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Hidden Valley Hibiscus

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Growth Enhancer ~ Super Nova

Stimulates New Growth & Reduces Stress


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Growth Enhancer Super Nova
We all know the look of a truly healthy hibiscus - glossy leaves, thick foliage, deep green color, and crisp new growth. We achieve this healthy glow with some of our hibiscus, but how can we get all our hibiscus plants to reach this glossy state of health? HVH is always looking for products that will take some of the mystery out of growing healthy hibiscus and yield healthier plants with less trouble for the grower. We lean toward natural products when we can, but have had difficulty finding natural products with standardized, consistent ingredients that we can count on that actually yield visible results. We have recently been testing several new growth enhancment and stress reducing products, and the results have been impressive.

Growth Enhancement

Our newest growth enhancer, Super Nova is a blend of Ascophyllum Nodosum extract, vitamins, amino acids and growth precursors that is designed to enhance the plant's ability to absorb nutrients and to increase the overall vigor of the plant. From what we have seen in our garden, indoor house hibiscus, and greenhouse, these claims seem to be validated. Our hibiscus that have been treated with growth enhancers on a regular basis show more and crisper new growth, shinier leaves, more resistance to stress, and overall signs of healthier, lusher looking plants. We are heading into the hot part of summer when hibiscus sometimes start to sag a bit, but the hibiscus we have treated with growth enhancerss show fewer of these signs.

Growth enhancerss are not fertilizers and do not replace fertilizer. They are used as a supplement to your regular fertilizing program, the way humans add supplements to their regular food to increase nutrition and health. We have used it in conjunction with both our fertilizer and our hibiscus booster in our regular fertilizing program.

Stress Reduction

At HVH we are always looking for new products to solve specific problems we encounter with our own hibiscus. One problem that seems to crop up over and over is the frustration of trying to save a hibiscus that has gone into some kind of stress decline. Too often, we lose the hibiscus, despite all our expertise and efforts to save it. After the freezing winter that damaged and killed so many of our hibiscus, we became determined to find a product that would save a hibiscus that is still alive but greatly damaged by stress. Growth enhancers are proving to be that product for us! We are still in testing, but in our preliminary testing they are showing excellent results .


New Growth on a "Dead Stick" Plant after Using Growth Enhancers
In the plant hospital section of our operations, we have an assemblage of 20 plants with a variety of stress-induced ailments like drought, overwatering, spider mite attacks, and root problems. Before treatment with growth enhancers, 14 of the plants were steadily declining and 4 showed some signs of new growth, but it was by no means vigorous growth. After one month of treatment with the smallest recommended dose of growth enhancers in each watering:

  • 18 plants showed significant, vigorous new growth, with new growing tips on several branches.
  • 1 plant showed significant growth on only one growing tip.
  • 1 plant still showed green tips but no new growth.

How Does do Growth Enhancers Work?


New Growth on a Stalk
After Using Growth Enhancers
One of the primary ingredients in growth enhancers is natural plant hormones. Hormones are necessary for plant growth and health, and research has shown that when supplemented, certain hormones work together to increase the vigor of plants in several ways. Auxins increase the amount of water each cell absorbs and make the cell stretchier so it can hold more water. The effect is to make each cell longer, especially in the growing tips of plants and in the flower parts. Despite the fact that plants need sunlight and use sunlight to produce glucose, their "food," sunlight destroys auxins where it directly falls on leaves. So plants with stress from a heavy exposure to the sun can lose auxins. While Auxins make the plant cells grow large, Cytokinins are necessary to make each cell divide into new cells to increase the number of cells. Cytokinins also slow down the aging process in plant parts, keeping leaves green and fresh longer, which can be particularly important in stressful circumstances. Cytokinins and auxins work together to make sure the plant's branch system and root system stay in balance so one can support the other. Betaines protect plants from stress, and are especially effective in younger plants that are usually most susceptible to stress. Plants pre-treated with betaines are better able to ward off damage from cold spells, drought, saline soil, or root diseases like those caused by overwatering. Betaine increases the amount of chlorophyll in plant cells, making them greener and better able to use sunlight to produce glucose.

Amino Acids in growth enhancers provide an extra source of nitrogen without the danger of salt burn that nitrogen in fertilizers causes. Amino acids in plants, as in animals, are the building blocks of protein for all plant parts and are involved in all phases of plant growth, development, and metabolism. Supplementing the plant with amino acids gives it extra building blocks to use - more than it could create on its own. It is much like supplementing our own diet with extra proteins and protein powders.

Humates do so much for plants that it's impossible to list all the benefits here. They increase each cell's energy and ability to capture and use sunlight to make glucose and proteins, which means more growth. Humates make cell walls more permeable, so any and all nutrients can move into each cell more easily. Humates also bind with several contaminants in soil, protecting plants from their damaging effects.

Enzymes are the tools that undo damage from stressors like ultraviolet rays in sunlight. They are involved in every active process in plant growth and metabolism, including the production of plant hormones, glucose, and proteins. And last but not least, metabolic precursors in growth enhancers increase the amount of carbon plants can absorb to make food out of, which in turn increases growth.

How to Use Growth Enhancers

Use Growth Enhancer Super Nova along with your regular fertilizing program at these rates:

FOR NORMAL USE WITH EVERY WATERING: Add 1/2 teaspoon Super Nova in each gallon of irrigation water.

FOR NORMAL USE ONCE OR TWICE PER MONTH: Add 1 teaspoon Super Nova in each gallon of irrigation water.

FOR SICK OR STRESSED PLANTS, USE EVERY TIME YOU WATER: 1 teaspoon Super Nova in each gallon of water until you see improvement, then reduce dosage.

FOR NORMAL USE AS A FOLIAR SPRAY: Add 1/2 teaspoon growth enhancers to each gallon of water and spray plants in the late afternoon or evening with sprayer until the leaves are wet and some spray is dripping off.

Growth Enhancer Super Nova Technical Data:

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS: 1-1-1

  • Total Nitrogen ... 1%
  • Available Phosphate P205 ... 1%
  • Soluble Potassium K2O ... 1%
  • Derived from: Ascophyllum Nodosom