# Emersed Growth Crypt Inflorescence



## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

I've been keeping Crypts in my tank for some time now and every time my mother visits she exclaims about how beautiful they are. She keeps orchids in her conservatory and I've got her convinced to give emersed-growth Crypts a shot, in fact I'm sending her some shoots for Mother's Day. I would love her to see those incredible inflorescences. I have a multitude of species to get her started and I want to get her going with a good emersed-growth tank the right way.

First: What sort of substrate would be best? I suggested a base of peat with standard potting soil on top.

Second: What sort of water levels in the terrarium/paludarium would be best for Crypts. Should they be misted daily, etc.?

Third: What is the best way to encourage spathe formation in Crypts in an emersed environment?

Fourth: My mother's thumb is green down to the bottom knuckle but she knows nothing of aquatic plants. Any tips I should pass along?

Thanks again for the great forum


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## Raul-7 (Feb 4, 2004)

travis said:


> First: What sort of substrate would be best? I suggested a base of peat with standard potting soil on top.
> 
> Second: What sort of water levels in the terrarium/paludarium would be best for Crypts. Should they be misted daily, etc.


First: The best substrate mix should consist of peat, a porous medium (ie. pumice, turface, Shultz), and a mix of organic soil (ie. earthworm castings, manure, leaf mulch). But I recommend a mix of EC and leaf mulch, EC has great porosity and macros; while leaf mulch is great for cultivating hard-to-grow Crypts.

Second: All I know is that they need to be grown in an area with a high humidity, so a mist-er and a closed system is a good idea.

As for the other two questions, I can't help you since I haven't grown anything emersed YET.


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## travis (Oct 5, 2004)

Thanks so much Raul  I want her to have a good experience with Crypts and not give up on them.

When you say 'leaf mulch' do you mean any sort of leaf mulch gathered from the yard or something more specific? She has beds of mulch in her gardens that would likely work well if this is the case.


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## lorba (Feb 4, 2004)

Hi Travis,

you might want to read up on some postings by xema regarding growing the crypt emersed.

Some cryptocorynes prefer acidic base while some like a sandy one. XEma posted something on growing crypts using live moss (only) in pot and has some positive results. If you have access to ADA soil, it should yield good results too.

I use dried beech moss for certain species and normal sand for others (striolata, coronata, aponogetiifolia). Water level is around 1/3 - 1/2 of the pot. If you can make the water flow, that would be a great idea as crypts loves the flow. Using too much fertilizer for plants during conversion might kill it.

I've been toying with the idea of the set up below, anyone tried it before?


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