I am sure that trimming methodologies would be an important thing to consider when growing stem plants in ripariums, just as they are for regular planted tanks. While some of the stems that I have tried grow more slowly than others, they are all bound to require pruning to control size and shape. The following photograph illustrates this well. This is the same Pilea sp. plant growing on a Nano Trellis Raft in my 20-gallon tank.
Alocasia amazonica and Pilea sp. in Riparium Planters
Although I don’t have that larger plant in this tank, I paired the Pilea with the Alocasia amazonica, which I am growing on for my 56-gallon Column, to get an idea of how they would look together. You can see that the Pilea stems have gotten to be long and leggy and that it needs a trim.
After shooting that picture I did top the Pilea and planted the new pieces on another Nano Trellis Raft. This plant is easy to propagate in this way because as it grows it develops many small roots all along the stem, even above the waterline, so you can just put cuttings on the raft without having to worry about maintaining high humidity while new roots form.
So, I have not had much practice growing stems in ripariums, but I offer as food for thought the idea that growing and maintaining them for pleasing riparium layouts will require some careful observation of the responses of individual plants. It has been my experience that rosette-type plants (e.g., Spathiphyllum, Echinodorus, Cryptocoryne) are somewhat easier to manage in riparium planters, but the great variety of aquarium stems plants that can grow emersed offer many colors and textures for the above-water area of riparium layouts.
Here is another shot showing these two plants together.
Alocasia amazonica and Pilea sp. in Riparium Planters
Posted in Stem Plants.
By Hydrophyte
– October 23, 2009
I was just organizing some image files and found a couple of funny ones from the 65-gallon riparium setup from about a month ago. I shot this full-tank picture with flash
65-gallon Planted Aquarium
The foliage looks different with the use of flash. This next one shows most of the fish in this tank.
Riparium Aquarium Fish
I really like these fish and they make a nice display.
Posted in South America Biotope Riparium.
By Hydrophyte
– October 20, 2009
I have been trying for some time to use aquarium stem plants (e.g., Hygrophila, Alternanthera, Rotala) in ripariums, but I have thus far only had limited success with them. In contrast to most of the rosette plants that I’ve used (e.g., Cryptocoryne, Echinodorus), most stem plants have failed to prosper in my riparium setups, with tendencies to grow very leggy and with poor vigor. The only ones that I have used with much success are a couple of Bacopa, including B. monnieri and another one that I believe to be B. madagascariensis. These develop as attractive floating carpets when grow in hanging planters and draped across trellis rafts, as shown in the following picture:
Bacopa sp. with Trellis Raft and Small Hanging Planter
About a month ago I decided to replant some nice stems with a little more care with the idea of producing some new propagation material. I set them up in a 20-gallon tank with Small Hanging Planters and Nano Trellis Rafts. They have grown in well. I shot the next picture through the open front canopy of the tank.
Riparium Stem Plants
I’m not really using this tank for display right now, so the underwater area looks dingy. I might try to tidy it up for a full-tank shot. Here is the shot above cropped to detail the plants better:
Riparium Stem Plants
I think that this is promising. I only did this in a haphazard way, but it suggest for me the contrasts of color and texture used in Dutch- style planted aquariums. In contrast with most of my previous attempts planting stems in ripariums, with leggy plants tipping over and becoming bogged down in the aquarium water, these hold their shapes well. I think that some of my other problems might have been due to inadequate light. In this case the light fixture, a pretty bright T5 lamp, shines right down on the plants. I have not included any large swordplants or other big specimens to shade the stems. I also took the time to trim a few of the plants to encourage branching and improve their forms.
Here is a shot zoomed in a little more to show the attractive Pilea sp. clump there on the left side. These are planted on a Nano Trellis Raft with their roots suspended directly in the water.
Pilea sp. in Riparium
Posted in Other Plants, Stem Plants.
By Hydrophyte
– October 14, 2009
I haven’t been posting like I need to, sorry. I hope to pick it up again.
Here is one quick update from, a shot of my 65-gallon riparium tank:
65-gallon Riparium
This image is a montage made with photos at three different exposures to correct for the glare and shadow that my camera sees much more of than I do. This edited picture gives a good idea of what the tank really looks like.
Posted in South America Biotope Riparium.
