LOL! Every time I encounter a post regarding the alleged benefits of Superthrive or questions about its effectiveness, I am reminded of a published article by a longtime and very well-respected GW member who refers to the stuff as "SuperJIVE". Just exactly what is it?? No one, other than the originator, knows for sure and he is not divulging the ingredients. It reputedly contains vitamins (B1) and plant growth regulators but in such low concentrations as to be virtually almost entirely water once diluted according to directions.
It does have a pretty impressive marketing presence, with full page ads in various trade and horticultural publications and a rather strong following of proponents who swear by the stuff, pot growers in particular if Google hits mean anything. But what it poses in anecdotal reports it lacks entirely in any kind of scientific testing. Odd that a product that has been on the market as long as this (since the 40's, I believe) has never produced any peer-reviewed scientific evidence to support its claims.
It flies under the EPA radar by not calling itself a 'fertilizer' and it is restricted from sale in various states as well as Canada simply because it is not EPA regulated and also appears to contain 1-Napthyl acetic acid, a non-regulated pesticide. If you have it, you might as well use it but I'd not go out of my way to buy anything that I could not confirm the ingredients on and that is unsupported by any real testing. And is dang expensive to boot. I would caution against applying in anything more than the recommended dilution rate as it does contain synthetic auxin, the same growth regulator that was used in defoliants in Viet Nam and could actually be harmful to plants if applied too frequently or in excess.
