# Help on emersed setup



## AQUAMX (Jan 24, 2005)

Hello everyone. My dad and i have finsihed building our 6x3 meter hothouse. He is interested in growing outdoor plants and im keen to get going with my half of the hothouse.

Im located in melbourne, australia and we are just coming into winter. The weather is getting cooler however it still remains very warm in the hothouse and very humid.

Im a carpenter and are able to build any types of stands,frames etc that should be needed for housing trays etc. My dad also has hundreds of pots etc i can use.

Basically id like advice on a few things.

*Growing medium*-whats the ideal mixture, ive read cocunut hair,gravel and laterite i think in one of xeemas posts but love advice on this.

*Conditions*- will the humid conditions be enough for emersed culture. I beleive they should be but id love some tips etc in this area. The hot house is located in an open area and is free of shade and remains very warm.

*Treatment of plants*- does growing emersed require me to do anything extra. Such as fertilise or bug repelants. Id imagine insect spray should be used, can i use general outdoor plant sprays?

*Species*- what species do you guys recommend i begin with. What are recomended as beginner species.

I have and do keep tropical planted tanks so i have alot of species i can choose from without buying, crypts,stem plants and ferns such as bolbitus and windelov.

Thank you so much in advance for any help you are able to provide me.

Cheers

Brad


----------



## EDGE (Feb 28, 2004)

Growing medium-

I like to base growing medium on fertilizer dosing. If you prefer total control of your fertilizing, than I would choose an inert substrate (gravel, rockwool, clay pellet, flourtei). If you want very little to do with dosing, than I would rely on potting soil, chicken grit, or anything that is rich in nutrients, 

Conditions- The more humid the condition the better. but there is no set humidity. 

Treatment of plants- If you can keep the substrate on the drier side, than there is usually very little pest problems. In my setup, I tend to get fungus gnat because of the soggy condition. With emersed setup, growing medium will be very soggy, you may see some pest if they are accidently introduced to the hothouse. 

Species- Pretty much any stem plants can grow emersed. The tricky part is to convert them to emersed. Once they are out of the water, they are rather easy compare to submersed grown plants. Personally, I find rosette plants (echinodorus) easier to convert to emersed. Stem plants are easier to convert in a humidity dome. What you do is place the stem flat on the substrate and wait for the stem to root. The substrate must be moist but hopefully not below the water level.


----------



## DelawareJim (Nov 15, 2005)

Edge;

If the gnats bother you, put a couple of pots of sundews in among your plants to help keep the gnats under control. Pot them up in a 50:50 peat sand mix and place them in saucers of RO, distilled, or dehumidifier water (mineral free) and they'll earn their keep in no time.

Cheers.
Jim


----------



## BudiPT (Jul 5, 2004)

Edge pointed out very important aspect to convert submersed plant to emersed. What I usually do is to grow them (with substrat we usually do for submersed) in a transfer container tall enough to barely cover all the leaf under water. It is going to take some time, but once you get emersed leaf, you can start very gradually reduce the water level.

Growing medium for emersed plant can be as simple as clay and gravel, and just add garden fertilizer.

The typical temperature in the tropics range from 24-31 C. With enough sunlight, too high humidity can be very hot and may be detrimental to the plant (think of sauna  ). While humidity helps, daily watering still more important because emersed plant take needed nutrients from the roots.

I have never got problem with bugs, I think ants and spiders just have them on the menu 

Crypts and stems can grow completely out of the water. But I believe fern roots must stay in the water clinging to rocks or woods, and never burried ( no substrate necessary).


----------

