Garden Centre Adventure

[nmonks]

Well, my Panaque managed to destroy all the little hairgrass plantlets I bought mail order, so I went and got one of the big tubs of hairgrass from the garden centre (Woods, part of the Capital Gardens group) on the high street. £4.50 for a 10 cm by 10 cm pot. I've divided it up into eight smaller clumps, and planted them in pots. I know, not optimal, but my Panaque was just swimming (well, stomping) through the individual plants, so this way, I think they might have a chance.

I also bought a mystery aquarium plant. I'm guessing it's some kind of Hygrophila or Nomaphila; anyone know? It has lanceolate leaves, red veins, and a slightly woody stem.

Finally, they had pots of something called Hydrocotyle novae-zelandiae in the pond section with hairgrass. Obviously a pennywort of some kind, rather pretty, low-growing, and supposedly good for ponds up to 60 cm deep. These pots were out of the water though, and the plant seemed to be doing fine. Anyone come across this species?

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Fish'InMN]

I believe your mystery plant is a non-aquatic species. The red veins and "woody stem" are usually signs that the plant can support it's own structure outside of water. Some plants will survive both below and above water, so I can not say whether yours will or will not. IMHO, I would remove the plant and find a nice pot for it.

HTH,
Marty

 

[pseud]

Without a doubt, the mystery plant is an aquatic plant. It's Hygrophila Corymbosa (maybe 'stricta' variety'. I have osme in my tank. Grows moderately fast with co2 and medium lighting.

 

[pseud]

oh... and I haven't heard of that Hydrocotyle species. From the picutre it looks like Hydrocotyle leucocephala, but then, the H. species all look the same to me, heh.

 

[craynerd]

Blimey, just shows there are exceptions! It looks like its come from a tree branch! I`d have shouted till i was blue in the face that that was non-aquatic...!! Good information

Thanks
Chris

 

[Luke_e]

That hair grass is a nice little plant. I'm deffinantly getting some now i've seen what it looks like in your tank!

 

[Fish'InMN]

Wow, well there certainly are exceptions! The dark, thick stems combined with the veined leaves is certainly characteristic of a terrestrial plant, but I stand corrected.


Marty

 

[nmonks]

Marty,

My gut feeling was the same as yours... the tougher the plant, the more likely it is to be terrestrial, or at least amphibious. But the stems are only sort of woody, and when the plant was lifted out of the tank, it did flop over, so that's why I took the chance.

Wow, well there certainly are exceptions! The dark, thick stems combined with the veined leaves is certainly characteristic of a terrestrial plant, but I stand corrected.

Pseud,

Thanks for the info. Looked up the Hygrophila corymbosa, and that sounds very plausible.

I didn't buy the Hydrocotyle novae-zelandiae; what you see in the picture is a bit of Hydrocotyle leucocephala, just as you say. The Hydrocotyle novae-zelandiae didn't have the long stems, and looked more like green mushrooms or clover, with the plants spreading out along the soil.

oh... and I haven't heard of that Hydrocotyle species. From the picutre it looks like Hydrocotyle leucocephala, but then, the H. species all look the same to me, heh.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[pseud]

Yeah, I can see how it can be mistaken for terrestrial. Older stems get very thick and branch like, younger stems are much thinner and fragile. It's somewhat of a hard plant to use due to it's growth pattern.

The taller it gets the longer the spacing between the nodes (except at the top of the stem where new growth is and the nodes are lcose together -- thuis the leaves are tight and dense)... this makes it look kinda woody, and sparse on the bottom 2/3 of the stem. You can cut the top and it will send out sideshoots from the nodes, and then two side shoots at the top will continue to grow there.... it'll make sense once you play around with it.

Anyway, I've found that I hate it as a background plant unless it's kept short by cutting, and replanting the tops... works good as a midground plant doing this too...

 

[craynerd]

I had a red aquatic plant very similar to this! Can you not keep cutting a inch of the bottom of the stem upto the nearest node and roots and replanting?

Chris

 

[Parin]

Finally, they had pots of something called Hydrocotyle novae-zelandiae in the pond section with hairgrass. Obviously a pennywort of some kind, rather pretty, low-growing, and supposedly good for ponds up to 60 cm deep. These pots were out of the water though, and the plant seemed to be doing fine. Anyone come across this species?

Cheers,

Neale

Hmm, the only "novae-zelandiae" plant I know and which is sold as a foreground plant (like hairgrass etc.) is:

Lilaeopsis novaezelandiae

The mystery plant is an excellent plant for the aquarium. I've had it myself for a couple of months. If you leave the top open, it will grow straight out of the aquarium and continue going. With low light, it will drop the lower leaves though. I took it out when I forgot to trim it once, and it grew against my TL lights and was scorched, leaving a burnmark on the TL. Just cut the stem just about anywhere and plant the top again. If you're tank is high enough (about 50cm) it will create new branches at root level, but the plant needs to be big enough for this.
Oh yeah, I also bought it as Hygrophila corymbosa.

 

[nmonks]

Nope, it's not that.

Maybe I'll buy some and try it out! Watch this space.

Cheers,

Neale

Hmm, the only "novae-zelandiae" plant I know and which is sold as a foreground plant (like hairgrass etc.) is:

Lilaeopsis novaezelandiae

 

[pseud]

Sounds like it might be Hydrocotyle verticillata

 

[lljdma06]

Blimey, just shows there are exceptions! It looks like its come from a tree branch! I`d have shouted till i was blue in the face that that was non-aquatic...!! Good information

Thanks
Chris

Yeah, Alternanthera reineckii also tends to have a more robust appearence too. It give the appearence of a terrestrial plant, but it is also a true aquatic.

Great finds nmonks!