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Re: Spathiphyllum
> Greetings everyone. A petshop gave me a Spathiphyllum sp. without roots.
> The plant itself still looks good. Any chance of it surviving, and what
> would be the best way to promote root growth if possible?
The only Spathyphyllum I know of that is sold in the hobby is reputedly
not a good aquarium plant. I've kept them under water for some time, but
they don't grow and certainly don't thrive. I seem to recall Steve
Pushak writing that he had one (or more?) underwater for a long time, but
I don't recall if they grew well or not.
In my experience, Spathiphyllum grow best with their roots in water and
their leaves out. I had them planted in a tank with a substrate of
gravel+sand+potting soil+peat, a water depth of about 1 inch and with
contant circulation through the substrate. The plants grew quickly,
bloomed nearly constantly and spun off numerous smaller plants.
Second most dependable setup was to plant them in a flower pot with
regular potting soil, and don't let the soil dry out. The plant usually
will withstand some drying but since your plant has no roots I wouldn't
let it dry out for a while.
I have a beautiful potted Spathiphyllum in my office that descended from a
plant I bought in an aquarium shop, kept in emersed culture for a while,
then potted. It flowered all winter and was a pleasure to have.
At any rate, under water is probably not the best way to get it to grow.
Roger Miller