Aptus - NutriSpray

A concentrated foliar feed of natural surfactants, stimulators and micro-elements. 2 ml per litre, which is 1 in 500, never neat. Leaves an active layer on the leaf that fully biodegrades in ten to fifteen days.

It stays on the leaf, and that is the idea

Most foliar sprays are a single moment: you spray, the plant takes up what it can, and the rest dries in or washes off. Aptus go about it differently.

Once dry, NutriSpray leaves a thin, active layer of micro-elements on the leaf surface. That layer stays put and releases gradually, for up to about two weeks. Then it is gone: Aptus state the coating biodegrades completely within ten to fifteen days.

That changes what one application achieves. Spraying once is not a single portion but a reserve lasting a fortnight, which is immediately why the spray schedule is so sparse: indoors it comes down to weeks 1, 3 and 5 of flowering rather than every week.

Horse chestnut does the binding

A layer staying on a leaf is less obvious than it sounds. A leaf is water-repellent: that is exactly what its waxy surface is for. Water sprayed onto it pulls into beads and rolls off, taking the dissolved material with it.

Aptus solve that with horse chestnut extract. It contains saponins, natural soap-like compounds that lower water's surface tension. The liquid then spreads across the leaf instead of rolling off, and per Aptus those same compounds bind to the micro-elements and keep them available.

So this is not a fertiliser with a wetting agent added. The wetting agent is part of how it works.

What it is and is not for

Aptus position it both as general micro-element nutrition and as a rescue. The second is the stronger case: if there is a lockout in your medium, a root feed cannot reach the problem however good your nutrients are. Through the leaf you sidestep that lockout and correct faster than through the root.

What it is not: a disease treatment. Aptus sell a separate product for pathogens. The layer NutriSpray leaves is a nutrient reserve, not a fungicide, and it is more honest to keep the two apart.

Twenty to thirty minutes dark after spraying

Aptus give one instruction you rarely see and that is worth keeping to: always spray with the lights off, and leave them off for a further twenty to thirty minutes.

The reason is leaf burn. A droplet on a leaf acts as a lens, focusing light onto the small patch beneath it. Under a grow lamp at close range that is enough for a burn mark. Those twenty minutes exist to let the leaf dry before the lamp comes back on.

In use

Never use it neat. Mix 2 ml per litre of clean water, a ratio of 1 in 500, and spray the entire leaf surface.

Indoors Aptus hold to weeks 1, 3 and 5 of flowering. Outdoors: one week after planting, then once a month until harvest. Aptus also name spraying mother plants a week before you take cuttings.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: foliar fertiliser, blend of natural surfactants, stimulators and micro-elements
• Manufacturer: Aptus
• Dose: 2 ml per litre of water (1 in 500), never neat
• Indoor schedule: weeks 1, 3 and 5 of flowering
• Outdoor schedule: one week after planting, then monthly until harvest
• Coating lifetime: biodegrades completely in ten to fifteen days
• Timing: with the lights off, kept off for twenty to thirty minutes

Frequently asked questions

Why only three times through flowering?
Because the layer left behind releases for about two weeks. Spraying more often adds little to a reserve that is still there.

Why must the lights stay off for twenty minutes?
A droplet on the leaf acts as a lens and focuses lamp light. The leaf needs to be dry before the lamp returns.

Does it help against mould or disease?
No. This is a fertiliser. Aptus sell a separate product for that.

Can I use it for a deficiency?
That is where it is strongest. With a lockout in the medium a root feed cannot reach the problem, and through the leaf you can.

May I spray it neat?
No, explicitly not. Always dilute to 2 ml per litre.