Foliar Sprays

Why feed through the leaf

Leaves take nutrient in. Growth Technology's GT Foliar copy points to Dr H.B. Tukey's radioisotope work in the 1950s as the proof: nutrients pass through the stomata and the transcuticular pores, then travel to wherever the plant needs them. Speed is the one clear win over a root feed.

Two jobs bring growers here. Rescue is the first — over-watering, a drifted pH, or temperatures at either extreme all stop the roots, and a foliar feed keeps the plant going while you fix the zone. The second is a boost. Accent's Green-Up is aimed at yellowing cuttings and clones, and at the nitrogen or magnesium shortfalls young plants hit before their roots can keep up.

The foliar sprays we stock

Foliar feeds and leaf tonics

GT Foliar is the fullest formula on this page: a complete mineral profile with chelated trace elements, 20 amino acids, three types of kelp, fulvic acid, silicon and a wetting agent. It ships ready to use in a trigger pack and is applied two to three times a week. Bloom's Groigen and Florigen split the cycle — Groigen through grow, Florigen through flowering — both at 20mL per litre. Optic Foliar Overgrow and Rev carry NPK, micronutrients, vitamins and amino acids, and SNT's whole-leaf aloe powder is a 200:1 concentrate.

Clone and seedling mists

Young plants have the smallest root system and the most to gain from a leaf feed. FloraMax Clone Spray is built for foliar uptake at 25mL per litre, and the label is blunt about why that matters: ordinary root-enhancer additives are designed for root uptake and are not ideal sprayed on a leaf.

Spreaders and spraying under lights

Optic Foliar Transport is a spreader and wetting agent, not a feed. Add it at 7.5mL per litre to any foliar solution and you can spray under lights without burning and without coating the undersides. Optic Foliar also tells you not to pH-adjust a foliar spray.

Specialty sprays and sprayers

Optic Foliar Switch is used in the first two weeks of flower. BudWise is a plant feminiser applied in the dark cycle before flowering. O16 is a stabilised oxygen solution that works as a foliar or at the root. For application, the Hydro Axis 8L pressure sprayer runs at 0.25–0.28 MPa with an adjustable mist-to-stream nozzle; the Silvan 1.5L is a smaller nitrile-sealed unit rated to 2 bar.

Getting a foliar spray right

1. Spray in low light, or with the lights off. Bloom's Groigen and Florigen both say spray with the lights off to avoid burning. GT Foliar asks for low light and a fine mist over tops and undersides. Optic Foliar Transport is the exception — it is built for spraying under lights.
2. Mist, do not drench. GT Foliar warns that soaking the plant compromises absorption. Aim for an even film, not run-off.
3. Keep it off the flowers. GT Foliar advises against spraying blooms and buds because it can lead to bud rot — which is why foliar programs usually taper off through flowering.
4. Watch the temperature. In excessive heat the stomata are generally closed, so a spray then is wasted. Early morning or evening gives the leaf longer to absorb.
5. Do not pH-adjust the spray. A foliar mix is not a reservoir mix. Optic Foliar states this directly; tank habits do not transfer.

Foliar sprays or pest control?

They overlap because they share a delivery method. The useful question is what the product is for, not how it goes on. A miticide on a leaf is pest control; a kelp and amino tonic on a leaf is a foliar feed. Products that genuinely do both — Athena's IPW leaf wash is the clearest example — sit on both pages. Treating something? Start at plant pest control; feeding something, you are in the right place.

If discoloured leaves brought you here, read the store's guide to yellow leaves and common grow problems before you spray, and the root stimulator range covers fixing the root system that caused it.