Hy-pro - Rootstimulator Coco

The root stimulator from the Hy-pro Coco line, for the growth phase and the first weeks of flowering. Dosed at the same concentration as your Coco A&B. Contains Super FK, in which the phosphate is present as polyphosphate.

Phosphate that stays put when the pH climbs

For this product line Hy-pro name a component worth explaining: Super FK, a liquid PK fertiliser in which the phosphate sits not as ordinary orthophosphate but as polyphosphate.

The difference lies in what happens as acidity in the root zone rises. Orthophosphate, the form almost every phosphate fertiliser is supplied in, precipitates. It reacts with calcium and magnesium into compounds that do not dissolve, and what has precipitated a root can no longer take up. The phosphate is still in your pot, just no longer in a form the plant can use.

Polyphosphate behaves differently. It stays in solution where orthophosphate drops out, and so remains available across a wider pH range.

Which is exactly the scenario you can meet in coco. Coco is not chemically neutral: it exchanges ions with your nutrient solution, and the pH in the slab readily climbs through a cycle above what you set in your reservoir. You read a tidy 5.8 and the root is standing in something else.

What it is not

This is not a phosphate feed and not a bloom booster. The amount of phosphate in a root stimulator given at a few millilitres per litre is far too small to base your phosphate supply on.

The point is the form, not the quantity: a small amount that stays available does more in the root zone than a larger amount that precipitates. Your base feed remains your phosphate source, and for flowering Hy-pro have Epic Blast in the same Coco line.

What Hy-pro do and do not publish

Declared components: macro-nutrients, trace elements, organic compounds, disaccharides and beneficial microbes, plus the Super FK above.

Not declared: an analysis. There is no NPK and no content figure for the Rootstimulator in any of the three versions, so we print none.

In fairness one more thing belongs here. Hy-pro describe the three versions in almost identical words and publish no compositional difference between Coco, Terra and Hydro. What they do state explicitly is which base feed each version should be paired with, and that is how you choose.

Which of the three you need

Feed with Hy-pro Coco A&B and this is the matching stimulator. Terra feed goes with the Terra version, Hydro A&B with the Hydro version. Look at your base feed, not your substrate.

In use

Always use Rootstimulator Coco at the same concentration as your Coco A&B. In Hy-pro's schedule that means rising from 2.5 to 5 ml per litre as the cycle progresses, rather than one fixed figure throughout.

Give it through the whole growth phase and the first weeks of flowering. Measure EC and pH only after everything is mixed; Hy-pro hold a solution pH of 5.5 to 6.0.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: root stimulator, matched to the Hy-pro Coco line
• Manufacturer: Hy-pro
• Dose: the same concentration as your Coco A&B
• In Hy-pro's schedule: rising from 2.5 to 5 ml per litre
• Period: the whole growth phase and the first weeks of flowering
• Declared components: macro-nutrients, trace elements, organic compounds, disaccharides, beneficial microbes and Super FK
• Phosphate form: polyphosphate, stays in solution as pH rises
• Analysis: not published by Hy-pro
• Recommended solution pH: 5.5 to 6.0

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between polyphosphate and ordinary phosphate?
Orthophosphate precipitates as soon as root-zone pH climbs and is then no longer available. Polyphosphate stays in solution and so stays usable.

Does this replace a PK booster?
No. The amount of phosphate is far too small to base your supply on. For flowering Hy-pro have Epic Blast in the same Coco line.

Why a separate version for coco?
Hy-pro tie each version to a base feed. This one goes with Coco A&B. They publish no compositional difference between the three.

How much do I give?
The same concentration as your Coco A&B, so rising from 2.5 to 5 ml per litre rather than one fixed figure.

What is the NPK?
Hy-pro publish no analysis for this product, so we do not print one.