New Superthrive formula fried my Lepanthes
 

I Sprayed "ready-to-use" Superthrive on my Lepanthes tentacula. I have used the regular superthrive on all plants for years, in high amounts.

This new product seemed so convenient, so I used it on my Lepanthes. All of the moss on the mount was dead and brown overnight. I flushed the mount with RO, but by day three the the dead moss was molding with a light blue fungi that looked like mineral deposits, but was mold. The moss already had cyanobacteria/algae in it anyway, but that was dead now, too, and became gross. It dropped seven leaves, and I only have two left that look like crap.

I carefully dismounted it, removes as much material as I could without harming the healthy roots. I drenched the whole mount in a Captan solution (1 TBSP per 54 oz.) I have more than sufficient air circulation, my humidity is set to 90%. What else can I do at this point? I have never had any mold issues of any kind. The mold was not growing on the plant it's self, but was feeding on the rotten moss.

I am just shocked that so many of you use superthrive original concentrate but this ready-to-use spray completely obliterated this plant. I sprayed an L. calodictyon as well but it only dropped two leaves. All of it's moss died as well so I went ahead and re-mounted it also. I have never mounted anything before, so hopefully it will be ok.

Ouch!

There has long been an ongoing and lively debate about whether Superthrive is beneficial, or whether it even has any effects at all. Here's a link to a discussion about Superthrive. Most of the things expressed here are opinion, but there are some links to some more legitimate scientific information as well. I've tried Superthrive, and I just can't tell that it makes any difference in the health of my plants, although I also know people who swear by it. Anyway, here's the link (yes, I know it's in a forum about growing marijuana, but the principles still apply):

All you ever wanted to know about SUPERthrive | Grasscity Forums - The #1 Marijuana Community Online

Here's another article by Barry Rice, who is respected in the horticultural community, if the marijuana angle makes you uncomfortable:

The Carnivorous Plant FAQ: About SUPERthrive

My experience with it is anecdotal. But for awhile (a year or more, probably 2 at least) I added a couple of drops per gallon to the fertilizer water (so light application every couple of weeks on average. Then I started having some blooms (particularly with Catts) producing defective flowers - one or more segments fused. At that point I did a web search on the subject, and others also had anecdotal reports of similar mutations. I stopped using it and the problem went away. Was there a cause-effect relationship or was it coincidence? I don't know, didn't do a controlled experiment. (At the rate that orchids grow, it would have taken at least a year) But I didn't see any negative effect when I stopped using it. So based on that, no way would I use it again. And that's the original formula.

Superthrive contains synthetic auxins to stimulate growth. I imagine that different plants have different tolerances to them.

Don’t forget that the herbicide 2,4-D is an auxin.

Stick with KelpMax and you’ll not see such issues.