# Spring or Phosphate additions??



## Xema

I am experimenting a massive blooming in my crypts set up...

C. blassii (every 2 weeks), C. minima, C. coronata, C. cordata var. cordata, C. pontederiifolia (every 2 weeks several flowers) at the moment.

I increased the phosphate levels 2 month ago... or maybe is it due to spring time?

Any opinions?

Pictures coming soon...


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## Xema

Another one is coming up, C. usteriana (a little specimen was sent to by my Kai, few time left)...


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## rs79

Plants need more phosphate when they flower. I find crypts to flower in the fall outside here where we have very pronounced summers and winters.

While phosphate won't *induce* flowering, if it wants to flower and doesn't
have enough then they probably will not flower!

And if I recall what you use as substrate you probably are low on phosphates. Throw in some bone meal maybe?

Anyway it's good to hear your plants are flowering and hope that we see pics of them soon.

Best regards,
Richard


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## Xema

Some of the plant flowing was growing so bad and havin a few leaves indeed. I kept them for a long time and never flowered before. That is the case of C. cordata var. cordata:



















I use to use a liquid fert 15/15/15, so water have phosphated, I added 1 ppm over dosage of phospates.


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## Khamul1of9

Its beautiful!! Congrats!!!!!


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## Xema

C. 'coronata' has revealed its true identity...




























It is a C. usteriana in fact.


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## Khamul1of9

gorgeous!


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## Xema

Another of the last days flowered plant... C. cordata type blassii again!! a month after last flowering got a new one.


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## Xema

Reporting...

C. aponogetifolia will be opening the sphate in a few days.
And C. yujii is coming up a flower.
Another C. usteriana (it is well idetificated) is sending a flower, and the usterina flowered (in above pictures) is sending a ather new flower...


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## ruki

(clap clap clap clap)
(whistle)

Those look so nice!


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## Xema

Thanks for your commet ruki.

Updating...

Aponogetifolia is opened.



















And my usteriana from a Thai farmer opened they spathe too.




























Yujii and minima (again) is coming soon.


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## Xema

C. minima 'Bukit Merah' flowered again...


















And C. wendtii 'Green Gecko' did it too again...










Coming up C. yujii and C. usteriana (first one to get flowered) again.


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## Xema

C. yujii is opened!!


















Enjoy it like me


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## Khamul1of9

That is a beauty!!! Congrats!


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## Kai Witte

Congrats, Xema!

C. yujii is certainly one of my favorite crypts and this "Red Throat" clone I'm distributing (collected by Uwe Mierendorf) is an especially nice one. BTW, it helps to underexpose pics to catch the beautiful texture of the white spathe.

Did your aponogetifolia get additional sunlight?


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## Xema

Kai Witte said:


> Did your aponogetifolia get additional sunlight?


Any special thing to do. Same as other ones..

Thanks for the comments to everyone.


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## DelawareJim

Congratulations, they look great! Especially the yujii, I think it's one of the prettier flowers.

Cheers.
Jim


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## kirana1

very nice flower, i like it


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## Xema

Thanks to every one.

Currently yujii is sending another flower.


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## Xema

Xema said:


> Currently yujii is sending another flower.


Yeah, 2 days ago it was opened...


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## Xema

Ohh I forgot tell you, I got new flower again of usteriana and blassi but I had time to take a picture...


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## Xema

Updating

C. minima 'Bukit Merah' again, and it gets doble flower (one melted firstly).









C. wendtii 'Green'









C. wendtii 'My Oya'









Kettles open currently and not taken pictures, usteriana and pontederiifolia.


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## aloha

Xema it seems you have found the way to get all those cryptos to flower! Congratulations!

Finally, do you believe the combination of spring and increasing phosphates is the key?


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## Xema

Thanks for the comment!!!

These days has flowered one of my little jewels. 
More than year ago, Roland sent me 2 plants from Kota Tinggi, schulzei and the undescribed hybrid. 
The plant labeled as C. schulzei has flowered, showing the real identity, it´s the same plant that is labeled as unknown hybrid.
Budak posted few pictures of the plant he collected too.

