I'm trying to prove or disprove the peat tea theory, so here's the story so far:
I've always followed the advice that red tubes hate being repotted and it takes a couple of years to get them back on track. I have a couple of red tubes that were very red in the past and look faded this year. Conversely, a red tube I received bare root that was potted up in fresh peat in March has reddened up fantastically. I suspect they like being repotted every year or two, contrary to what's been written, as long as it's done during dormancy.
Here's the test subjects: flava var. atropurpurea with the 'reddish copper top' look and green tubes. This hasn't been repotted for 3 years. Next to it is a flava red tube grown in the same conditions that I received bare rooted in March. It's red from top to bottom.
Firstly I tried making tannic tea using cold water and peat in a muslin bag left overnight. I filled the tray completely with it to enable the plants to suck up the black water over a week or so. Result: no apparent improvement, despite a lot of sun during this June. Is this due to using cold water or using the tray method of watering?
Now I am trying the boiled method of making peat tea, as per the original instructions. Peat was boiled for 20 minutes, was strained and left to cool overnight. Today I have used this on the atropurpurea (watering from the top only this time). I'll repeat over the next couple of weeks and report the results.
I've always followed the advice that red tubes hate being repotted and it takes a couple of years to get them back on track. I have a couple of red tubes that were very red in the past and look faded this year. Conversely, a red tube I received bare root that was potted up in fresh peat in March has reddened up fantastically. I suspect they like being repotted every year or two, contrary to what's been written, as long as it's done during dormancy.
Here's the test subjects: flava var. atropurpurea with the 'reddish copper top' look and green tubes. This hasn't been repotted for 3 years. Next to it is a flava red tube grown in the same conditions that I received bare rooted in March. It's red from top to bottom.
Firstly I tried making tannic tea using cold water and peat in a muslin bag left overnight. I filled the tray completely with it to enable the plants to suck up the black water over a week or so. Result: no apparent improvement, despite a lot of sun during this June. Is this due to using cold water or using the tray method of watering?
Now I am trying the boiled method of making peat tea, as per the original instructions. Peat was boiled for 20 minutes, was strained and left to cool overnight. Today I have used this on the atropurpurea (watering from the top only this time). I'll repeat over the next couple of weeks and report the results.