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Re: Tonina, Gratiola, Cyperus and Lagarosiphon tips?
Tony ...
At 03:48 PM 3/26/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>Date: Tue, 26 Mar 2002 23:45:16 +0800
>From: " Anthony Baker" <bakera506 at earthlink_net>
>Subject: Tonina, Gratiola, Cyperus and Lagarosiphon tips?
>
>Hey everyone... Ii is nice to see the APD getting
>more and more traffic every month...
>
>I received some of the plants on my "wish list" and
>have searched the net and the archives for
>information, but useful info is pretty scanty.
>
>I would like to know if anyone can share any
>experiences with these plants, especially growing
>requirements, pruning, lighting, fertilization etc.
>
>Specifically, I received some "Tonina spec." (not
>fluvitalis) as can be seen in the center of this pic -
>http://www.sfbaaps.com/gallery/albanyaq/albanyaq_01_05.jpg
I did not realize it but I was given some of this plant. I had mistakenly
Id'd it as Blyxa Alternafolia. It is very temperamental, but as you can
see from the picture of Jeffs tank, it is spectacular when you get it
right. It needs a very bright unshaded position, and not just top light, it
needs some light hitting lower down the plant. It will put out runners like
a Val, they will come out above the surface of the gravel and reach down to
the gravel. You can also propagate it from cuttings. If it hits the surface
it will probably take off strongly ...
>In additon, I got some "Rotala spec. Nanjenshan",
>Blyxa japionica / echinosperma and Cyperus helferi.
>The Cyperus looks like it had been "trimmed" by
>cutting the leaves in the middle. Is this
>acceptable?
>
>Also, if anyone has any tips on Gratiola spec (the
>one that looks like E. stellata) and Lagarosiphon
>madagascariensis I'd appreciate that too -- I am
>expecting to get those sometime this week.
Gratiola is pretty variable, when it gets near the light the undersides of
the leaves will turn magenta, like L. Repens, I've also saw the topside
take on an orange-red color. Propagate like any stem plant. L. Mad does
not put out much of a root system, so it relies heavily on the water column
(although it does root). When the conditions are right, watch out, its
growth will be spectacular. It branches very readily so it can fill up a
space pretty quickly and look pretty unkempt. I like to replant it in small
tight bunches of around 20 short stems, when it will look like a fuzz ball.
Good luck
Jim.
>Please reply to the list or to anthony_w_baker at hotmail_com rather than the
>address I
>posted from...
>
>Thanks in advance!
>- -Tony
>In frigid PA where we had light snow last night and this morning... It was
>more Spring-like in January!