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Water Wisteria, Emmersed, Submersed... a Learning Experience.

OldFishKeeper

OldFishKeeper

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I was impressed by the recent TOTM by @Crunchycrouton. I am re-scaping my 75 G and thought the water wisteria would be a great backdrop.

I ordered two to start because they seemingly grow very fast and can be topped and replanted. To my surprise, the two I received were emmersed and now starts the 2 week+ process of converting them to submersed, then waiting for them to grow. I have ordered more from different suppliers, hoping that some with be submersed and ready sooner.

I have read of the benefits of emmersed, but it would have been great to know ahead of time, what I was ordering and the time it would take to achieve the desired result, IMHO.
 
IMO, emersed is good for production (high light/fast growth without algae) and shipping (thicker leaves that are tolerant of a bit of dry air), but has little value to the end user, all else being equal unless you want to continue growing it emersed.
 
Yep, some of my plant clubbers do emersed plants. But I've never had to wait 2 weeks...The emersed leaves may die back eventually or only have happy tops near my light. Not a big deal to me, I'm heavy on plant patience ;)

Cryptocorynes (my fav genus) are apt to "melt" no matter how they're grown. Healthy roots matter more than leaves for them & stem plants don't care all that much with enough light. You can float them, but some plants grow roots along the stems; not my favorite habit. I don't have wisteria right now. It gets too happy & bushy for my low maintenance tanks. But it is pretty, I'll likely try it again.

Good luck!
 
OK, plant experts, here is a pic of the two examples of what I received from two different vendors. I can't believe the visual differences!

On the left is the emersed with big, fat leaves and in rock wool. On the right are two submersed bunches with lead weights.

I have them in a quarantine tank with a high level of lighting and co2 injection and a level of 6.5 pH.

How would you ready them for planting in their permanent home which is a 75 g?

Emersed or Submersed Water Wisteria.jpg
 
The submerged growth ones can be separated and planted or left floating. For the emersed growth I would leave them where they are. They will sprout new growth upwards. Trim those new growths and plant them where you want them.
 
connorlindeman said:
The submerged growth ones can be separated and planted or left floating. For the emersed growth I would leave them where they are. They will sprout new growth upwards. Trim those new growths and plant them where you want them.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the prompt response! And, a belated Happy Birthday :bday:
 
I am currently redoing my 75g and plan to post the process when I find the right forum.

The pic in my avatar (as small as it is) was taken several years ago. At the time, I thought it was a good starting point. Problems were, the val was not contained and spread throughout the tank. Secondly, the "Cuba" ground cover required more maintenance that I was prepared to give.

If that wasn't enough, over the years, the controsoil broke down and turned to mud. The entire tank was a real mess.

I was faced with a complete redo or, try to clean out the old substrate and apply a new layer. I elected to go this route.

I don't know how this will turn out but, here is what I have done so far...

I removed the 3 Amazon Swords and wood.

It was a major PITA, but I siphoned as much as the surface mud that I could and added at least an inch of Fluval Stratum over the entire surface.

From TAP Plastics, I added a 3x1/16" acrylic strip along the back in hopes of containing the jungle val I was planting.

I reinstalled the wood in front of this barrier and replanted the Amazon Swords.

My plan was to ensure the tank had ample space for schooling fish (Cardinals, etc.).

Learning from my experience with "Cuba", I chose, what I hope to be, a ground cover without the maintenance. In this case, it was Dwarf Hairgrass, Mini.

Here is a pic of the results a few weeks after:
 

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Last edited:
OldFishKeeper said:
I am currently redoing my 75g and plan to post the process when I find the right forum.

The pic in my avatar (as small as it is) was taken several years ago. At the time, I thought it was a good starting point. Problems were, the val was not contained and spread throughout the tank. Secondly, the "Cuba" ground cover required more maintenance that I was prepared to give.

It that wasn't enough, over the years, the controsoil broke down and turned to mud. The entire tank was a real mess.

I was faced with a complete redo or, try to clean out the old substrate and apply a new layer. I elected to go this route.

I don't know how this will turn out but, here is what I have done so far...

I removed the 3 Amazon Swords and wood.

It was a major PITA, but I siphoned as much as the surface mud that I could and added at least an inch of Fluval Stratum over the entire surface.

From TAP Plastics, I added a 3x1/16" acrylic strip along the back in hopes of containing the jungle val I was planting.

I reinstalled the wood in front of this barrier and replanted the Amazon Swords.

My plan was to ensure the tank had ample space for schooling fish (Cardinals, etc.).

Learning from my experience with "Cuba", I chose, what I hope to be, a ground cover without the maintenance. In this case, it was Dwarf Hairgrass, Mini.

Here is a pic of the results a few weeks after:
Click to expand...

75 g Redo 121424.jpg
 
Last edited:
I tend to take emersed stem plants and just chop them into shorter segments (2-3 nodes) and plant them. That way the new submerged growth starts low instead of from the already tall tip.
 
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