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gardenalive

liquid iron spray

gardenalive
18 years ago

Hi,

I just went and bought me a bottle of liquid Ironite because some of my plants are losing their greens. Does anybody know what the red color of the liquid comes from? When I tried adding iron pellets into water and mix it it just turns gray, like the color of the pellets. Thanks!!

Comments (11)

  • unautre
    18 years ago

    "losing their greens"

    can also be caused with sufficient iron, etc in the soil, but pH too high, so plants can't uptake the minerals. foliar application seems to be very inefficient vs soil uptake.

    paling of the green can also be caused by bleaching by the sun, which includes browned tips and edges of leaves.

  • TnShadyLady
    18 years ago

    Be very careful if using Ironite around concrete. It leaves terrible rust stains.

    Ask me how I know. :(

  • gardenalive
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    unautre,

    Most areas around the yard have pH within the range of 6-7 which is what most plants prefer. I also don't think that its due to sun bleaching either as my other jujube tree is greener overall than the one i'm trying to perk up. Also, some sources state that liquid iron solution, when sprayed on to plants, will show signs of greening quicker than by using dried iron pellets, however the greening effect doesn't last as long as the latter.

    update: My jujube tree that I sprayed last week has shown signs of new growth and the leaves seem to green up a tad bit. I can't be sure if it was the liquid iron that did it but i'm quite proud of the fact that at least it's growing!!

    TnShadyLady,

    Yeah, it saids it in the direction. That doesn't surprise me too much since it's got iron in it!! Anyhow, I was guessing the red color might be a chemical that helps the iron stick to the leaves better.

  • MerrittIsland
    18 years ago

    Red color = Rust (Iron Oxide)

    Try mixing some Ironite granules with water in a jar. It'll be gray at first but wait a day or two and it will turn red. No magic - just chemistry.

  • gardenalive
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Thank you!!

  • sepfinc_nu-z_net
    17 years ago

    Sorry...just saw this! The iron in the spray version of Liquid Ironite (6-2-1 analysis) is chelated. If that is what you used, then the red cannot be from "rust". The red color indicates that the iron was chelated in the "ferric" form versus the "ferrous form". Chelated liquid iron products are absorbed by both foliage and roots, making them more effective than iron sulfate or granular iron products. Hope that helps!

  • Dick_Sonia
    17 years ago

    The bottle of liquid Ironite that I have is colorless (it's from a few years back). Perhaps they have recently added a colorant to it to alert one to the presence of an additive to the water it's been added to. Several fertilizer manufacturers do this with their familiar turquoise dye.

  • bihai
    17 years ago

    I guess I am lucky, our well water is extremely high in Iron and I don't ever have to supplement it.

  • chrisppy
    17 years ago

    hi,

    The concentration of the ironite liquid i mix myself is 7-6-6 but the spray is 6-2-1. I used a dilution of a capful to a gallon of the liquid and watered my plants every day. My plants are in pots and it works GREAT. But now that my plants are monstrously large, I want to switch to the spray. The spray does seems to be lasting a long time (i.e. the bottle is half full after several applications) which is leading me to question how well does this work: attaching a garden hose to one of these bottles, how does the uptake of the fertilizer work with the water and the garden hose? what's the proces? Is it efficient, safe?

  • china1940
    11 years ago

    Kyrstyna, I am wondering the same thing. I just sprayed some Ironite Plus with the hose deal and it used very little or almost none and I sprayed awhile.

    I am confused because the hose cap has 3 settings. Off, On and water. Do I use the ON, which really blasts or the 'Water' setting? I will probably not find this post again. someone please email me at hammons7@windstream.net thanks