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RE: Aquatic Plants Digest V1 #334



Subject: Reproducing Echinodorus horemani

<Has anyone attempted to produce plantlets from E. horemani? The plant
is several years old and has never produced plantlets or a flower
stalk. I've checked several books and believe it to be E. horemani.
Should I allow the whole plant to float or should I cut the rhysome
and let it float in the hope that plantlets will sprout>.

I have both green and red forms of this beautiful Echinodorus and grow them outside all year round. Mine seems to need the stimulus of winter to initiate the production of flower spikes here in Brisbane, Australia. My green form also produces floating leaves in summer but the red form never has. By the way besides plantlets from the flower spike mine have also divided at the crown ( both red and green). As yet no plantlets have formed on the rhizome.

In contrast both E. opacus and E. uruguayense have produced on the rhizome but no other way. I understand from a friend in Melbourne ( much colder in winter)  that winters there will stimulate flowering in E. opacus. Perhaps this phenomenon of induction of flowering  by reduced temperature could be anticipated by a study of the geographic origin of the particular species ? It certainly would be interesting to me to hear from others with experience of this aspect of Echinodorus behaviour.

Bruce Hansen.