jesp Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) I was foolish and forgot the name of the plant I bought at the LFS recently, but I think it is a wisteria? I have a 33gallon planted tank with sand substrate and about 1.5 watts per gallon. I have several anubias, swords, java fern, brazilian pennywort, and a couple other plants. I put in some micro nutrients twice a week and all my other plants are doing great. The wisteria however is not taking root and slowly the stems are turning dark brown one by one and rotting where they stand. Is there something I should know about rooting these things? Edited July 3, 2009 by jesp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) that is wisteria by the looks of it. i have some too that i just brought home a few weeks ago. i will spare you the details on how well mine is doing, lol. you may have buried it too deep in the gravel. the rotting of it may have started before you got it and the plant just doesn't 'want' to come back for you. i would trim off the bottom part of the stem of all affected plants and let them float for at least a few days. if a majority of the stem is brown you may have to do a bit of a hack job and only salvage the tops that are still green. whenever i get new plants i trim the bottom of the stems if necessary and let them float at least a day or two and they almost always send out roots into the water as if trying to find something to root to while floating. it won't hurt them to float for a while. in fact, i brought my wisteria home on a thursday, let it float, and didn't plant it til the following tuesday, lol. Edited July 3, 2009 by BettaFishMommy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EDGE Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) You are right, that is a water sprite. Ceratoperis thalictroides is just the scientific name for the plant. When you say where they stand, what do you mean? Normally, when they start breaking apart, the leaves will develop small plantlet like a java fern. They do a lot better as floating plant. I find they need a lot more light to grow them as a stem plant planted in the substrate. When the plant itself start overshadowing the base of the plant, the plant will turn brown where it is shaded and break apart. The other plants you listed don't need as much light as water sprite. This is assuming you are talking about amazon sword and not hybrid swords. You will have a better chance at rooting them if you let them float on the surface. Plant only the root into the substrate. With 1.5 wpg, they probably wouldn't last long before breaking apart again. Edited July 3, 2009 by EDGE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 Ceratopteris thalictroides aka water sprite is a true fern (look for new fronds that curl outwards from the center.) I've never had good results with rooting it, but it should go like crazy if you just let it float. It is very similar in appearance to Hygrophila difformis (aka water wisteria) which is a stem plant. You may want to try this one if you like the look and can't keep the fern rooted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesp Posted July 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 (edited) Yes yes yes, it is wisteria. Thank you. I will try to trim it up and let it float for a bit and see what happens. I have lost a couple good plants this way but NO MORE! Cheers. Edited July 3, 2009 by jesp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettaFishMommy Posted July 3, 2009 Report Share Posted July 3, 2009 you are welcome and i wish you wisteria luck, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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