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Re: Coppersafe & Java Fern
Steve,
>> I'm pretty new to keeping Jav Fern (I've only had some plants for a few
months), but I'm wondering if your's are just getting ready to sprout babies.
Mine were mostly green when I got them & then the tips of many leaves turned
brown & I thought they were rotting (similar to your's) but then the brown
spots started sprouting baby plants. This took quite a long time (a couple of
months) for me & I hope thats what's happening for you. <<
Well, you are right and you are wrong.<g> Java Ferns don't necessarily turn
brown when they are going to have babies, Bust stress and damage can
definitely put a Java Fern into the production of baby plantlets. If you
completely remove a leaf from the plant and leave it floating in the tank, you
will find that it develops plantlets.
>> The person I got mine from was able to grow it well & have it multiply
well using Tetra Crypto Hilena fertilizer tablets pushed into the gravel at
the roots of the plants. <<
Java Ferns will (sometimes) survive if "planted" with their roots in the
substrate, but they are meant to grow "holding on" to something. The proper
way to grow them is to attach them somehow to a piece of driftwood or a stone.
(I use monofilament fishing line, but most anything will do)
For this reason, substrate fertilizers are not the most useful for Java
Ferns.
E-mail from: Karen Randall, 13-Jul-1995