Lawn & garden
Vitax Yellow Sulphur dupe
Why pay around £4.99 for Vitax? The bulk active is Flowers of sulphur (elemental sulphur 99%) — 55% less per working litre than a typical shelf pack.
From the retail pack to the active and the mix
1 · Retail
Vitax Yellow Sulphur
225 grams · £4.99 typical snapshot
None (puff-pack powder)
2 · Active
Elemental sulphur
98% on the label
7704-34-9S8
Bulk Flowers of sulphur (elemental sulphur 99%)
3 · Mix
8 g per litre as a wettable sulphur wash
£0.08 per working litre · 55% less than the shelf pack
- Active
- Elemental sulphur
- CAS
- 7704-34-9
- Dupe
- Flowers of sulphur (elemental sulphur 99%)
- Saving
- 55% / 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
“Helps prevent powdery mildew and blackspot on roses”
The chemical reality
Vitax Yellow Sulphur is 98% elemental sulphur (CAS 7704-34-9) in a 225 g puff pack. Flowers of sulphur from a 1 kg horticultural bag is the same dust — a contact fungicide and soil acidifier, not a systemic triazole and not Bordeaux copper.
Active vs filler
98% Elemental sulphur · 2% carrier / filler — None (puff-pack powder)
- Typical retail
- £4.99
- 225 grams
- Estimated active cost
- £2.23
- Scaled from bulk £9.99 / 1 kg
- Indicative markup
- 2.2×
- Snapshot maths, not a live shop price
The Marketing Claim & The Catch
A 225 grams pack of Vitax Yellow Sulphur typically retails around £4.99 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: Helps prevent powdery mildew and blackspot on roses; Secondary nutrient and soil conditioner for acid-loving plants; and Puff onto foliage or work into soil around the base.
The catch: Vitax Yellow Sulphur is 98% elemental sulphur (CAS 7704-34-9) in a 225 g puff pack. Flowers of sulphur from a 1 kg horticultural bag is the same dust — a contact fungicide and soil acidifier, not a systemic triazole and not Bordeaux copper.
- “Helps prevent powdery mildew and blackspot on roses”
- “Secondary nutrient and soil conditioner for acid-loving plants”
- “Puff onto foliage or work into soil around the base”
Proprietary Blend & Dosage Breakdown
The labelled active is Elemental sulphur at 98%. Everything else in the pack is none (puff-pack powder).
Even when the pack is sold as “pure” or ready-to-use, the dose that actually does the work is Elemental sulphur. The rest is how they get it into a bottle you will pick up.
Branded working strength is whatever comes out of the bottle. The bulk alternative is 99% Flowers of sulphur (elemental sulphur 99%), mixed to 8 g per litre as a wettable sulphur wash.
- Labelled active
- Elemental sulphur
- 98%
- Carrier
- None (puff-pack powder)
- Retail pack
- 225 grams · £4.99
The Active Chemical Alternative (Dupe Stack)
The dupe stack is Flowers of sulphur (elemental sulphur 99%) at 99% bulk. Indexed as CAS 7704-34-9, formula S8. Buy it as 1 kg for around £9.99 from Amazon UK.
Working strength: 8 g per litre as a wettable sulphur wash. Indicative cost £0.08 per diluted litre — 55% 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.
- Dust irritant and flammable solid. Gloves, FFP2 when puffing powder. Keep off ponds — sulphur is toxic to aquatic life in runoff.
- Wettable wash: slurry 8 g of flowers of sulphur in a little water, then make up to 1 litre with a drop of washing-up liquid as wetter. Spray dry foliage until glistening.
- Dust: puff a light film on leaves or work 20–40 g/m² into soil for acid-lovers (rhododendron, heather, azalea). Do not exceed the labelled rate.
- 1 kg of powder makes about 125 litres of 8 g/L wash — more than four 225 g Vitax packs.
- Avoid sulphur-shy varieties (some apple, pear, gooseberry, red/white currant). Do not dust fruit close to jam or wine harvest — taint risk.
Dilution recipe
5 L sprayer
Working strength 8 g per litre as a wettable sulphur wash. Educational estimate from the listed ratio — check the SDS before you mix.
Chemical
40 grams
Flowers of sulphur (elemental sulphur 99%)
Water
5 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 | Yellow SulphurAmazon UK search — listing, not a confirmed seller | Flowers of sulphur (elemental sulphur 99%) |
| Pack / unit | 225 grams · £4.99 | 1 kg · £9.99 |
| Active | Elemental sulphur at 98%Carrier: None (puff-pack powder) | 99% bulkS8 |
| CAS number | Not disclosed on pack | 7704-34-9 |
| Working strength | Ready-to-use pack | Dilute 8 g per litre as a wettable sulphur wash |
| Cost per litre | £4.99 / pack | £0.08 / L mixed from bulk |
| Headline saving | Baseline | 55% cheaper |
| COSHH / PPE | Follow the branded SDS | Gloves. Chemical-resistant gloves (nitrile or neoprene)Respirator. Rated respirator for dusts or vapours as specified on the SDSVentilation. Use outdoors or with mechanical extraction |
Active ingredient and cheaper alternative — FAQ
Is yellow sulphur the same as Rose Clear?
No. Rose Clear Ultra is myclobutanil (a systemic triazole). Yellow sulphur is elemental sulphur — a contact dust or wettable wash. Different chemistry, different crop labels, different PPE.
Is this Bordeaux mixture?
No. Bordeaux is copper sulphate plus lime. Sulphur is S₈ powder. Some apples, pears, gooseberries and currants are sulphur-shy — read the Vitax label before you dust fruit.
How do you mix the Yellow Sulphur dupe stack?
Dust irritant and flammable solid. Gloves, FFP2 when puffing powder. Keep off ponds — sulphur is toxic to aquatic life in runoff. Wettable wash: slurry 8 g of flowers of sulphur in a little water, then make up to 1 litre with a drop of washing-up liquid as wetter. Spray dry foliage until glistening. Dust: puff a light film on leaves or work 20–40 g/m² into soil for acid-lovers (rhododendron, heather, azalea). Do not exceed the labelled rate. 1 kg of powder makes about 125 litres of 8 g/L wash — more than four 225 g Vitax packs. Avoid sulphur-shy varieties (some apple, pear, gooseberry, red/white currant). Do not dust fruit close to jam or wine harvest — taint risk.
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.
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Indicative DIY stack