Not Quite The Netherlands

[stu40]

Most people probably won't like this new scape because it will be Dutch influenced.
But i want to have a go at something different, & i'm a bit bored of trying to find rocks & wood.
'Jungle' is probably my fav style,but this attempt will have lots of solid blocks of planting, rather than my usual random style.
One of my LFS has just had a delivery of nice stems, mixture of Tropica & AquaFleur which was too good to turn down.The only thing missing is the E.Tennelus
Wanted to try Florabase, but would have to order that in, no where here holds it.
Because i have virtually all the plants, and no patience, i'm going to use Fluval Stratum as it's on offer near me.
I'm working near home all this week, so will be able to do daily waterchanges.

Plants to be used

Lobelia Cardinalis Dwarf
Echinodorus Tennelus
Baccopa Carolina
Pogostemon Erectus
Ludwigia Glandulosa
Hygrophilia Corymbosa
Limnophila Sessiflora
Red Lotus for a focal

This probably won't be truely Dutch as
several too many species of plants for a 2' tank (8)
the fish will only cover 2 levels Microdevario Kubotai & A.Borelli
the equipment is fully on show (i.e the dirty great big Luminaire on top of the tank)
I'm jumping straight into it with both feet, and no previous experience of this style, so the planting may be a little erractic.
i'm not Dutch, and have never been (apart from Schiphol Airport)

However, the planting rules of colours, heights & leaf types, as well as a path will be aimed for.
No hardscape

It may well be a glorious failure, but if nothing else, i'm trying out some new stems for future reference.I have back up ideas for certain plants that may or may not fail on me.
I've gone on a bit, but thanks for reading.i'll post a rough planting plan when finalised it.
Any input will definitley be appreciated

 

[mattybee]

Cant wait to see this

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Me too, I love Dutch scapes.

 

[KkAaNnEe]

Sounds good Stu, I was thinking where had you got to, noce to see you back, you might know already but fluval stratum lowers ph a bit ive heard, not a bad thing though

 

[lljdma06]

You have attracted my attention. I have done several dutch scapes on a small scale here at TFF, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. The rules are not so strict with regard to strata and plant species when you are working in miniature. Standard Dutch scapes are usually at least 75g or more. Your plant selection is rather good. Corymbosa may get too overbearing as it's leaves are rather large. The lotus will dominate, you must train it to stay small. Do this by pruning any leaf that grows up and away from the cluster. Vigorous pruning will keep most plants small and compact. Dutch is about manipulation. Keeping a lovely, well-manicured garden. LOL

I recommend two additional plants. HM, Hemianthus micranthemoides. It's a lovely green plant and IMO, makes an interesting pairing with Lobelia. It also doesn't require the care that HC does. I also like Heternantera zosterfolia (stargrass). Lovely color.

L

 

[stu40]

Cant wait to see this

Me too, I love Dutch scapes.

i hope i can repay your faith.

Sounds good Stu, I was thinking where had you got to, noce to see you back, you might know already but fluval stratum lowers ph a bit ive heard, not a bad thing though

Cheers mate.I did know that, and my tapwater is slightly on the alkaline side ~7.5 PH

You have attracted my attention. I have done several dutch scapes on a small scale here at TFF, so if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. The rules are not so strict with regard to strata and plant species when you are working in miniature. Standard Dutch scapes are usually at least 75g or more. Your plant selection is rather good. Corymbosa may get too overbearing as it's leaves are rather large. The lotus will dominate, you must train it to stay small. Do this by pruning any leaf that grows up and away from the cluster. Vigorous pruning will keep most plants small and compact. Dutch is about manipulation. Keeping a lovely, well-manicured garden. LOL

I recommend two additional plants. HM, Hemianthus micranthemoides. It's a lovely green plant and IMO, makes an interesting pairing with Lobelia. It also doesn't require the care that HC does. I also like Heternantera zosterfolia (stargrass). Lovely color.

L

It's always nice to attract the attention of the ladies

I did trawl through your old journals in search of inspiration, but a lot of pics seem to be unavailable.I did wonder about the Corymbosa, and considered the narrower leaf type 'Angustifolia' but i already have the regular type.
Thanks for the HM suggestion, i was struggling with my foreground.