By Hydrophyte
– September 26, 2009
From Green Leaf Aquariums (GLA), the Planted Aquarium Blog:
GreenLeafAquariums.com/Planted-Aquarium-Blog
..with some handy product information.
Also maintained by GLA, the Aquatic Plant Enthusiasts Forum:
AquaticPlantEnthusiasts.com
Posted in Uncategorized.
By Hydrophyte
– August 19, 2009
Here is a quick picture from early this morning.
56-Column
This tank is a Perfecto Manufacturing Inc.–I think that they might have been bought up recently by Central Aquatics(?)–56-Column. It is the perfect size and shape for the low-light riparium that I am planning. I have it set up provisionally on a bench in the shop.
More updates will follow.
Posted in Uncategorized.
By Hydrophyte
– August 5, 2009
This is an intriguing pond plant that I acquired last spring. It bloomed a couple of weeks ago. I have this “meadow beauty”, Rhexia virginica in a regular flower pot on the patio–not in a pond–but I keep the potting media wet all the time.
Rhexia virginica
is in Family Melastomataceae, a plant group more typical of tropical areas, but this one occurs in North America as far north as Wisconsin. Here’s a better look at the blooms, which have quite prominent anthers.
Rhexia virginica
I remember seeing a number of different Melastomataceae out in the woods in Costa Rica and
R. virginica is similar in overall appearance to those plants, having almond-shaped leaves with prominent parallel veination and papery, four-petaled blooms. Many of the tropical ones grow as epiphytes, but
R. virginica is a wetland plant especially characterisitc of wet, sandy, acid soils.
Rhexia virginica
Posted in Other Plants.
By Hydrophyte
– August 1, 2009
Friday afternoon a box arrived with a couple of really promising new riparium plants. I had placed an order with Asiatica Nursery (external link), a Pennsylvania-based operation that offers many unusual and rare tropicals, houseplants and semi-hardy perennials, with a special emphasis on plants of Asian origin.
I was quite happy to get my hands on this one, Acorus gramineus ‘Omogo’. One of my most successful accessions to date is ‘Ogon’, a cultivar of A. gramineus with shiny lime green pinstriped leaves. ‘Omogo’ is in fact of wild origin and retains a more natural hue, a dark satiny green, although it appears to have the same shape as ‘Ogon’. I think that I will be able to mix these two to great effect, setting up contrast with two plants having similar forms, but very different coloration.
Acorus gramineus 'Omogo'
I should be able to use the second new plant in a similar way, although this one’s chartreuse to yellow will contrast with the dark green of most similar varieties. This is the aptly-named ‘Golden Glow’ Spathiphyllum peace lily.
Spathiphyllum 'Golden Glo
Both of the above should do well in riparium conditions. I am eager to try them out in compositions.
I got one additional plant, an impulse buy. The Asiatica catalog introduced me to an intriguing genus of plants with which I was unfamiliar, Aspidistra. These are commonly known as “cast iron plants” owing to their ability to endure less than ideal growing conditions. They have been cultivated by the Japanese for hundreds of years and were popular as houseplants during Victorian times. They are perhaps less commonly grown as houseplants now, supplanted by showier and faster-growing specimens.
I was intrigued by these plants. I spent some time looking through the Asiatica catalog and studying the Japanese names and distinctive forms and leaf colorations of the different species and varieties. I settled on a hardy, medium-sized and affrodable Aspidistra, A. lurida ‘Hoshifu’. This plant has dark green, sturdy, papery leaves with many little white dots.
Aspidistra lurida 'Hoshifu'
Posted in Uncategorized.
By Hydrophyte
– July 26, 2009
I spent some time to tidy up the display that I have here in the 20 High tank. Here is a quick shot.
20-Gallon Riparium
Posted in Uncategorized.
By Hydrophyte
– July 22, 2009
This funny plant came with an order last spring from Plant Delights Nursery. Dichromena latifolia is a sedge, but it has this unusual white-topped bloom.
Dichromena latifolia flower
So far it has grown very well potted up in a riparium planter under fluorescent lighting. The flower above, was open today on the division that was still in the original pot from the seller, which I had in natural diffused sunlight out on the porch, but the plant shown below had also flowered a while back.
Dichromena latifolia
It has demonstrated good root development inside of the planter. I will need some more experience with it to determine its suitability for riparium culture: it might demand an extended winter dormancy.
Posted in Bloom Report.
By Hydrophyte
– July 20, 2009
