HB 101 plant growth enhancer: Nonsense or not??? - Orchid Board

camille1585 · #1 02-26-2008, 04:29 PM

A few months ago I got free samples of this all natural product called HB 101. It's an extract from pine-cedar-cypress trees. Simply add one drop per liter of water (along with the usual fertilizer) and it will supposedly increase plant and root growth, make plants healthier and more robust and so on. Apparently it's all the rage in Japan...

Here's the mineral analysis:
--Sodium- 155.3mg/gallon
--Calcium- 125mg/gallon
--Iron- 6.8mg/gallon
--Magnesium- 12.5mg/gallon
--Silicon- 28mg/gallon
--Cadmium- 0
--Arsenic- 0

Is there any point in this stuff????

Wouldn't fertilizers supply these nutrients anyways? I'm using the samples since I have them, but I'm not convinced they have any effect. My plants are growing better after 2 months, but I think it's more due to the fact that I got grow lights and better fertilizer around that time as well...
I don't really believe in this stuff, but what do you guys think?

Royal · #2 02-26-2008, 04:53 PM

Yeah, I'm kind of skeptical. Minerals will be provided by most fertilizers or a fertilizer made specifically for orchids. There are some vitamin/hormone products that make a similar claim. But just minerals -- I don't know.

Look for ingredients like BAP or NAA. These are plant growth regulators that do stimulate different types of tissue development.

Ray · #3 02-26-2008, 05:32 PM

FWIW, I suppose because I spend a lot of time sharing my experiences online, they sent me a PILE of it to play with. I started by using it on some tropical foliage plants, and practically killed them.

Royal · #4 02-26-2008, 05:48 PM

FWIW?

quiltergal · #5 02-26-2008, 08:32 PM

For What It's Worth.

minicatt · #6 02-26-2008, 11:04 PM

i'm skeptical. Any product with huge claims of success are in my book suspect!
Peter

orchids3 · #7 02-27-2008, 09:09 AM

Over the years scads of "Wonder Products" have come and gone. If you think that any one "Might" give good results then set it up as a "Controlled Experiment" and prove it one way or the other. Try the new product on one or two identical plants out of 10 and see if there is a differance between what you are using and the "wonder product". I like High N, Low P and High K with lots of Ca and Mg plus all the micro nutrients. The N is best in the form of Nitrates with a little ammonia. Have not had much luck with Urea products. The level of use especially N should depend on your light and temperature conditions. The rest of the stuff on the market - well do your experiment before you spend much money on it. A lot of fertilizer companies are more interested in your money than they are growing your plants well.

RScott · #8 03-10-2009, 10:19 AM

I bought the two little vials and did a control on a small scale, using Clivia and Adenium seedings in a 50/50 mix of perlite and vermiculite. A control of water only, one of HB-101 only, one of soluable 10-10-10 plus micro's and one of fert. and HB-101. The most obvious improvement over water was plain HB-101. Some nutrients are better than none. What did surprise me was the HB-101 with fertilizer. I would estimate 10-20% more growth, less nodule spacing on the dicot and overall more vigor. When I repot I plan to hose off the roots and compare weights and do the math before using it on thousands of acres of wheat. Who can afford a hundred dollar loaf of bread. The only ingredient that intrigues me is the yew, origin of the breast cancer drug Taxol. Several other plants are high in the brassiophones(sp). The US experimented with positive results in the 70's at about a thousand dollars a gram. RScott

Leisurely · #9 03-12-2009, 10:30 PM

I have been using HB-101 for about a year and a half and I am afraid to stop because I am getting more blooms, better growth, and less insect and disease problems because the plants just appear overall healthier. Growth rate was so accelerated that I cut back fertilizing from 1 tsp. of MSU weekly to 3/4 tsp. bi-weekly. In the beginning, I damaged a lot of roots until I finally figured out how much to use. I currently use four drops per gallon and the only thing I can say is that something is working. Since I cannot determine what, I plan to continue using it.

A view of part of my greenhouse:

camille1585 · #10 03-13-2009, 07:18 AM

It's been a year since my original post, and I still use the HB stuff. I personally don't see a difference, since I have no plants to compare with. The main reason I am still using it is because of the Ca and Mg that it supplies, which aren't in my fert, and not much in the tap water since the water is fairly soft here I think.

It's nice to know that others are using it with success!