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Window Lighting and Echinodorus



Subject: Window Lighting

Earle Hamilton wrote:

> re placing a tank in the window - great except for two problems.
> plants tend to grow toward the light source which means you will 
> be looking at the less attractive undersides of leaves.  

This tendency can be used to your benefit if you are getting your 
tank ready for a Home Show competition.  Move some of the lighting 
to the front pane of glass for a couple of days prior to the show. 
 The plants will turn their "best face" toward the judge!
 
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Subject: Hope for Echinodorus!

Tonid,

> My E. ascherschonicus, which has almost died due to
> something not really identifiable (I wrote about it a while
> ago) before it almost did die (now I'm trying to hold it
> emersively and there's hope...) it spaned a couple of
> flower-stems (the ones that young plants grow on), and the
> end-parts of these stems remained in the tank floating on
> the surface. Today while I was changing some water, i wanted
> to throw out a piece of a stem, and... I noticed a small
> plant is trying to emerge fom it (!) and the stem is only
> about an inch long (!!!). Is there a chance I could re-grow
> that ascherschonicus from that little stem?!

I have been successful starting a number of new Echinodorus from 
very small babies.  I usually leave the stem to float on the 
surface until it gains enough size, and develops enough roots to 
plant.  Then I plant them in a shallow saucer with potting soil, 
laterite and a fine gravel covering to hold everything in place.  
By the time the plantley ougrows this arrangement, it is large 
enough to be treated normally.

Karen Randall
Aquatic Gardeners Assoc.
Boston, MA