Plagron - Green Sensation

Green Sensation is Plagron's best known bloom booster, and since it was reformulated it is no longer built around a heavy PK but around a modified carbon molecule. That difference decides how you use it.

Carbon through the roots, and what it does

Plagron describe Green Sensation as a modified carbon molecule that delivers carbon to the plant in its own way. That molecule stimulates photosynthesis, and the energy released is invested, according to Plagron, in heavier and more compact buds.

Part of the molecule is taken up directly and part of it stays behind in the soil. There it helps mobilise minerals, so the plant takes up the rest of your feed better. Together those are the four actions printed on the label: heavier buds, compact buds, better resistance and improved nutrient uptake.

The PK is deliberately low

The label says 0-8-9, which is less than a classic PK booster puts on its bottle. Plagron explain that themselves: there is more in it than phosphorus and potassium alone, and it is the interplay between those components that means the PK value does not need to be high.

What the PK does is clear enough. Potassium drives water and nutrient transport from root to bud and activates the enzymes that belong to flowering. Phosphorus and iron are needed for cell division during bloom: the more efficiently that runs, the denser and firmer the buds. That same potassium also builds cell walls, and that is where the better resistance comes from.

The figures, and how to read them

Green Sensation is a compound liquid inorganic fertiliser: a PK 8.3-9.1 with micronutrients. The label gives 8.3% water-soluble phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5), 9.1% water-soluble potassium oxide (K2O) and 0.9% iron, chelated with DTPA.

Note that these are oxide values, not elements. Plagron do the conversion on the label themselves: 3.6% phosphorus and 7.6% potassium. When comparing against another brand, check which form that brand's numbers are in first, or you are holding an oxide next to an element.

The rest of the analysis is modest: 0.5% total nitrogen, all of it as ammonium nitrogen. The liquid itself has a pH of 5.9 and an EC of 124 mS/cm, so undiluted this is a very concentrated product.

Dosing, and why it goes into the tank first

Plagron specify 1 ml per litre of water, so 1:1000, at every watering from the fourth week of bloom. That is a maximum rather than a guideline: more is not better here.

That dose is fixed, whatever your schedule, substrate or week. Your base feed is the variable. So it is practical to put Green Sensation into your water first and add base feed afterwards until you reach your EC target. The room the booster occupies then becomes part of your total instead of landing on top of it. Do it the other way round and you hit your target on base feed alone, then add another bottle over it, at exactly the point in the cycle where your EC is climbing anyway.

If you know an older bottle

Green Sensation has been reformulated. Older bottles and many web shops still quote 0-9-10 with 9% phosphorus pentoxide and 10% potassium oxide, and describe the product as a combination of PK, enzymes and an enhancer. The label on it now says 0-8-9 and describes the carbon molecule. So work from the figures on the bottle in front of you.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: compound liquid inorganic fertiliser, PK with micronutrients
• Manufacturer: Plagron
• NPK value: 0-8-9
• Phosphorus pentoxide (P2O5): 8.3%, water-soluble
• Potassium oxide (K2O): 9.1%, water-soluble
• Iron (Fe): 0.9%, chelated with DTPA
• Nitrogen (Ntot): 0.5%, as ammonium nitrogen
• Converted to elements: 3.6% phosphorus and 7.6% potassium
• Dose: maximum 1 ml per litre of water, 1:1000
• Period: from the fourth week of bloom, at every watering
• pH of the liquid: 5.9, stable between 5.8 and 6.3
• Storage: upright and dark, between 0 and 35 °C
• Shelf life: 4 years from production date, unopened

Frequently asked questions

When do I start?
From the fourth week of the flowering phase, at every watering.

Why is the PK lower than in other boosters?
That is Plagron's choice. There is more in it than phosphorus and potassium, and they say the interplay between those components means the PK value does not need to be high.

Can I combine it with my own base feed?
Yes, Plagron state themselves that combining with other fertilisers is no problem. Do keep an eye on your EC.

Is this an organic product?
No. Plagron do add that it will not disturb your soil life.

How much feed water does one bottle make?
At 1 ml per litre, a 250 ml bottle covers 250 litres of feed water.