Accelerated root growth on Vandas

[jerrymeola]

I have been continuing my testing with a Worm Tea, Companion (Bacillus subtilis GB03) and Essentials rooting hormones (Gibberellic acid, Humic Acid and Kelp extract).

I have been getting great results on my potted plants and have now been able to watch the root growth on bare root plants.

This Vanda is the most recent example and, since it is bare root, I can see and photograph the results.



This Vanda was sprayed with the mixture 4 times over an eight week period.

You can see in the photo that there are over 100 new root tips growing on branching roots. I have never had this much root growth and certainly never this much branching on Vanda.

I have been giving the Essentials rooting hormones credit for most of the accelerated growth in my testing, but in reviewing the literature I find that Bacillus subtilis GB03 is known to produce unique metabolites that have an auxin-like effect on plant growth. The branching may be the result of the Companion or the combination of Companion and Essentials.

I had already learned from earlier testing that the Worm Tea allowed the roots to retain as much as 30% more moisture in the roots. The total result is in the photos.

[Ron]

Hi Jerry.
Very interesting results.
I use a different additive on mine in spring, mainly the rooting hormone, seaweed extract and fsh emulison concentrate.
Diluted down to a week tea.
showing very interest results also.
Will send Photo as soon as the get some size on them.
You may have hit a winner there.
Cheeerio
Ron
Ron

[myorchid]

Wow! That looks great! I have been spraying my plants with the Essentials and Worm Tea combo so will see how they do. I am wondering if I need to get the Companion as well?

Thanks!

[Anton]

What rooting hormone do you use Ron ?

[Ron]

Hi Anton
It was recomended to me buy a Orchid nursery grower to kick start slow growing orchids in spring and for general kick start.
this is the first year I have used this product.
"Multicrop Plant Starter" active constituents: .05g/l indole acetic acid .05 g/l naphthalene acetic acid. 1 cap full per 10 lt.

Cheerio
Ron

[Anton]

Thanks Ron, I'll check it out.

[articuno75]

This is impressive. Do you think that using this mixture will help with moisture retention for orchids like this if grown indoors? (Say for during the winter period when growing indoors is dry anyway. )

[Miki]

Originally Posted by jerrymeola

I have been continuing my testing with a Worm Tea, Companion (Bacillus subtilis GB03) and Essentials rooting hormones (Gibberellic acid, Humic Acid and Kelp extract).

This Vanda was sprayed with the mixture 4 times over an eight week period.

I had already learned from earlier testing that the Worm Tea allowed the roots to retain as much as 30% more moisture in the roots. The total result is in the photos.

Hi Jerry,
Wow!
Do you rinse the roots with fresh water after spraying with rooting hormone & worm tea mix?
I know that some people recommend rinsing with fresh water after a feed with fertilizer, to get rid of the excess salt.
Thanks,

[Uechi]

Very interesting Jerry. I'll be curious to see if it impedies or speeds up flowering. I have read some articles that indicate that plant hormones can contribute to nice root growth but slow down flowering. Let us know what happens. I have lots of Vandas and a few that are sulking I would love to try it on them.

[Uechi]

Jerry can you provide a source for the worm tea or will any worm castings soaked work? I found a source for the Bacillus GB03, but can't find one for Essentials. I 'd appreciate it I'd like to try it myself. Regards

[Anton]

Uechi it should speed it up or at the very least improve it, the more roots, the more nourishment, the more flowers.

[Anton]

Jerry, have you got pictures of a control plant to show the difference in growths ?

Also, what Vanda is it ?

[solay]

Jenny, I wouldn't recommend spraying indoors since I find it has a odd smell. I liken it to soy sauce. Jerry thinks it's the seaweed extract. Anyhow, the smell eventually goes a way but it's not pleasant in my opinion.

I've been using the "mix" for 2-3 applications. I do see a lot of new root and growths coming in on the Catts. Not sure if it is the result of the "mix" or a combo. of "mix" and the natural growing season for Catts. Whatever it is, I like it.

