andrew

superthrive has b-1 in it but b-1 does not have all the micronutrients that are in ST. They are basically the same if you are transplanting or soaking before starting cuttings, but I like ST as a soil tonic.
If you google spray-n-grow they have kits of sng, cocowet, and bill's (not me) perfect fertilizer. A small kit is plenty. You mix as directed in warm water in a 1-2 gallon pump sprayer, and then foliar feed (spray your leaves)
Dr earth is an organic fertilizer. It does contain m. fungus which is uaually destroyed by high phosphorus fertilizers. The fungus is essential to good soil health, but it is not a fertilizer. I generally start the year with this good organic fertilizer to enrich soil and get the plant going and then when leaves come I go to foliar feeding but I add superthrive and seaweed extract to my weekly water for the roots.
I would wait until all flowering is done before repotting because repotting can abort flowers. Bill

Andrew, below is the link for the small size kit, which I bought this spring and have used several times already. I set aside every other Saturday morning at sunrise as my designated foliar-feed day. Make sure you use the warm water for the mix or you won't see the color change!

Maybe it's a coincidence, but I have blooms on my young magnolia tree and loads of fruit on my persimmon tree for the first time since I've been spraying the Spray-n-Grow combo. A one-quart spray bottle of mix is plenty to spray every potted plant, rose and small tree in my backyard. The small kit looks like it'll get me at least to the autumn.

Here is a link that might be useful: Perfect Blend Kit

Hi Jandey,
Thanks for the link! I am just wondering if I need the Bill's fertilizer or not. I have so many fetilizers. I didn't pay attention the analysis. I probobly will just buy it anyhow.

Thanks again!

HEy Bill,
So I am done with the FE, you recommend the Sea Weed extract and superthrive at each watering. When do you stop this regimen? After the plumeria stop blooming or when temps begin to cool off?

Have you paid attention to the info in regards to the egg rooting at all? I'm just wondering if you have any opinion on it.

I bring this up because I bought several rooted plumerias this spring. I put an egg(is some cases 2 or 3 eggs, for my large plumeria) in each container. After a few weeks, I saw massive root growths. I actually got inflos on 2 of them. My Penang Peach and my Thai Super Round. The Thai Super round grew 2. I didn't use any fetilizers on them until after I saw the inflos. I think it's been close to a month now since I got them and I didn't want think it would be good to feed them right away.

The only thing I fed them was vitamin B-1(to help fight off transplant shock, and to aid in good root formation.). I also burried a few frozen banana leaf spears into the soil.

Mimi from the Aloha Plumeria forum says that the banana peels add potasium and that aids in the growth of inflos and buds.

Do you think there is any truth to this or is it just a coincidence? I know that I tried this on my 1st Penang Peach I got last fall. I did this after it had finnished blooming. About a week or 2 after, I had buds covering the inflo again.

Andrew

Andrew- I think the egg idea make some sense in that the decomposition of the egg will create warmth and the extra calcium can't hurt. I have not tried this but I will just for kicks. The banana I do not know either and I am not sure how much K is in the peel or leaves but I will try to check. As far as the seaweed and ST, I stop when I stop watering. It is not a fertilizer and is more like taking vitamins.

Have you guys seen Kellog has an Organic fertilizer with the M. Fungus and the back actually lists specific use for plumerias. It is specific for palms, hibiscus and tropicals. I don't quite remember the ratios, but it is low in the middle number. I bought some yesterday to use with my new cuttings.

jandey, I too bought the Spray-n-Grow combo this spring and also like you, I have been making it a point to spray every other Saturday morning. I was mixing a gallon in a pump-up sprayer but this last weekend I just used a quart spray bottle and it went just about as far! (apparently the easier it is to spray, the easier it is to waste!)

What do you guys think is the best time of day to spray? It is usually later in the morning before I get to it, and I've started to wonder if it is evaporating too quickly in the hot FL sun. Daybreak might be a stretch for me... the other option would be at dusk...?

5k, believe me, I don't like getting up before daybreak on a Saturday to heat water, mix, then wait before spraying, but I figure spraying the leaves while the stomata (pores) are still open to take the formula in is the optimum time. Plus, the sun heats up so fast here that it's probably best to let the mix dry before it can burn them. Maybe evening would work as well but I also like to get it out of the way so I can spend the rest of the day hunting inflos ;).

Andrew, I have to say I'm getting mixed results on the egg-rooting. I have some cuttings taking off without egg and some still dormant with egg. I think the cuttings are doing what they're naturally inclined to do anyway, but I'm sure as they get full roots the eggs sure can't hurt.

On the egg, I too transplanted several plumeria in March, using the egg, and in some cases, two. Don't know if it made any difference, but I have a lot of inflos on my plants that are blooming. I don't know if it is coincidence or not,

I just finished potting uo my new cuttings bought a week ago. I used egg in 6 of the cuttings, in the rest I did not. Will see what happens. Jennifer in California

Jandey, I agree with you on the results of using the egg methods. I've started cuttings with and without eggs and the results are inconclusive. I have cuttings that rooted with or without the eggs.
I had one interesting experiment where I started 2 husky 18" cuttings of the same kind, about the same size, 1 with egg, and 1 without.
The one with egg had light and egg.
The one without egg had light, moisture and warmth (it was put in a moisture chamber with a heat mat under it). Both were placed near a sunny window so got the same amount of light.
The one in the moisture chamber has now rooted and grown a few leaves. The one with the egg has not budged, no roots, no leaves.
I'm thinking that the egg cant hurt, as it might act the same as fertilizer once the cutting has roots, but I'm not sure that it speeds up the rooting process more than other conditions such as humidity and warmth.
My next experiment is to start 2 same kind cuttings with and without egg, BOTH in the moisture chamber.

I also have had some plumeria that have not grown roots very fast with the egg method but it is so hard for me to say anything because all my plumeria that I am rooting right now are all indoors.

Andrew

Bill: How often do you use the Spray-N-Gro + CocoWet + Bill's Perfect combo?

newgen- I start when my leaves are about 5" long and then foliar feed every one to two weeks in the morning. Bill

Bill: I'm following your routine of Superthrive + Seaweed Extract soil drench weekly, is it OK to do Spray N Gro foliar feed on the same day, or would it be better to do the foliar on a different day, still maintaining the weekly frequency? I'm thinking that if I do the Spray N Gro and Foliar the same day, maybe it's too much for the plants to absorb. Thanks,

All of those are nutrients like taking vitamins. The only fertilizer is the Bill's perfect which you want to watch any other fertilizing that may overlap because this is what can tax the plant. The rest is in such a small quantity that you would have to use gallons to get a overdose. Just pay attention to the fertilizers and you can weaken the dose if you are transitioning. Bill