This is the first run by.

Off out for a bit, because it's not chucking it down for once.I've gone from 2 weeks of 30°C Grecian sunshine, to a week of so called British summer (rainy & cold)

 

[lljdma06]

Rule of dutch layouts...

No red plants in the back ground. Switch the ludwigia with probably the bacopa. Or... extend the corymbosa to the back and then switch the Ludwigia with the Limnophila and then add HM to the foreground with the tenellus.

L

 

[stu40]

Thanks for the input.
Should have said that i knew about the no red background plant,
I put the Ludwigia there because whenever i've grown the species, it's always lost its redness and lost the lower leaves (hence hiding it at the back).Never tried it with carbon, which is what will happen in here.
How difficult is HM to grow? Tropica, has it down as Advanced,therefore i had discounted it.Like the look of the Star Grass, but wont the leaf type clash with the Tennelus?
How about this? Rotating the Ludwigia, Baccopa & Limnophila anti-clockwise (counter-clockwise

)
so that the Baccopa doesn't get lost behind the taller Limnophila

 

[ian]

nice plan Stu, i have always found HM as a very easy plant, with or without carbon addition. Which Limph are you using??

 

[stu40]

nice plan Stu, i have always found HM as a very easy plant, with or without carbon addition. Which Limph are you using??

sessiliflora, you would know this if you hadn't skimmed past the OP

Thanks.Feel free to correct anything.I'm out on a limb with this one.

 

[minnnt]

Busted Ian.

The plans sound great Stu. Substrate sounds great.

 

[FishFanatic04]

Been wanting to do a dutch. I'm watching this one. Planted school lesson #6

 

[lljdma06]

Thanks for the input.
Should have said that i knew about the no red background plant,
I put the Ludwigia there because whenever i've grown the species, it's always lost its redness and lost the lower leaves (hence hiding it at the back).Never tried it with carbon, which is what will happen in here.
How difficult is HM to grow? Tropica, has it down as Advanced,therefore i had discounted it.Like the look of the Star Grass, but wont the leaf type clash with the Tennelus?
How about this? Rotating the Ludwigia, Baccopa & Limnophila anti-clockwise (counter-clockwise

)
so that the Baccopa doesn't get lost behind the taller Limnophila

Carbon and dosing should keep it nice and rosy for you, though my A. reineckii never lost its red in my my non CO2 dutch scapes. Rotala rotundifolia and macrandra are also some very nice plants to try. The rotundifolia blushes a deep salmon in the tips while the macrandra stays nice and red under the right conditions. You'll also find that sessiliflora will also blush red in the tips, as does Bacopa actually, which is why I recommended Heternantera zosterfolia in the first place. Most of your plants will blush a bit under the right conditions. The Hygro corymbosa is less likely to do so.

HM, as Ian says, is rather easy. I've never had problems with it. I like the new layout. If you place the HM in the front right, you'll have a nice look there. I really liked my combination of E. tenellus and HM in my old 8g Dutch. It's a nice combo.

l

 

[stu40]

Thanks, i appreciate the input/advice, i was hoping that the HM would be ok, front right, hence the blank space on the layout.
Ok, that's the layout sorted, hopefully there's not going to be too much red in there.Just got to source the Hemianthus micranthemoides.
The Tennelus should be arriving either tomorrow or Wednesday.Got everything else already.
The substrate is in & the plant positions are marked.New opaque backing (a la Andy) is on.
Will plant tomorrow night hopefully.

 

[stu40]

Excuse the poor pics, the tanks only half full & a touch cloudy, was hoping to get the fish back in tonight, but ran out of time

Slightly OTT plant positions

initial planting, think i might have crowded it a bit, plus do i have to be more brutual with my pruning?

Also, i think the current, regular H.Corymbosa will indeed be to large leaved, may swap for H.Corymbosa 'Siamensis 53B'.
Anyone have experience of it, regarding eventual height?
Thanks for looking