apongeton trouble

[Torrean]

I have some apongeton bulbs in a ten gallon with about 6-7 inches of water. My GF has a 29 gallon and we put some in there too. Her's are about a month old and they are huge. I didn't see them for about a week and in that time they grew A LOT. The package said something like 6-7 inches so i assumed this was full size, I was wrong, her's are more like 12-14 inches. My question is will the plant reach the top of the water then grow across the top or will it just sorta umm die or something. basically what will hapen when they get full size? I would transplant them to my gf's tank since a lot of her's didn't sprout but my tank has snails and her's doesn't. what should i do?

Edit: If the apongeton will grow across the top of the tank that would actually be pretty cool because the only thing I have been able to get the newts that live in the tank to eat are crickets and the apongeton would give the crickets some more roaming room in the tank before they get eaten.

 

[Lateral Line]

Most species of Aponogeton are quite large and very vigorous growers. The leaves will tend to spread out over the surface.

Unless you have a perpetual cultivar, Aponogetons grow, flower then die down, and need to be "rested" by lifting the bulb and storing it in a cool place for a month or so before replanting it, whereupon it will do it's thing again. If you cut off the flower spikes as soon as they appear, you can often prolong the growing season.

Very attractive plants.

 

[Torrean]

thank you

 

[Spilk]

You can also just put root tabs under the plants when they start to die down and they'll keep growing just fine. They just devour all the nutrients near their roots really quickly, and that's why they seem to need a prolonged rest period and bloom again when you replant them.

Worked with mine.

 

[Torrean]

I assume I can get these root tabs at a good lfs correct?

 

[guppygirl]

Yep, a good one are these~
flourish tabs

 

[Lateral Line]

Once the flowering is initiated, there is a hormone released which switches the plant into dormancy. You can sometimes stop that by cutting the flower stems before they develop.

Unless you have a perpetual cultivar, they will die back and rest. Where they come from, they grow in areas where the water comes during flood periods, then dries up leaving their root stock in the ground.

The perprtual cultivars have had the seasonal changes bred out of them - they tend to be more expensive. In a "bargain bucket" of Aponogetons, I would be suprised, although no longer astonished, to find perpetuals.

 

[Torrean]

How do I know when to cut the flowers off? Do I cut them as soon as they bud?

 

[Lateral Line]

As soon as you see the flower spike coming from the bulb. They look different from leaves, spindly.

 

[Torrean]

really. hmm my girfriends appears to be fully grown and it has no flowers yet so i assumed that it happened later. so basically there are three green things coming out of each of my bulbs. Two are kinda flat and one is spikey. I need to pluck the spikey thing?