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Re: Is Steve "wet"?
Steve:
With much respect, I really think that you are wrong here on the emersed
and submersed plant growing.
Over 40 years ago, Perry Slocum of Slocum Water Gardens (then in New York
state and now in Florida) grew Hygrophyla polysperma and Amazon Sword
Plants emersed and they were the best, most adaptive plants available at
that time -- clean, now snails and no loss. Florida Aquatic Nurseries
followed with many other varieties, and to this day they supply the best
plants available in the U.S.
Tropica from Denmark embellished on this; and with tissue culture of the
hardiest selected plants now grow the best plants in the World. Horizon
Growers were originally connected somehow with Tropica (in the last 10
years?) and they grow nice plants. (They are no longer connected with
Tropica of Denmark.
If you are able to get hold of Alternanthera reineckii grown emerse from
Florida Aquatic Nurseries, you will find that it grows very well submerged
after you receive it. Alternanthera sessilis does not! I'm sure that
someone in Canada gets plants from Florida Aquatic Nurseries and I know
that Tropica of Denmark ships into Canada and will tell you to whom they
sell. Florida Aquatic Nurseries does not sell retail.
If you are not having success with emerse grown plants, you are not getting
the best ones. They are better than ever due to the tissue culture of
hardier and disease resistant specimens; and the variety is continually
growing due to the expeditions of Claus Christensen and Holger Windlov of
Tropica -- just gorgeous adaptive varieties!
A campaign to only buy submerged plants would be a giant step back in the
hobby of growing gorgeous plants in our aquariums.
Incidentally, just as a point of information, CO2 is added to the
greenhouse growing in Denmark as it is in so many terrestrial plant
nurseries.
You wrote:
> I prefer to get plants grown under water because then I know that the
> plant I buy is going to be indicative of how it looks after a few months
> under water. I also know that a specimen grown under water is going to
> be able to thrive right away from day one and not go through a setback
> period while it has to grow new underwater leaves in order to obtain
> nutrients required for new growth.
This is not entirely correct as submerged plants grow differently in
everybody's different waters.
>
> There are some emerse grown plants like Alternanthera which do not adapt
> well to submerged growth if grown emersed. I know this plant is commonly
> sold in aquarium stores that way and its not very good. I suspect the
> same is true for other aquatics grown emersed. I can understand the
> advantages for the cultivator; higher nutrient levels and faster growth
> rates can be sustained. No worries from algae. No need for CO2
> fertilization. But what is the impact on the purchaser of these emersed
> grown plants??? Perhaps we ought to be lobbying our supplies to stop
> this practice?? Or am I all wet here? ;-)
Yes, I think that I have answered your question. <VBG>
Merrill
Aquatic Gardeners Association