[jerrymeola]

Ron and Anton

.05g/l indole acetic acid .05 g/l naphthalene acetic acid are very similar to Gibberellic acid and Humic Acid. Since you are adding the Kelp extract, you have a similar base. In the US .05g/l indole acetic acid is even a little more expensive.

I have never tested without the Worm Tea and Bacillus subtilis GB03. Since the literature gives the Bacillus subtilis GB03 a lot of credit for the branching in the root system I have no way of knowing how the Essentials would work without the combination. I have used Worm Tea alone before I started with the others. I can see a better moisture retention in the roots of Vanda on Worm Tea.

My results are so good that I do not have any interest it determining if less will work.

As for flowering I do not have any control tests, but when a Cattleya division flowered easily and quick from a cutting I decided to mount some more with the hope they would bloom well in a year.



These are three of ten plants I mounted and they flowered in 3 weeks, now after 5 weeks 7 of the ten have flowered. None of the cuttings had sheaths or buds before mounting. I only mounted them because they did not look good in pots. I do not know what to make of it. I will be doing several dozen more plants later this month.

I do not have any control plants per se on the Vanda since it was not intended as a test. I do not grow Vanda and buy them as needed. When they are out of flower they are mostly neglected. I do not even keep name tags on the Vanda. It is probably either Robert's Delight or Kasmin's Delight.

The closest I can come to a control is that the grower I use grows excellent Vanda and his do not have the root system of this one. And I only bought this Vanda 8 weeks earlier. I do have a couple of large Vanda in my garden for 6 months and they get watered every day with an automatic system. I kind of ignored them when spraying since out of sight out of mind. These are looking good but do not have the roots of the ones I am spraying.

I have another Vanda showing interesting root results which I will photograph and post tomorrow.

I have done tests on Cattleya seedings with controls. For example, I have 80 B Little Stars that I received at 4-5 inches high and came from one inch plug trays. In five weeks they were 10 inches high and pot bound in 2 inch grower trays. My normal losses on Cattleya plugs is around 10% certainly acceptable. This group of 800 have had less than 5% and almost all of the losses were limited to two varieties (out of 15).

Miki

I do not have to rinse the plants after spraying. One of the best features about these three solutions is that they can not damage the plants from too high a concentration. Worm tea is a 50:1 dilution for the brand I use and I have used it straight without a problem. Companion is 800:1 and Essentials is 1-200:1 I use Companion at a higher dosage because I am fighting fungus and Essentials is recommended at 10:1 to initiate roots on woody cuttings like hibiscus.

[Anton]

Jerry I can't see any benefit in the products you are using actually, this photo is of Ascocenda roots growing happily on normal soluble fertilizer.

I was interested in what you were using, but I'll stick to straight soluble, does the same job.

Anton

Edited in: Here is a Vanda as well (second image)

[jerrymeola]

This photograph is not as easy to see but to me was a more dramatic result.

The plant had been badly damaged in a winter freeze (20F - minus 2-3C) every root in the basket died. It was ignored and forgotten. It was intended for the burn pile.

The roots started new out of the stem. The stem is badly covered with parts of old leaves and normally this prevents roots from growing on the stem.

The one good root coming out the bottom of the basket in the photo is actually from the top of the stem along the back of the photo and across the bottom of the basket.



I do not raise Vanda and most of what I own are rejects, because any good plants are sold.

I have one more that photographs can not show. It is a large 4 foot Vanda in a 17 inch coco husks lined basket. It was for a show and then hung in a corner of the shade house.

It got sprayed when I walk through spraying everything else. I did not realize that since I was spraying from the walk area without moving the plant, that the back side was not getting sprayed. It was blocked by the coco husk liner. The front of the plant has new roots and the back of the plant does not. Roots from the back side of the plant that reach below the basket are getting spray and developing new roots tips. Again this was within 8 weeks.