This is mine.


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## Kai Witte

Congrats, Xema, that's a nice one!


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## Xema

thank you so much for your comment Kai.

I am so glad with the flower in this plant, it´s a great goal for me.


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## Rub

Great Xema!!!!! :hail:


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## Xema

Only a bit of luck.

Yujii has opened another flower today. but so tired to take a picture.


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## AaronT

very cool Xema.


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## Xema

Finally yujii flower is melted and didn´t take the picture...

Peculiarly, the flower of the unknow hybrid was opened 2 days before than yujii one, but is yet opened, it´s a flower with a long life.


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## mrbelvedere138

C yujii has such a pretty flower, it's a shame you didn't get to take a picture.


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## Xema

Updating...

The Kota Tinggi specie (both plants I´ve got) are now sending flowers. Few weeks ago my plant labeled correctly as sp. 'Kota Tinggi' (I don´t mean the last one showed in above pictues) got a flower, but couldn´t get a picture.

And C. longicauda 'Pudingbesar', is getting a opened kettle in few days.

I will post some pictures.


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## Xema

Finally C. longicauda is flowered.


























But the Kota Tinggi hybrid flowered too a day after...










































Maybe can they get crossed?


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## SCMurphy

Nice job Xema. Maybe we can get Niels to do a short write up about how he does the cross pollination when he is back crossing to determine hybrid parents. He is the only guy I know about who was doing that. I don't remember anyone else at the ECS discussing cross pollinating their plants.


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## Kai Witte

There are a few more... 

BTW, I got permission from Niels to post his "secret" trick for hybridizing crypts which does help for less than perfect timing. Stay tuned...


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## SCMurphy

That'd be great Kai, it was something that fell by the wayside when I was there. I'm still happy at the moment just to keep them alive.


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## Xema

Hybridizing is not near to my interest.

Anyway, I am not sure if a hybrid can be crossed again with other plant... probably pollen is sterile.


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## ed seeley

Xema said:


> Anyway, I am not sure if a hybrid can be crossed again with other plant... probably pollen is sterile.


I don't know about crypts as I've never tried growing any emersed and flowering them, but there are many fully fertile hybrids between species in the plant kingdom (and a fair few in the animal kingdom too!) as the Geranium x oxonianum in my garden seeding everywhere show! A few of the Arisaemas seem to hybridise and produce fertile offspring in captivity (and my garden) and they are Araceae too.

The definition of species based on a lack of hybrids is a bit blurry when it comes to things like this and many organisms that can't hybridise in the wild, often because they live in different areas or at different depths even, will hybridise in captivity. It can tell you a bit about how closely they are related though. There are a good few that form fertile hybrids in the wild too, but the parent species usually still fulfill the definition of a species as the hybrids aren't as good at surviving as either parent and generally don't do as well and therefore don't spread beyond the hybrid zone. Where they are better than one or both parent they probably replace them and then we don't realise they were orginally hybrids. (Sorry if you know all this and I'm teaching my mother to suck eggs!  )


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## SCMurphy

Niels' whole talk at the ECS was about backcrossing known hybrids to find the parent plants, as well as crossing plants to see if anything showed up that is currently known as a species.

See http://www.nationaalherbarium.nl/Cryptocoryne/Gallery/hyb/hybrids.html for examples.


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## Dryn

Wow. I am truely blown away. Can you tell us how you get them to bloom like that. It looks like you are using small clay pots with some type of moss on top. Do they grow in trays of water up to the pot's rim, or what? I would really like to know.


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## Khamul1of9

Xema, that _C. longicauda_ is impressive! Congratulations on that one.


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## jazzlvr123

Xema your flowers blow me away and they just keep coming Im astonished and jealous at the same time lol great job man


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## rs79

So where's Neils' "secret trick" Kai?


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## landstrykeren

Nice plants, where did you get them Xema? I really like them!


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