RE: Water Sprite

To: "'Aquatic-Plants at ActWin_com'" <Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com>
Subject: RE: Water Sprite
From: Jonathan Kalmes <jkalmes at ionet_com>
Date: Thu, 25 Jul 1996 01:49:10 -0400

>Here's my question.  After it is growing for several weeks some of the=20
>stems develop an area that looks like something is eating them.  Can be =

>anywhere from a quarter inch to several inches long.  In extreme cases=20
>the stem looks like is being eaten through and will separate. =20

I used to grow tons of Water Sprite, as it is an incredibly fast grower. =
 I was throwing out more than I could give away.  I didn't do any =
research on it, and have no basis for the following other than =
experience.

With my watersprite, I noticed the same thing.  I eventually came to one =
conclusion...  Watersprite has incredibly delicate stems.  The rest of =
the plant can live through just about anything once the plant is well =
established.  Regular pruning is a must if you wish to keep any other =
plants, as watersprite quickly overtakes the entire tank.  Once a stem =
is damaged, however, it soon drops off at the point of damage and the =
stem usually proceeds to die. But, Watersprite leaves sprout roots, =
which become new plants.  This happens to all leaves, but if you check a =
leaf that has is on a detached stem, you should notice many more roots =
than normal after a few days.  I'm fairly certain that this is because =
the piece gets circulated around the tank.  I don't know if it's because =
of increased exposure to the surface, or because the light source is no =
longer in a fixed location (from the perspective of the plant).

If you wish to see this for yourself, get all of the little floating =
pieces out of the tank and bend one of the stems of a healthy plant.  =
You'll soon see it turn brown and then become stringy and finally detach =
from the main plant.  Let it float, don't anchor it.  The mass of plants =
you can get from this is incredible.  I've never found away to stop =
this.  Some trace elements help make the plants a bit stronger and less =
susceptible to damage, but I've never been able to eliminate it =
completely.  Best I could do was prune the plant back below the damaged =
area and remove the offending piece. =20

Hope that helps.

Jonathan

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