Growing emersed plants

[M0rph3us]

hi all,
i tried to grow emersed plants last time and it dried up in the sun.. i would like to ask what are the conditions needed to grow them?
1) must the soil be clay type or will always wet soil do? substrate? type of soil??
2)the last time i put it in direct sun, this time im trying to put it in indirect sunlight.. will this do?
3)must the soil be always wet/flooded? will the roots of the plant rot?
4)as you all know, flower pots have holes at the bottom of the pots allowing water to drain thru, shld i cover up the hole or leave it? was thinking of covering it up so that the soil would always be wet?
5)or must the plant be grown in a cool place in indirect sunlight? will growth be affected?

can those with experience of growing emersed plants pls advise..
Thanks..

Currently using normal gravel+jbl substrate (lol) :P

[budak]

You need watertight containers.... doesn't matter if it's those fancy water feature pots or a tau-huay container..... fill it with mixed aquarium gravel and soil (50:50), add a stick of Jobe or RootMonster (using excess ADA/JBL/Dennerle base fert is fine also) and start planting. Initially, the water should always be above the substrate level, but once the plants get established, damp soil will do. Indirect sun (with a few hours of direct sun daily) should be fine for most plants.

When you plant species like echinodorus, crypts.... trim the roots first as well as the submersed leaves... this will make their transition to emmersed forms faster. for stem plants, you can just place the stems flat on the substrate (with a shallow layer of water) and they will develop emmersed forms as they sense the air around them.

[M0rph3us]

hi budak,
i just got from teos some emersed plants, so do i keep the soil damp or shld i have the soil waterlogged?

[lorba]

It will be good to establish them in the same condition as budak mentioned, for a day or two before shifting them.

[budak]

Initially, the soil should be waterlogged (which so explains why a mixture of soil and gravel is good, as it prevents the substrate from getting too compacted and becoming anaerobic), but after a week or so (when the plants have grown new roots), keeping the substrate damp is fine.

[danny]

Another question. For plantlets that grow emersed from shoots , what should be the way to plant them ? Cause from what I noticed, emersed plantlets do not have roots.You need to submerged it into water to induced it to grow roots.

Submerged them to get them grow roots first then plant them as per what you mention ?

[Simon]

[quote:4bd8641f98="danny"]Another question. For plantlets that grow emersed from shoots , what should be the way to plant them ? Cause from what I noticed, emersed plantlets do not have roots.You need to submerged it into water to induced it to grow roots.

Submerged them to get them grow roots first then plant them as per what you mention ?[/quote:4bd8641f98]

danny, best to float the plantlets, till they develop the roots..

I use those plastic containers, add alittle water, put the plant into the container and seal it up with those shrink wrap