Potting cryptocorynes

[Ah_ZhaN]

Hi AQ,

I am trying to pot some Cryptocoryne schulzei, Hope you guys can give me some pointers and guide me along.

I have potted 2 specimens individually with peat moss alike and keep the 2 pots in an enclosed area for high humidity. However, 1 week has passed and most of the C.schulzei has 'fallen off' directly instead of melting by the leaves.

Questions:

1) I am told that the peat moss alike itself are nutrients rich, additional direct fert will cause melting and rotting. Should I avoid using aquarium water which
is nutrients rich ?

2) How to encourage the growth of such emmersed potted crypts ?

Many thanks,
zhan

[TS168]

I have potted 2 specimens individually with peat moss alike and keep the 2 pots in an enclosed area for high humidity. However, 1 week has passed and most of the C.schulzei has 'fallen off' directly instead of melting by the leaves.

What do you mean by "fallen off" Any pic to help explain? You mean the leave rot?
i suspect the temperature is too high.

1) I am told that the peat moss alike itself are nutrients rich, additional direct fert will cause melting and rotting. Should I avoid using aquarium water which
is nutrients rich ?

You using purely peat moss or mix with sand/soil?

2) How to encourage the growth of such emmersed potted crypts ?

It need time to grow, and also depend on your tank setup.
Let us know your current setup and we see what we can discuss from there.

[Ah_ZhaN]

Hi TS168,

The "fallen off" refers to the whole stem + leaf drop off, without leaf melting beforehand.

I am using purely peat-moss alike(dunno what moss either) and no soil/sand. The setup is simple, I've managed to attached a rough illustration of it.

cheers,
zhan

[TS168]

I think you mean the leave lower portion which is near to the plant rot n drop off. But the leave is still ok. From what you describe, the soil seen to be too acidic. And please note that most cryptorynes are found in soil which contain sand of certain level.

If i am right, your crypt come from submerse form and with the conversion, you fail the mission.

In future try to grow them in semi submerse and slowly convert them as the water level reduce. Some crypt, is easy to grow immerse easily.

Wish you all the best...

[Ah_ZhaN]

Perhaps you are right about the acidic part. I've been using water from my wild betta tanks, which is quite acidic. And I thought it is alright based on this(They are mainly found in swampy areas). Nevertheless, I've just replaced majority of the water with conditioned tap water, pH 7.0.

The C.schulzei that I got seems to be of emmersed form, with mottled leaves that look exactly like this.
I am hoping to grow this crypt like this and witness the spathe.

More drooling contributions on C.schulzei by our beloved Roland(lorba):
http://www.greenchapter.com/article.php?catid=3&id=34
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...flowering.html

Regards,
zhan

[Kai Witte]

Hello Zhan,

Perhaps you are right about the acidic part. I've been using water from my wild betta tanks, which is quite acidic. And I thought it is alright based on this(They are mainly found in swampy areas). Nevertheless, I've just replaced majority of the water with conditioned tap water, pH 7.0.

Bad move - the tap water won't help...

I very much doubt that too much acidity is the issue here: schulzei grows well in blackwater set-ups. Granted, I haven't tried it in extreme blackwater like pH 3.5 yet but I doubt that your Betta tanks are anything close!

[Kai Witte]

Hello Zhan,

I am told that the peat moss alike itself are nutrients rich, additional direct fert will cause melting and rotting. Should I avoid using aquarium water which is nutrients rich ?

Please specify what exactly your "peat moss alike" is made from...
Nutrient rich doesn't sound good to begin with - you need to avoid any commercial horticulture substrate with ferts added!

How to encourage the growth of such emmersed potted crypts ?

Patience...

Some more hints:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...crypts-in.html

[TS168]

Hi Kai, Tape water is ok in singapore here.
I think he use purely peat to grow which i think is not a good way to start.

Usually i use lapis sand with some peat added, not too much peat.

[Ah_ZhaN]

Hi Kai & Ts168,

I think I am using dried sphagnum moss(which look like this) solely to pot the crypt specimens. I did not dose additional fertilizers so far and the tap water is pre-conditioned to be free of chlorine and chloramine beforehand.

Meanwhile, I'll try to be patient about it, and thank you, Kai, so much for the hints.


Last but not least, is it advisable to dose gibberellin to stimulate growth and thus, flowering ?


regards,
zhan

[Xema]

If you need info about potting technics, try this.