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Thread: What Lobelia need?

  1. #1
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    What Lobelia need?

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    Hi, Lobelia lover need help.

    I believe every plant has its own uniqueness and special needs.

    Not too sure what is the best condition for growing Lobelia.

    Problem I have:
    Lobelia leaf (not the oldest and not the newest leaf) in the mid span (can be anyone) will first turns dull at the tip, then grewish-brown, like melting, slowly thin out and rot away.

    Funny thing is, sometime the leaf rot half way and stop, the remain 3/4 leaf survive like normal. And sometimes the whole leaf drop off after rotting 1/2 the leaf.

    Temp, PH, KH, GH, Light and C02 seems correct with reference to plant book. Also other plant are healthy, like mini riccia, crypto balanase, hair grass, 4color, Blyxa J. , Glosso etc.

    I'm thinking it might have certain liking towards certain nutrients..can someone please advice? Thanks

    cannot find clues on Chuck's page...hope to get some help here,
    Thanks.

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    Are you dosing any K? Do so if you haven't.

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    What are you dosing for traces and have you tried increasing the dosage? Unlikely to be macros if other plants in your tank are growing well.

    Have you been adding salt to your tank? Some plants do react to the amount we dose for ich treatment.
    ThEoDoRe

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    Hmm... do you have base fertilizer? My lobelia send roots out rampantly, at every internode and whenever I uproot them for replanting, they are so deep-rooted with lotsa fertilizer at its root hairs. IMO, they need a fair amount of base fertilizer.

    Does you Lobelia send out roots crazily?

    I suggest you take them out and check their root system. If the roots are fine, try replanting them again but add some fertilizer ball beside it.

    I think they are one of the hardy plants and they grow nicely if all the basic requirements are provided.

    Cheers!

  5. #5
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    Sometimes it may not be nutrient problem but the location you planted. They do require substantial amount of light, so if you have planted them in a shaded area, they may not do well.
    Other than that, it should be a fairly easy plant as they are quite undemanding.
    Cheers!!

    Sherwin Choo
    [email protected]

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    Wah, you all are really helpful, not every tips help but at least give me a check list in every aspect to investigate. Thanks.

    K not enough: no
    Add any salt: no
    Base fertiliser: yes
    deep-root system: Ha Ha, this is it!
    Enough Light: yes
    Other good info: hardy and undemanding plant.


    I do observed heavy root system sending out at every internode, however only above gravel level. When I pull it out, the root is shallow, not much healthy root seen, shallow and seems under develop.

    I got the answer: Base root problem.
    However the solution is not yet obvious. It may not be lacking of base fert, as 4 color, lily and Blyxa has deep root system.

    My thinking is, the root is too near to fertiliser and result in slight root rot, thus retard the root growth.

    Let me try to cut the stem just above gravel and replant them with fresh root(many health roots above gravel). I hope this help. Will post the result later.

    Thanks for all you sharing, it helps.

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    IME...
    1. Lobelia needs rich substrate. Root tabs will help them to grow better.

    2. Moderately high to high lights. Best not shaded.

    3. Care when trimming... do not damage the stem... will cause them to totally melt away.

    BC

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    Yes, my Lobelia grow better after replanting...thanks for all the tips...


    Problem:
    Plant root rot under gavel due to planting too deep, too near fertiliser.

    Solution:
    After cut the stem above gravel and replant, everything OK already.

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    Hi Eric,

    U may wanna put some root balls deep into the substrate for the Lobelia, since the roots will grow deep into the substrate eventually. Assuming your initial problem was due to the poor rooting system, I'm afraid the same scenario will return and haunt you again. IMO, planting them shallow is only a temporary solution.

    In my case, my roots and stem can extend up to 5-6 cm under the gravel surface.

    Cheers!

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    Kadios,
    Lobiela are not known to have very deep root system. Adding fertballs may not help much.
    Cheers!!

    Sherwin Choo
    [email protected]

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    Huh? no deep root system?

    Now realy confused....

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    Hi Sherwin,

    But whenever I uprooted it for replanting, the roots are often deep in the substrate. Perhaps in my case, the roots went deeper to access the base fertilizers. Observation was the root hairs were often endtwinned with fertilizers at its end whenever I remove them. However, I agree with you that its rooting system isn't that deep and wide, esp when compared to Blyxa Japonica.

    Cheers!

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    Same for my Lobelia. The roots are deep and intertwined densely, but usually for the older plants. Seems the roots grow fairly slowly too. It was impossible to uproot them without pulling up a huge chunk of base fert.
    Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
    Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:
    A woman, without her man, is nothing.
    A woman: without her, man is nothing.

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    hi Vinz!

    May I know how do you trim them when they get too tall? You snipped away or pull them out, trim then replant?

    I've been doing the latter but really dislike it bcoz it's so messy! Is it fine to leave the trimmed bottom in the gravel during replanting? Will it "clog" up my base, making it too compact and lead to "complications" after time??? Thanks!

    Cheers!

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    I do not uproot Lobelia to trim them, I just cut the tops off and leave them to grow new shoots. Usually the baby shoots that are already growing will hide the cut. I only uprooted them to rescape the tank.

    I recently came across this excellent article by Erik Leung aka Toshi.
    Vincent - AQ is for everyone, but not for 'u' and 'mi'.
    Why use punctuation? See what a difference it makes:
    A woman, without her man, is nothing.
    A woman: without her, man is nothing.

  16. #16
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    Thanks Vinz!

    Great article and nice pics!

    Cheers!

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