potting up ‘St. Ouen’ phrag

Tonight I had a chance to repot the ‘St. Ouen’ for planting in the South America riparium. The plant still had a couple of blooms and one more flower bud. It’s root system was healthy and robust.

I had to cut the roots back quite a bit: they had curled around in the plant’s original pot. As a precaution I dusted with powdered cinnamon after the root pruning. Since the plant went right into the aquarium water after planting I don’t know how much this procedure might have helped, but I felt a need to take some precaution against fungal and bacterial infection.

I potted the plant in a Riparium Supply, Large Hanging Planter. Most of the planter was filled with 4-8mm Hydroton clay pebbles, which settled around the orchid roots as I poured it in. I added a 1/2″ top dressing of calcined clay gravel. This will prevent the clay pebbles from floating away or spilling out and it might also retain some nutrients for use by the phrag. Most of the orchid’s roots are in the large-grain Hydroton, so they are essentially suspended in the aquarium water. I will need to maintain consistent fertilizer dosing.

Here’s a picture of the whole tank.

Hymenocallis sp.

I don’t have a species determination for this one, but it’s a Hymenocallis from the 120 gallon Mexico river biotope riparium.

Ludwigia peruensis

This today from the 120 Mexico river biotope riparium.

Ludwigia peruensis is a great plant. You can train it’s semi-woody stems like a bonsai tree and it has these very pleasing blooms. The flowers only last part of a day: by around 3pm they begin to whither and drop their petals.

rescape continued, again

Here’s a view from today with new gravel on top of pool filter sand and with addition of mid-ground plants. I also planted a few underwater plants, including Ludwigia repens and an Echinodorus.

It looks much better. I don’t plan on any more big changes any time soon. Now just have to wait for it to grow in.

rescape continued

19 January 2009

Note that this is another retroactive post. I find it difficult to post fast enough to keep up with my picture-taking.

I removed all of the existing gravel substrate, then acquired a number of new rocks. After also juggling the plants some more I came up with this layout.

On a whim I purchased a new plant at the supermarket. It might grow in the riparium, or it might just die of shock. The calla lily (Zantedeschia sp.) is about 1 foot tall with bright pink blooms. I don’t know to determine whether this plant might just a be a pink cultivar of some other Zantedeschia species, but it looks just like pictures that I found of Z. rehmannii, the pink calla.

The references that I found described Z. rehmannii as suitable for pond/marginal culture. Callas are native to South Africa and neighboring countries, so this plant is rather out of place in this South American biotope, but its shape and stature fit well with the rest of the composition.

The aquascaping continued with the addition of a layer of pool filter sand.

Hygrophila angustifolia bloom

This shot is from a few days ago

This plant’s natural range is Australia and neighboring areas, but I had the Hygrophila angustifolia growing in the South America riparium.

This is a pretty neat plant. I should add some more description sometime later on.

Insect Pests and Rescape

16 February 2009

I noticed a problem a couple of days ago—aphids! These insect pests are compromising the health of several plants, so I need to eliminate them. It is not possible to spray for aphids in the tank—insecticide would fall directly into the aquarium water— so I have decided to remove all of the plants for a bug-killing treatment. I put all of the plants into a 10 gallon tank and then filled with water. I also added just a few drops of dish detergent. The soap will decrease water surface tension, thus soaking and drowning the aphids.

If I leave the plants thus submerged overnight the aphids should die off. I might have shot a picture of the aphids, but I was more concerned with getting rid of them before they could spread to other plants in the house.

The next picture shows the empty tank: only the fish and underwater plants remain. It was a hassle to have to deal with the aphids, but I had been meaning to redo the aquascape anyway, so this little problem provided a handy excuse to set to work.

St. Ouen phrag still blooming

My Phragmepedium ‘St. Ouen’ is still blooming. I include a couple of pictures with this post.

Phragmepedium 'St. Ouen' bloom

The plant is still in its original pot. Planting this specimen in a riparium planter and sticking it in the water might just kill it outright. I want to enjoy the flowers for a while longer before taking that step.

Phragmepedium 'St. Ouen' bloom

Orchids in a Fishtank?

(blog posts for this project begin with a retroactive entry)

2 January 2009

This post will begin my account of attempts to grow orchids with the riparium planting system. This series of experiments might yield some useful, intriguing results, or it might be a total bust.

Today I acquired an orchid that might grow well as a semi-aquatic. I purchased the hybrid Phragmepedium, ‘St. Ouen’, at Orchids Garden Centre in Waunakee, Wisconsin. Since it is a hybrid clone, optimal growing conditions might be more difficult to predict for this plant than for a true species. However, the species Phragmipedium besseae was apparently among the parental plants that were crossed to eventually produce ‘St. Ouen’. P. besseae is one of several Phragmipedium that are described as growing in saturated soil along the edges of streams.

The plant has a single pretty bloom today. It resembles P. besseae, but has white and pink coloration instead of the brilliant scarlet red of that plant.

black mangrove propagules!

(blog posts for this project begin with a retroactive entry)

20 January 2009

This bag is filled with black mangrove (Avicennia germinans) propagules that a fish breeder in Texas shipped to me in exchange for some livebearers. Black mangroves produce propagules via cryptovivipary, a process through which the seed sprouts and begins to grow while still attached to the mother plant. Many other mangrove tree species use this same strategy. The reasons for the predominance of cryptovivipary among mangroves are not fully understood, but may have to do with the harsh seashore conditions in which mangroves grow: perhaps the large propagules are better able than small seeds to withstand salty water, intense sun and buffeting waves. In some mangrove species the propagules are covered with buoyant husks and may float long distances before settling and sprouting.

black mangrove propagules

Black mangrove occurs in costal areas in the tropical Atlantic, including the east coasts of Central America and South America, the Caribbean and Africa’s west coast. In the US it is found in Florida, Texas and Louisiana. Black mangrove is physiologically adapted to purge salt through leaf glands, so it can grow in saltwater to brackish conditions where few other plants can survive. The muddy substrates in mangrove areas are also rich in nutrients and organic matter. In response to the highly anoxic (oxygen-starved) conditions that develop under these circumstances, black mangrove roots grow upright pneumatophores, pencil-like structures that emerge from the mud and bear numerous oxygen-conducting pores. Small black mangrove pneumatophores are visible beneath mature plants in the picture below.

Avicennia germinans mature plants, image courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey, South Florida Information Access (SOFIA)

Of the three mangrove tree species that occur in the United States, red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle) apparently tolerates the saltiest conditions and can grow well in full seawater. Black mangrove and white mangrove (Languncularia racemosa) generally grow at higher intertidal zone locations in somewhat fresher water.

Red mangrove is already a popular plant for aquariums with brackish water fish and as an element in reef aquarium refugiums. Black mangrove and white mangrove have seen little use in marine tanks and these species might poorly tolerate full-time exposure to saltwater. The author’s searches also produced no accounts of their use in freshwater aquariums. This experience with A. germinans is a test and might reveal an interesting new plant for riparium displays.

black mangrove in planter

Most of the propagules went into shallow trays filled with water and saturated gravel. I planted more than thirty in hanging planters. The hobbyist who sent me the box of propagules indicated that they sprout best when lying on the substrate surface. His experiences also suggested that unlike red mangrove, A. germinans tolerates pruning well. Since wild mangroves usually grow in full sun, it will be interesting to see how black mangrove performs under fluorescent T5 lighting.