CiXeL

I was also thinking. The australians are huge on systemics and injecting nutrients, pesticides etc into trees. I wonder if there isnt some sort of non-toxic antifreeze chemical you could inject into the trees if you knew a cold front was on the way.

harveyc

Does anybody know what legal issues are involved? Are they safety concerns or royalties, etc.?

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Michael_Andrew

Looks like Freeze Pruf has 5 main ingredients. I'm guessing one is:

glycerol

LilRaverBoi

This seems like a great idea, but I'm a little skeptical. Also, it doesn't seem like it would be very beneficial for most people unless it were a bit more effective. I mean, if you're on the edge of a zone, 2-9 degrees might open a lot of options up for you, but for most individuals, this just isn't enough. Thanks for sharing, though! Maybe in a few years this will be perfected more.

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BANANA RAVE!
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I'm Bryan with a Y! There is no 'I' in BRYAN!

JoeReal

I think I may have deduced why Freeze Pruf are still undergoing several legal hurdles delaying the release of the product. I am speculating that one of the active ingredients of Freeze Pruf may have been Medfluidide which is a herbicide and toxic to humans and animals.

Medfluidide will impart cold hardiness to herbaceous plants at certain concentration, within the amazing same range of 2 to 9 deg F additional protection. You can google for Medfluidide in the Google Scholar search engine.

The way Medfluidide works at certain concentration (meaning, not as strong as that for herbicide purposes), is to enhance Abscisic Acid accumulation in the plant tissues and helps a lot in the freeze resistance of cells and also they will be able to recover quickly.

The more expensive alternative to the Medfluidide component is Abscisic Acid itself, and you can use it in almost the same way. And if the Abscisic acid is extracted in the most natural organic way, then the Freeze Pruf could pass the OMRI certification, but it will shoot up the price. Using Medfluidide is the cheapest and most profitable alternative for freeze protection, but still limited to 2 to 9 deg F depending on crop species.

Michael_Andrew

I'm sure you mean Mefluidide? Added an extra "d" there Joe!

Nicolas Naranja

2-9 degrees is all I need.

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Some people go bananas, I went plantains.

Michael_Andrew

Ok there is 5 ingrediants according to this site:


Anti-Freeze for Your Plants - Botanists Develop "Antifreeze" Spray for Plants

It gives us a few hints what some are.

1. Anti-freeze subtance found in animals;
2. Dehydrates the plant;
3. Strengthen cell walls;
4. Solution to help pentrate leaves; and
5. Resist washing away.

I'm guessing number 1 is glyserol and number 4 is any number of wetting agents/surfactants like Polysorbate 20. The others I have no clue. Would Mefluidide fit on of them? I claim no professional experience or affiliations and base conclusions on my ability to google!

Michael

JoeReal

That's correct! Thanks! Too fond of typing! Was reading about Med fly while typing about Mefluidide.

JoeReal

Most likely glycerine (which in many literature interchangeable with glycerol) and to make it viscous to help penetrate the leaves, it is mixed with glycol of medium density. Sometimes, they only state that those are the main ingredients, to divert your attention away from the true effective ingredient such as Mefluidide which you wouldn't need in large amount or it becomes like its original purpose, a herbicide. It may contain Calcium nitrate which in itself increases solute content and lowering the freezing point, while calcium strengthens the cell walls. Anything will resist washing away if they are absorbed within a couple of hours, especially with glycol and glycerine mixture.

And to be considered organic, the Mefluidide should not exceed a certain percentage, often allowed 10% of your ingredients not really be organic, and that is more than enough.

harveyc

See Anti-Stress 550/2000 for a possible alternative that's readily available.

Harvey

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Steve L

Thanks a lot Harvey. I'm definitely going to try this. Might make it possible to grow more heliconias in the ground and get them to bloom the following year.

Steve

Bob

I was just listening to Ralph Snodsmith ( go ahead .. dish it out I can take it, have been listening for over 20 years). A rep from liquid fence company was on and they have taken over distribution for the inventors and will have it on the market accross the country in fall. They're promoting it for example to extend the blooming of fall hardy mums etc. I was going to bring my basjoos in this winter to get bigger corms to overwinter but now maybe I'll leave one out and see if I can keep a p-stem alive....why not. May even get brave and try out a few other marginaly hardy things I've held out on.

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ilmr

http://pro.liquidfence.com/tech/pdf/...ezePrufTDS.pdf

Active ingredients:
Polyethylene glycol 8000 8.00%
Glycerin 0.25%

Other Ingredients (Concentrate %s):
91.75% (Water; Bicyclic Oxazolidines;
Silicic acid, potassium salt; Siloxane
polyalkyleneoxide copolymer)

And hi all :-)

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enigma99a

Awesome, i got a gallon concentrate ordered.

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Average January Low: 40°F, Average August High: 95°F
Typical Low Each Winter: 28-30°F, Typical High Each Summer: 108-110°F, Annual Precipitation: 22 inches

enigma99a

Now everything here is mild toxicity at most, so also here is a question for some of you. What ability does a plant have to take in toxic substances in from the leaves and send it to the fruit (in this case bananas), and building up toxicity. It's my only concern

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Average January Low: 40°F, Average August High: 95°F
Typical Low Each Winter: 28-30°F, Typical High Each Summer: 108-110°F, Annual Precipitation: 22 inches

enigma99a

My Freezepruf got here today and it's not even Sept 1 yet!

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Average January Low: 40°F, Average August High: 95°F
Typical Low Each Winter: 28-30°F, Typical High Each Summer: 108-110°F, Annual Precipitation: 22 inches

blownz281

So would this make it safe for my banana's to survive in the winters here in Richlands or Wilmington NC depending on where we end up living. Hopefully Wilmington NC. Basjoo,Velutina,Sikkis,Chinese banana,Laterias,Ice Cream,Orinoco. They would have to live in pots for the time being.

hammer

Maybe i missed what im going to ask but i wonder the long term sideeffects to the plant . and would it be safe to eat the bananas.

ilmr

Has anyone seen this available in europe or sold somewhere that delivers to europe?

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