Lawn & garden
Vitax Sequestered Iron Plant Tonic dupe
Why pay around £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 shelf pack.
From the retail pack to the active and the mix
1 · Retail
Vitax Sequestered Iron Plant Tonic
80 g (4 × 20 g sachets) · £6.99 typical snapshot
Soluble salts in a sachet
2 · Active
Iron EDDHA / EDTA chelate with magnesium and manganese
6% on the label
16455-61-1Fe-EDDHA
Bulk Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic)
3 · Mix
2 g/L (20 g in a 10 L can, matching one sachet)
£0.11 per working litre · 38% less than the shelf 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.
Label teardown
What the pack promises versus what the label chemistry actually is.
The marketing claim
“Greener leaves on rhododendrons, roses and lime-hating plants”
The chemical reality
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.
Active vs filler
6% Iron EDDHA / EDTA chelate with magnesium and manganese · 94% carrier / filler — Soluble salts in a sachet
- Typical retail
- £6.99
- 80 g (4 × 20 g sachets)
- Estimated active cost
- £4.32
- Scaled from bulk £13.50 / 250 g
- Indicative markup
- 1.6×
- Snapshot maths, not a live shop price
The Marketing Claim & The Catch
A 80 g (4 × 20 g sachets) pack of Vitax Sequestered Iron Plant Tonic typically retails around £6.99 in lawn & garden. That is a UK shelf-price snapshot for the maths on this page — not a live shop quote or a manufacturer RRP. 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 around £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.
Dilution recipe
10 L bucket
Working strength 2 g/L (20 g in a 10 L can, matching one sachet). Educational estimate from the listed ratio — check the SDS before you mix.
Chemical
20 grams
Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic)
Water
10 litres
Carrier / diluent
0% concentrate · 100% water by working volume (solids are dissolved into the water share).
Required PPE
Loading calculator…
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 pack that typically retails around £6.99. 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 only. Wellness pages compare food supplements, not medicines or prescribed treatments. Always review the supplier Safety Data Sheet (SDS) and comply with UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and COSHH regulations when handling concentrated substances. Mixing and storage are at your own risk. Some links are affiliate advertisements (Amazon Associates, eBay Partner Network, and Awin when those programmes are live). Commissions do not change listed concentrations or calculator output.
Related guides
Lawn guide
Garden tonics decoded: seaweed, chelated iron, Epsom and rooting powder
Kelp extract, Fe-EDDHA, Epsom salts, IBA rooting powder and foliar soap are not NPK bags. Match the deficiency or the cutting — then buy the bulk salt, not the sachet.
Lawn guide
Lawn moss vs a nitrogen green-up — ferrous sulphate is not sulphate of ammonia
Evergreen 4-in-1 and lawn sands use iron to blacken moss. Sulphate of ammonia is 21% N for colour. Do not treat a feed box as a moss killer — or a moss killer as Growmore.
Lawn guide
Lawn and plant food labels decoded: NPK without the brand box
What 7-7-7, 5.3-7.5-10 and 12.5-25-25 actually mean, and which DupeStack teardowns match Growmore, Q4, Chempak and tomato feeds.
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.
£22.50Save 38% / L
Indicative DIY stack