Plant Growth Regulators for Bonsai Experimental Trial

[NaoTK]

Enough talk! Someone needs to actually test Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) on bonsai species.
There are a few threads on the topic here and here and here
Purdue has a great overview here: https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ho/ho-248-w.pdf

For the lazy:


I have chosen to focus on these 3 easily obtainable chemicals and they each have a different mechanism of action. I was able to buy a lifetime supply of all of them for <$100. It's important to note that these PGRs don't just retard growth, the plant mass is conserved. What you get is more lateral branching and thicker stems.

Common Name​	Active Ingredient​	Absorption sites​	Application rate​	Mechanism of Action​
B-Nine	Daminozide	Leaves	1000-5000ppm	At the end of the GA (Gibberellic Acid) production process Daminozide renders a key enzyme for GA production useless, thus reducing GA levels.
Cycocel/Citadel	Chloremequate Chloride	Leaves, Roots	250-3000ppm	Inhibits GA production early in the process.
Florel	Ethephon	Leaves	250-5000ppm	Converted to ethylene in plant cells. The increased ethylene causes cells to limit elongation and increase in width instead. Causes flower drop, fruit drop, early ripening of fruit

I have selected pre-bonsai material and will treat them according to the below table at least every 3 weeks. This is a qualitative study. We will do side-by side comparisons of internode length, leaf size, etc. I will update every month.

Group​	Concentration​	Japanese Maple (sango kaku)​	Trident maple​	Princess persimmon (identical genetic) ​	Large Japanese maple (SK)​	Large Trident maple (from cutting)​
Control	NA	X​	X​	X​	X​	X​
B-Nine	3000 ppm	X​	X​	X​	​	​
Cycocel/Citadel	2000 ppm	X​	X​	X​	​	​
Florel	3000 ppm suggested concentration used on azaleas	X​	X​	X​	​	​
Cocktail (all 3)	All above	X​	X​	X​	X​	X​

Day -20 days ago. I wont treat until leaves appear.











March 7, Day 0. I applied the cocktail to only the large maples which are already leafing out. The leaves are still inflating.

 

[BrianBay9]

Nice start! The problem you will run into is lack of replication. One plant for each condition may not allow you to draw any conclusions. What if you have one "dud" plant because of its genetics? Better if you had at least three replicate plants per condition, but realistically you'd need dozens.

I still would like to see your results. Hopefully they will be incredibly clear.

 

[NaoTK]

Nice start! The problem you will run into is lack of replication. One plant for each condition may not allow you to draw any conclusions. What if you have one "dud" plant because of its genetics? Better if you had at least three replicate plants per condition, but realistically you'd need dozens.

I still would like to see your results. Hopefully they will be incredibly clear.

Agreed! I don't have enough space or plants, maybe next time

 

[Tieball]

You’re trying something. That counts. There will always be unequal circumstances. Enjoy what you are doing.

 

[NaoTK]

Nice start! The problem you will run into is lack of replication. One plant for each condition may not allow you to draw any conclusions. What if you have one "dud" plant because of its genetics? Better if you had at least three replicate plants per condition, but realistically you'd need dozens.

I still would like to see your results. Hopefully they will be incredibly clear.

I was thinking about this more... if we consider a specific PGR and we see on 3 different species and 3 different plants a specific PGR does nothing then it gives us more confidence there is no effect.

 

[BrianBay9]

I was thinking about this more... if we consider a specific PGR and we see on 3 different species and 3 different plants a specific PGR does nothing then it gives us more confidence there is no effect.

Any experimental data is better than no experimental data. You do what you can and see what happens. Very few of us have the space, time and material to do the experiment properly. You're doing more than most.

 

[pandacular]

I like it. This might be a good initial exploration, and next time you could pick the most promising additive and try it with a larger sample. Or perhaps someone else will take that up for you.

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

Me and @milehigh_7 are joining the party.
I'm going to make an experimental backbud paste.

 

[NaoTK]

Me and @milehigh_7 are joining the party.
I'm going to make an experimental backbud paste.

What does backbud paste do?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

What does backbud paste do?

In theory, you put the paste on the branch and it produces buds. In practice, I don't know.

 

[milehigh_7]

In theory, you put the paste on the branch and it produces buds. In practice, I don't know.

Honestly, if it works, it will be a game changer.

 

[badatusernames]

I think I’m going to give b nine a go this year too

Interested to see how it goes!

 

[Maiden69]

@NaoTK I experimented with this a few years back, when I used it on my bermuda grass to slow down the growth because I was getting tired of mowing 2-3 times per week. I did use a little on a boxwood and a holly, and what I found out was that it does slow down growth, but it did so to the extreme. It was like pushing the ABS on a car with the slightest foot pressure. I think this may be beneficial maybe, for a tree that is in full refinement. If you want some development and you have 50 years to wait for secondaries to develop sure... but not at the beginning stage.

I used Citadel, in bermuda it increased the stolon production, obvious by the number of runners I was getting. I think on a plant that produces suckers like chojubai, this will probably increase their production as well.

 

[ShadyStump]

When thinking of who here might be able to perform parallel testing to address @BrianBay9's replication concerns @cmeg1 came to mind. His indoor setup would provide excellently controlled conditions, though his existing practices might provide skewed results.

Still, you're giving him a run for his money when it comes to the title of resident mad scientist.

 

[Ruddigger]

The sample size isn’t the best, but if you get good results you can repeat with a larger one.

Very interesting experiment.

 

[Paradox]

Agree with the issue of no replication but understand the constraints.

As stated above perhaps after this initial test, another one can be done with more replicates of one of the test products.