Amazon Sword Has Flowered

[Akasha72]

Hi everyone. A couple of weeks ago I noticed that one of my amazon swords was sending up a thin shoot that wasn't a new leaf. After looking more closely I realised it was 'flowering'
 
I now have two shoots and several 'plantlets'. The little plantlets are now developing roots and leaves of their own and I'm now wondering what to do.
I've only ever come across this once before with a different type of Echinodorus (an Ozelot type) and once I removed the plantlets on that the mother plant died. 
The last thing I want to happen with my sword is the same thing.
 
Can anyone please advise me of what I do next? There's at least 6 or 7 plantlets growing on the two storks

 

[Vethian]

oh...can you take a pic?  I want to see!

 

[Akasha72]

yeah sure
Here you go
 

 

[Byron]

The removal of the adventitious plants was not likely the cause of the demise of the parent plant.  But we needn't guess about that past issue.
 
The species pictured is Echinodorus griesbachii, in the "form" usually labelled E. bleherae.  I believe I have previously in another thread explained the phylogenetics of this reclassification, so won't repeat unless asked.  You have a few options here.
 
Once leaves and roots appear on the adventitious plants, the parent plant is no longer providing any nutrients via the inflorescence.  You can leave the inflorescence attached to the parent plant with the adventitious plants attached to the inflorescence.  Sometimes this can be useful to fill in upper water space, but here from your photo this won't have much benefit, so I would do one of two other options.  Make sure you are using a good complete liquid fertilizer so the adventitious plants can develop well; this species is a heavy feeder.  In the photo the adventitious plants look a little pale, which is normal, but they do need nutrients in the water column.
 
You can remove the inflorescence intact and stick the cut end (cut or break it off right at the base) anywhere with the adventitious plants attached.  Eventually i find these will either develop algae (being closer to the light) or due to their high need for food, begin dying off.  You can remove some of the adventitious plants which will reduce this a bit.  From each node on the inflorescence there are actually two adventitious plants, opposite to each other, and you can remove one to give the other more space and less competition.  You can remove as many of them as you prefer.
 
The other option is to remove some of the adventitious plants once they have decent roots (over 1 inch, preferably close to 2 inches) and several leaves.  Plant them in the substrate and they will soon establish.  This is also a good time to remove them to other tanks if you want this plant in other tanks, rather than letting them establish in this one and then moving them.
 
This species produces adventitious plants regularly once the parent plant is established and provided it receives good nutrition.  You know all about that.  You will never run out of this species once it is established.
 
Byron.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

One more note here. As the runner grows longer what the little node becomes can change, As long as it is submerged, you will get a new baby plant. However, once the runner reaches the surface, any node exposed to air because it is at the surface will make a flower instead of a new plant.

 

[Akasha72]

thanks guys ... you are right Byron the new little plantlets are quite pale but I'd put that down to them being 'baby' plants. I'm going to set my mobile phone to beep and remind me daily to add ferts because I keep forgetting. I want to get these little plants growing up strong as I've got a plan forming...
 
I don't need any more plants. My Dad's tank is also well planted and as I don't know anyone else with a tank close by I've decided to contact my lfs and give them away for a charity thing they have going at the moment

 

[TallTree01]

My Amazon sword does this. I just let it grow out. Makes it look really jungly and stuff. I had like 30 little plantlets at one point off of 2-3 mother plants. I got sick of them eventually and sold them to a LFS when they were a decent size.

 

[Akasha72]

thanks TallTree - sounds like great minds think alike ... except they will be a gift from me

 

[Byron]

One more note here. As the runner grows longer what the little node becomes can change, As long as it is submerged, you will get a new baby plant. However, once the runner reaches the surface, any node exposed to air because it is at the surface will make a flower instead of a new plant.

 
Perhaps I may be permitted to expand this a bit.  Sometimes flowers will appear, but not usually if the plant is grown submersed.  The species in Echinodorus are all marsh or bog plants, semi-aquatic herbs to be more precise, and most species are amphibious by which I mean they spend the wet season submersed and the dry season emersed.  They all flower only during the emersed period in their habitats.  When grown emersed, as in a plaudarium, they will flower.  These plants also make superb aquarium plants and will grow nicely fully submersed permanently, but flowers from submersed plants are very rare.  Now, having said that, I have had it occur...but only once, and in this case it was one of my Echinodorus major, which is so rare for this to occur that most sources say it is not possible.  So it can happen, but not very often.  Over some 15 years my E. griesbachii [E. bleherae] have never flowered, though they send out inflorescences (sometimes one per plant, sometimes two, and a few times three from the same plant at the same time] usually twice every 12 months.  They all extend above the surface, but no flowers.
 
One thing further...the period of day (light) and the nutrients may factor in to this.  I've forgotten the specifics, but that may account for the flowering of submersed plants.
 
Byron.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Interesting. I have only the one experience with this. I had a problem with swords outgrowing mu high light co2 added tank and I eventually went to the dwarf varieties. It was early on in my fishkeeping years and I never took pics. i just assumed this was how swords behaved. I have had only three plants flower in my tanks. the one sword, an anubias that flowered for close to 5 years and one instance of dwarf sag.

 

[Byron]

Interesting. I have only the one experience with this. I had a problem with swords outgrowing mu high light co2 added tank and I eventually went to the dwarf varieties. It was early on in my fishkeeping years and I never took pics. i just assumed this was how swords behaved. I have had only three plants flower in my tanks. the one sword, an anubias that flowered for close to 5 years and one instance of dwarf sag.

 
Yes, I think the presence of diffused CO2 plus brighter illumination can result in flowering even on submersed plants, though as far as I can recall this is not always the case.  I was quite thrilled when my E. major flowered, back in 2010; I'll attach a photo or two.  The leaves floating are of course Brazilian Pennywort, not the Echinodorus.  I've had Anubias nana flower, many years ago now, and a few Aponogeton have flowered back in the 1990's.  A few years ago my Frogbit flowered, but not since.

 

[Akasha72]

there is something on the end ... I've not quite made out what it is but it's a little nodual of some kind. I actually thought I had two stalks from the root but on closer inspection what I've got is one stalk from the root that has split into two stalks about half way. Both stalks have plantlets growing from them in several places. It looks like I will have maybe 6 plants with their own roots. Some plantlets are more advanced than others at this stage.
 
I'm just going to leave it be. I've set a reminder on my phone now to add ferts daily and I'm going to let the plantlets grow for now

 

[CSnyder00]

So cool. Wish my cichlids would let my root plants alone. I can't have them with my Jacks. They move them and then shred them.

 

[Akasha72]

oh dear! I've been very lucky with my cichlids. Curviceps likes to chill in the plants and hide from the angels but none have ever eaten the plants or tried to move them. The cories and ancistrus though ... they do like to re-scape the tank now and then. If I add a new plant and they don't like where I've put it they will continually dig it up until I put it somewhere else!

 

[CSnyder00]

Yup. I get tired of that rotine so I stick to Anubias and other plants that do well attached to driftwood. Substrate plants are not good. They even move the fake ones.