Consumer advocacy teardown
Sequestered Iron Plant Tonic alternative & active ingredient dupe
Stop paying £6.99 for Vitax. The bulk active is Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic) — 38% less per working litre than a typical pack.
- Active
- Iron EDDHA / EDTA chelate with magnesium and manganese
- CAS
- 16455-61-1
- Dupe
- Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic)
- Saving
- 38% / L
Saving is per litre of working-strength mix versus a typical pack price, not versus the DIY kit total. Shop prices move — always check the listing.
The Marketing Claim & The Catch
A typical 80 g (4 × 20 g sachets) pack of Vitax Sequestered Iron Plant Tonic is about £6.99 in lawn & garden. That is a snapshot, not a live Amazon price — listings, sizes and deals move. The marketing line is that you are buying a finished lifestyle product, not a weighed chemical.
On the pack: Greener leaves on rhododendrons, roses and lime-hating plants; and Corrects yellowing where soil iron is locked up.
The catch: This is not ferrous sulphate (that is Evergreen moss killer) and it will not blacken a pale patio the same way. EDDHA/EDTA iron stays available on chalky soil. Four 20 g sachets are a tiny bag of the 6% chelate sold in 250 g tubs to nurseries.
- “Greener leaves on rhododendrons, roses and lime-hating plants”
- “Corrects yellowing where soil iron is locked up”
Proprietary Blend & Dosage Breakdown
The labelled active is Iron EDDHA / EDTA chelate with magnesium and manganese at 6%. Everything else in the pack is soluble salts in a sachet.
At 6% active, most of what you pay for is carrier and packaging. The brand is selling convenience, fragrance and a label — not a uniquely potent molecule.
Branded working strength is whatever comes out of the bottle. The bulk alternative is 6% Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic), mixed to 2 g/L (20 g in a 10 L can, matching one sachet).
- Labelled active
- Iron EDDHA / EDTA chelate with magnesium and manganese
- 6%
- Carrier
- Soluble salts in a sachet
- Retail pack
- 80 g (4 × 20 g sachets) · £6.99
The Active Chemical Alternative (Dupe Stack)
The dupe stack is Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic) at 6% bulk. Indexed as CAS 16455-61-1, formula Fe-EDDHA. Buy it as 250 g for about £13.50 from Amazon UK.
Working strength: 2 g/L (20 g in a 10 L can, matching one sachet). Indicative cost £0.11 per diluted litre — 38% below a typical branded pack on a per-litre basis, before you reuse leftover bulk.
Follow the mixing method and the supplier SDS. Wear the listed PPE. Do not mix incompatible oxidisers, acids or ammonia.
- Wear gloves if you have broken skin. The powder stains — it is meant to; that is the chelate, not rust sulphate spray.
- Dissolve 20 g (one branded sachet, or 2 g/L) in a 10 litre watering can. Drench the root zone in spring.
- 250 g is about 12 of those cans. Four sachets are four cans. Keep off pale stone if you hate orange drips.
- This is a fertiliser chelate, not a pesticide. Follow the bag you buy.
Mixing desk
Dilution calculator
Switch between filling a sprayer and covering a measured surface. Figures are educational estimates from the listed ratio — always check the SDS.
Formula
Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic)
- Concentrate
- 20 g
- grams of solid
- Water
- 10 L
- carrier volume
- Batch cost
- £1.08
- 10 L working solution
- Saved vs retail
- £0.67
- 38% · retail £1.75
Side-by-Side Price & Potency Comparison
Head-to-head comparison
| Measure | Retail brandedVitax | Raw active dupeDupeStack |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Sequestered Iron Plant TonicAmazon UK search — listing, not a confirmed seller | Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic) |
| Pack / unit | 80 g (4 × 20 g sachets) · £6.99 | 250 g · £13.50 |
| Active | Iron EDDHA / EDTA chelate with magnesium and manganese at 6%Carrier: Soluble salts in a sachet | 6% bulkFe-EDDHA |
| CAS number | Not disclosed on pack | 16455-61-1 |
| Working strength | Ready-to-use pack | Dilute 2 g/L (20 g in a 10 L can, matching one sachet) |
| Cost per litre | £6.99 / pack | £0.11 / L mixed from bulk |
| Headline saving | Baseline | 38% cheaper |
| COSHH / PPE | Follow the branded SDS | Gloves. Chemical-resistant gloves (nitrile or neoprene) |
Active ingredient and cheaper alternative — FAQ
What is the active ingredient in Vitax?
Vitax Sequestered Iron Plant Tonic is labelled as Iron EDDHA / EDTA chelate with magnesium and manganese at 6%. The carrier is Soluble salts in a sachet. Pack size: 80 g (4 × 20 g sachets). The bulk equivalent we index is Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic) (CAS 16455-61-1).
Is Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic) safe on lawns?
Used at the listed working strength (2 g/L (20 g in a 10 L can, matching one sachet)), the dupe is the same chemistry as the branded pack for lawns, beds and pots. That is not a blanket all-clear: read the supplier SDS, wear the listed PPE, keep acids away from hypochlorite, and follow UK HSE/COSHH rules. Wellness teardowns are supplements, not medicines.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Vitax Sequestered Iron Plant Tonic?
Yes. The bulk equivalent is Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic) (CAS 16455-61-1). Indicative saving 38% per working litre versus a typical £6.99 pack. Working strength: 2 g/L (20 g in a 10 L can, matching one sachet). Live shop prices move.
How do you mix the Sequestered Iron Plant Tonic dupe stack?
Wear gloves if you have broken skin. The powder stains — it is meant to; that is the chelate, not rust sulphate spray. Dissolve 20 g (one branded sachet, or 2 g/L) in a 10 litre watering can. Drench the root zone in spring. 250 g is about 12 of those cans. Four sachets are four cans. Keep off pale stone if you hate orange drips. This is a fertiliser chelate, not a pesticide. Follow the bag you buy.
DupeStack provides chemical concentration data and educational mixing guides. Always review official manufacturer Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and comply with UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and COSHH regulations when handling concentrated substances. Some links on this site are affiliate links.
More teardowns
Lawn & garden
Miracle-Gro Organic Liquid Seaweed
Miracle-Gro
- Retail pack
- £13.501 litre
- Raw active
- Soluble Ascophyllum nodosum kelp powder84775-78-0
A watered-down cold-pressed kelp extract. Soluble Ascophyllum nodosum powder is the same crop, sold by the kilogram to hydroponic growers, at a fraction of the bottled price.
Lawn & garden
Evergreen Complete 4-in-1 Lawn Feed & Moss Killer
Evergreen
- Retail pack
- £24.00100 m² box
- Raw active
- Agricultural soluble iron(II) sulphate heptahydrate7782-63-0
The moss-blackening punch is ferrous sulphate — the same agricultural iron used on bowling greens. The 4-in-1 box is mostly filler, NPK dust and a brand. Buy the salt.
Lawn & garden
Growmore Garden Fertiliser
Growmore
- Retail pack
- £9.504 kg
- Raw active
- Agricultural NPK 7-7-7 compound fertiliser66455-26-3
7-7-7 is a commodity NPK blend. The cardboard box is a portioned sack of agricultural compound fertiliser. Buy it by the 25 kg bag from a merchant, not 4 kg at a time from a garden centre.
DIY stack · 38% / L vs branded
£22.50indicative kit · Amazon cannot add a mixed search kit as one basket