Plant id help? *pictures*

[marisa]

Hi! I got two aquatic plants and I am hoping you can help tell me what they are.

Plant 1. This plant has like long green etensions and smaller versions of itself coming off it. I planted the "main" plant and the smaller attached ones are floating, but they have roots coming off. Should I plant the "extensions" too? They are connected to the main plant by long green grass ropes/vines.

the main part of plant 1
<img src="http://members.rogers.com/mattl/plant2.jpg">

Extensions:

<img src="http://members.rogers.com/mattl/plant1.jpg">

This is the other plant, plant 2.
'
<img src="http://members.rogers.com/mattl/otherplant1.jpg">

Thanks for the help if anyone knows what they are and if I should also plant the "babies" the one main plant has.

Marisa

[corr]

Here's what I think they are. The first one looks like Echinodorus quadricostatus. The second I'm pretty sure is Egeria Densa.

This site has good info on them http://192.38.244.204/go.asp?show=products

[marisa]

Thanks Corr....

The description of Echinodorus quadricostatus sounds perfect, except it says on the webpage that it creates tendrils that crawl along the bottom...but in the tank I got them from (where they had been for quite some time) the tendrils all were floating at the top. Like in my photo. So I am not sure if I should plant them (roots down) or leave them floating...? I planted the largest off shoot/tendril as it was about 4 inches across, but the others are only two inches or so and I left them floating.

And I believe your second choice was right on as well. thank you very mcuh!

Marisa

[Shane Tesser]

I keep both of these and Corr was dead on the money. The first one commonly known as a sword, will branch out either on the ground or upward...usually they will have a long shoot reach almost to the surface and then new baby plants will appear. Ive bred and sold these for many years. What i do is limit the mother plant to no more than five baby plants a shoot. And normally no more than one shoot for a plant that is less than 24" tall. I can't tell how big the mother plant is..but at first glance it looks small. The rule of thumb to propagating any new plant is to let it reach 1/2 size of the mother plant. With swords though this could take years. So i wait until i have a fairly good root ball. At least 6 or so roots developed. And usually the new plant is about 3-4". I cut the largest one off, wrap the new tender roots in peat and put them in the soil. I have done this over and over and have never lost one..good luck :D

[marisa]

Thanks Shane!

The mother plant is about 5-7 inches across and has two shoots, each shoot has 2-4 plants on it. I will prune them back tonight.

Can you tell me how to prune them? Do I remove the baby plants from the shoot or do I cut the whole shoot of the mother plant?

Sorry I am clueless when it comes to plants than grow babies. LOL.

Marisa

[marisa]

Here is a photo that shows what is going on....the smaller plants connected to the mother are still floating. They have root systems though, like you said, they all have more than 6 roots.

The middle one is a larger baby I planted but I did not cut the shoot....not sure if I should or not.

<img src="http://members.rogers.com/mattl/tank.jpg">

Anyways thanks you for the help!

marisa

[Shane Tesser]

Those look in great condition...congrats. I can clearly see the roots on the baby plants...i would say at this point its up to you how you want to cut it...normally you cut each baby plant off one by one...but if you dont want more cut the whole stock. Or cut off all the baby plants and plant them...leave the stock as close to the first knuckle or buckle in the stock itself...there is a proper name for it..but i can remember...but basically cut it where the point of your arrow is pointing on the stock....the one that is pointing to the baby plants...this way..you will continue to have more plantlets...and you can sell them back to the store when they reach 6-7" and pay for your hobby ;) I hope this makes sense....looks like you are doing great on your own :D

[corr]

Just a note about the Egeria. Once it hits the surface and has good light, look out! It grows as quickly as hornwart! Make sure your water change schedule is up to date when this happens because Egeria can quickly deplete the Kh (natural minerals) of the water thus potentially causing a Ph crash.

Also, once your swords have been established, they'll benefit from some root fertilizer. HTH

[marisa]

Yay! thanks guys!

I am thinking I will plant a few of those little guys and let them go....I am happy to hear with good light it will start growing...its semi-near a window as well as a tube on top. I want a tank thats FULL of plants so thats good news....and I will pick up some fertilizer next trip to the store.



Marisa

[marisa]

O.k. one more question experts....hehehe :)

The area in the photo above with the "baby plants"

Well I was waiting to cut the "babies" from the mother until they are a bit larger as right now each is about two-three inches across, but over the past two weeks they have now grown roots that are reach all the way down to the floor of the tank. The roots have only about an inch to go now before they "root" themselves.....is it time to cut them free of the mother?

What happens if you dont cut them off and they root?

Marisa

[corr]

Shane may have more experience with them than me but I think you should let them root... even push them into the substrate yourself. Then you can separate them when they're a little larger. When mine had babies, the runner was already in the substrate and I separated them when they were about the size of yours. I didn't get very good growth from them though.

[marisa]

Thanks Corr. These seem to be doing really well. The one I already seperated (as in the above post) seems to be even healthier than the mother and is bright green and growing fast! I think I will let those do what they want until they are bigger....i just wasnt sure.

I really like these live plants!

Marisa