Growing your dream garden: tips and advice
Growing your dream garden: tips and advice
When you mention aquatic plants, I'm curious - are you talking about the real deal, or those terrestrial plants that places like Petsmart often pass off as "aquarium plants" despite not being truly aquatic?
Re: Growing your dream garden: tips and advice
I asked because propagating aquatic plants via flowers or seeds isn't as straightforward as it is for terrestrial plants. There are true aquatic plants, like Vallisneria species, which grow submersed permanently. Then there are amphibious plants, also known as marsh or bog plants, that spend part of the year submersed and part emersed. Sword plants fall into this category, and going from memory, I believe only one species, Echinodorus major, grows permanently submersed. The others typically spend half the year submersed and half emersed, which means they'll only flower and produce seeds during the emersed period.
These amphibious plants also reproduce vegetatively by forming adventitious plants from the nodes along the inflorescence. When grown in good conditions, most sword plants will send out one or two inflorescences vertically toward the surface. Instead of flowers, adventitious plants develop from the nodes, and once they have a decent root system, they can be separated and planted. This way, you can end up with multiple plants over time. Most nurseries grow these plants emersed because it's less expensive and faster than allowing the adventitious plants to develop submersed.
If you want to try sexual reproduction via flowers and seeds, you'll need to grow the plant emersed. This requires a permanently moist growing medium for the roots, but the leaves are in the air. It takes longer, and I haven't personally tried it, but others may have experience and can offer advice if you're interested. Emersed leaves are different from those that develop when grown submersed – not just in shape, but also in structure. Aquatic leaves are thinner and more adept at assimilating nutrients from the water, whereas emersed leaves are thicker and more robust.
Vegetative reproduction is generally easier and quicker. I've developed tanks full of swords, chain swords, Anubias, Java Fern, and Vallisneria over the years just by providing sufficient light and nutrients.
These amphibious plants also reproduce vegetatively by forming adventitious plants from the nodes along the inflorescence. When grown in good conditions, most sword plants will send out one or two inflorescences vertically toward the surface. Instead of flowers, adventitious plants develop from the nodes, and once they have a decent root system, they can be separated and planted. This way, you can end up with multiple plants over time. Most nurseries grow these plants emersed because it's less expensive and faster than allowing the adventitious plants to develop submersed.
If you want to try sexual reproduction via flowers and seeds, you'll need to grow the plant emersed. This requires a permanently moist growing medium for the roots, but the leaves are in the air. It takes longer, and I haven't personally tried it, but others may have experience and can offer advice if you're interested. Emersed leaves are different from those that develop when grown submersed – not just in shape, but also in structure. Aquatic leaves are thinner and more adept at assimilating nutrients from the water, whereas emersed leaves are thicker and more robust.
Vegetative reproduction is generally easier and quicker. I've developed tanks full of swords, chain swords, Anubias, Java Fern, and Vallisneria over the years just by providing sufficient light and nutrients.
Re: Growing your dream garden: tips and advice
I've often considered taking the leap and cultivating my own aquatic plants, particularly after learning about the unique challenges of propagating them.