Canna - Biocanna Bio Rhizotonic

The organic root stimulator from the BIOCANNA line, optimised for growing in potting soil. For the early phase and stress situations, indoors and out.

An organic product feeds the soil, not the plant

This is the difference that decides whether this product suits your setup, and almost no page states it.

A mineral stimulator supplies substances the root can take up directly. An organic product largely does not. What is in it is organic material that has to be broken down by bacteria and fungi in the soil before anything the plant can use is released. Soil life is the intermediate step, and without it little happens.

A hard condition follows. In a living substrate, a pre-fertilised potting soil with an active population, this works as intended. In rockwool, clay pebbles or a recirculating hydro system there is no soil life to do the work, and you are feeding organic material into a system that can do nothing with it, with cloudiness and deposits as the likely by-product.

CANNA are clear about it themselves: this product is optimised for organic growing in potting soil. If you grow minerally in an inert medium, ordinary Rhizotonic is the bottle you want.

Why it feels slower, and why that is correct

Anyone coming from a mineral line notices that an organic product responds more slowly. That is not a quality difference but a consequence of that same intermediate step: the rate of breakdown depends on how active your soil life is, and that activity depends in turn on temperature, moisture and oxygen in the pot.

In a cold, wet pot little happens. In a pot at working temperature with good aeration it moves along. Which also means you improve the effect more by sorting out your pot climate than by dosing more.

In use

Feed it in the early phase and at moments when the plant is struggling: after transplanting, after a spell of heat or drought, or while a cutting is still establishing. Mix it through the water and give it to the pot.

Do not combine it with an oxidising system cleaner based on hydrogen peroxide. That kills precisely the soil life this product leans on, and then little is left of either.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: organic liquid root stimulator
• Manufacturer: CANNA, BIOCANNA line
• Action: through soil life, which breaks down the organic material
• Substrate: optimised for organic growing in potting soil
• Less suitable for: rockwool, clay pebbles and recirculating hydro systems
• Use: early phase and stress situations, indoors and outdoors
• Do not combine with: oxidising cleaners based on hydrogen peroxide

Frequently asked questions

Can I use this in rockwool or hydro?
Better not. It works through soil life and there is none in an inert medium. On a mineral line ordinary Rhizotonic makes more sense.

Why do I see an effect more slowly than with a mineral stimulator?
Because the organic material has to be broken down first. The more active your soil life, the faster that goes.

Can I feed more to speed it up?
Rarely useful. The limit is the rate of breakdown, so you gain more from a pot at temperature with good aeration.

Can it go in with a system cleaner?
Not with an oxidising one based on hydrogen peroxide. That kills the soil life this product depends on.

How does it differ from ordinary Rhizotonic?
This one is organic and works through soil life in potting soil. The ordinary version is broader, including inert substrates.