# Growing crypts and other plants emmersed.



## nonamethefish (Feb 25, 2004)

Does anyone have any articles or experience involving growing plants emmersed. What advantages are there of doing so?(faster growth, flowers? etc.) It sounds pretty interesting and I'd like to try it on a couple plants sometime.

Thanks in Advance!


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

For me, the advantage of growing crypts emersed is ease of care. I can multiply them faster submersed, but that takes a lot of attention. I have lost species submersed, but never emersed. Emersed is a way of keeping them "on the shelf"


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## nonamethefish (Feb 25, 2004)

Would you mind briefing your technique of growing the emmersed? Substrate, moisture levels, lighting?


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

I grow them in soda pop bottles with ordinary top soil from the woods or from my back yard. I cut off the top portions of the soda pop bottles to put in the soil and the plant, and then tape the tops back on with clear packaging tape. I generally have about 1/4 inch of water over the soil. I keep the bottles on windowsills.


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## nonamethefish (Feb 25, 2004)

Cool! Looks pretty interesting. Do they melt when you transfer them between submersed and emersed. If so, is that a problem?


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Most of the time 90% of the submersed leaves dry out or melt when transfered. Some of the younger ones survive to do their thing. I've found that the plants are more likely to put off new leaves when transplanted to an emersed environment vs. emersed to submersed. As far as I know this doesn't cause a problem with the plants unless the rhizome/root system is really weak to begin with then the plant may not have sufficient energy to make new leaves. Thankfully soil is full of nutrients and some light fertilizing never hurts. 

One of the neatest things is taking a submersed plant and putting it in a few inches of water so the submersed leaves stay alive, but the new leaves are emersed. You'll need a pretty wide container to do this though. 

Best,
Phil


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## Jay Reeves (Jan 26, 2004)

> One of the neatest things is taking a submersed plant and putting it in a few inches of water so the submersed leaves stay alive, but the new leaves are emersed. You'll need a pretty wide container to do this though.


Does emersed growth *stay* smaller? Or does it have the potential to be the same size or larger plant as submersed?

Jay Reeves


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

Jay,

I've seen some HUGE emersed crypts, particluarly ciliata, so I'd have to say that they've got the potential to get a lot larger than submersed grown plants. Mileage may vary though.


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## nonamethefish (Feb 25, 2004)

So. you take the crypt, put it in the soda bottle with soil(possibly covered with sand) and then keep the submersed leaves under a few inches of water, after the new emersed leaves develop, you can slowly lower the water level?


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## hubbahubbahehe (Mar 29, 2004)

i believe that your substrate has to be moist at all times


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## Mowgli (Jul 15, 2005)

i've heard some people cut all the leaf before put in an emersed enviroment...what do you think?

this is a paludarium of a guy in my country...here yo got some huge crypts, and emersed

















bye


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