BLOOM ENHANCERS

As most outdoor grows head into August, it’s time to start thinking about bloom enhancers.

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By: HTG Supply Portland on 08/02/2017

As most outdoor grows head into August, it’s time to start thinking about bloom enhancers. With dozens of national brands and hundreds of individual products on the market, it’s hard to navigate what you truly need, to get the most out of your flowering phase of growth. It’s extremely difficult to formulate an all in one bottle bloom enhancer, as most compounds needed for plant growth, will bind to each other and form salts when they are stored together in concentrated form, thereby locking out all of the beneficial nutrients. This is why most products are separated into multiple bottles and you need to dilute the concentrates with water immediately before you feed.

Most bloom enhancers can be divided into 5 general types, flowering site promoters, size enhancers, oil/resin/terpene producers, sweeteners and ripening/hardeners. These products are used in conjunction throughout the budding cycle, but have differing weeks in which they are most beneficial to the plant. Each brand of nutrients has slight variations on how they divide their products and the specific weeks of use, so be sure to check the feed chart on your favorite brand.

First are flowering site promoters. These are typically used during the last couple weeks of vegetative growth, and continue through the first couple weeks of flower. Typical products that perform this function would be Bud Ignitor by Advanced Nutrients and Open Sesame from FoxFarm Soil & Fertilizer Co. These fertilizers will promote more flowering sites and less stretch during the transition weeks.

Next up are your size enhancers such as Big Bud from Advanced and Liquid Koolbloom from General Hydroponics. These type of bloom enhancers are among the most popular used during flower, as the results are fairly fast and noticeable. These fertilizers are used from the time buds are first formed, through the last two weeks before flush. The problem with size enhancers is that if they are not paired with a ripening/hardening agent, you can end up with large fluffy buds that will lose most of their weight and shape during the curing process.

As mentioned above, ripening/hardeners such as G.H.’s dry Koolbloom and Humboldt County’s Own G-10, will fill in your large buds, creating a dense and compact flower that will retain its weight and shape through curing and storage. These products are typically used during the last two weeks of flower before flushing, and take the place of your size enhancers, which you would normally stop using at this time.

Oil/Resin/Terpene enhancers are greatly increasing in popularity, as more and more growers are interested in processing their trim and smaller buds into concentrates that are used in vaping, dabbing, tinctures and edibles. Products like Rhizoflora Terpinator and Cha Ching by Fox Farm will kick your flowers essential oil production into overdrive, leading to stronger, more potent and flavorful extracts.

Finally, sweeteners such as Bud Candy by Advanced or the Sweet line from Botanicare, will further help bring out the natural flavors of your plant when consumed. They can be used for the full duration of the flowering cycle, but will find most benefit during the final weeks of flower and can even be used during your flushing weeks, to help promote better flavor while you are removing the leftover fertilizers that remain within the plant.

The biggest thing to remember when using multiple bloom enhancers is to make sure you are not doubling up on similar products, as that runs the risk of burning your plants through over fertilizing. It is fine to use a product from each of the 5 categories, but you never want to use more than one product from any single category. If unsure of what you should use with your nutrient line-up, be sure to visit your favorite fertilizer’s home website to check feed charts, or you can call us here at HTG Supply Portland, or stop in anytime, and our knowledgeable staff will be happy to offer suggestions!

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