I received flowers from the florist a few days ago, and had an interesting conversation with the gentleman who delivered them. At one time, the company included a nursery and a florist’s shop. I suspect the gentleman who delivered the flowers was the founder. He told me he was 81, and is called Papa Jay, and still likes to keep his hand in the business.
Anyway, he saw all my bulbs on the garage floor and he told me he used to do all the displays of potted bulbs for his firm at the big Cincinnati Flower and Garden Show. He said the trick to keeping the flowers fresh through0ut the show was to use ice to water them. So you folks who plant in pots can try it. :-)
He also said the trick to getting big, colorful blooms was to soak the bulb for 20 minutes before planting in a solution of RapidGro. He said the flowers would not only be bigger, but would have deeper color. Has anyone heard of this, or tried it? I’m going to try it on a red cup. Soak half the bulbs and plant them in adjacent rows to see if there’s a difference next spring.
Mary Lou
Do you have another name for RapidGro or do you know the composition
I don’t know, but I will check the composition when I buy some in the next day or two. I tried to google it, but couldn’t find anything. If all else fails, I’ll go look up Papa Jay to find out! :-)
Looks like a generic term, Google Search says it is available in Walmart, will have to check it out.
Vijay
The formulation for Miracle Gro All Purpose Water Soluable Plant Food is 24-8-16, according to Answers.com
Oops, that was Miracle-Gro, not the desired Rapid Gro.
Here’s a link to an old newspaper ad http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1817&dat=19890328&id=oDkdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=6qUEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4189,8445710
which tells us that the composition of Rapid Gro was 23-19-17
This seems like a novel idea to me and it is so easy if it works but it poses a few questions. What is the dilution rate before 20 minute dip? How can it possibly work better than simply applying the fertiliser to the pots when roots have formed or when growth has started ? Does it perhaps stimulate root growth? Maybe you need to extend your trial Mary Lou to include normal application of the fertiliser – and then measure the length, weight or volume of the roots in each case!!! A nice little project to keep you out of mischief!! I’ll be interested in the results.
Brian
Some time ago, I carried home a 5 LB plastic container of RA- PID-GRO Concentrate 23-19-17 with FORTI-5 Micro-Nutrients to UNLOCK EXTRA VIGOR. On the back, for Bulbs it says, “Submerge bulbs in solution and soak for one hour, just prior to planting.” It doesn’t say what the solution rate is, but the regular MIXING RATE (unless otherwise noted) is ONE heaping TABLESPOON to ONE GALLON of WATER.
The micronutrients are
Boron … .02%
Copper….. .05%
Iron… .10%
Manganese (Chelated)… .05%
Zinc (Chelated) …. ,05%
Sue
Sue, thanks for the further information about using Rapid-Gro.
Mary Lou
Keith, it’s great to hear from someone who has actually used the technique. Thanks for your good directions.
Mary Lou