Helping plants recover after shipping

[CasCat]

I just got my new plants in - Hygrophila and frogbit. Fedex really needs to step up their game, especially when it comes to handling fragile packages.

First off, the seller had the package ready on time, Fedex created the label, but then they just didn't pick it up when they were supposed to. So it sat around for a day.

Then, when they finally did ship it, they totally mishandled the package. My plants arrived in pieces.

And to top it off, they left it at my door in 98F weather without even knocking.

My Hygrophila's not too bad, just one broken stem and a few leaves off, but otherwise it's okay.

The frogbit, though... it's a mess. Leaves broken off everywhere.

I've already removed a bunch of the damaged leaves this morning that were starting to melt.

Here's what they looked like yesterday.

And here's what they look like today.

This is what didn't survive shipping at all.

Will these plants recover from the shipping disaster?

[angelica]

Toss the greenish leaves in the tank and they should grow into new plants. If they're brown, yellow, or soft, bin them.

[CasCat]

Toss the greenish leaves in the tank and they should grow into new plants. If they're brown, yellow, or soft, bin them.

Thanks a ton, angelica.
I'm gonna try that, fingers crossed.
Got a nice little bonus with the order too - some free duckweed, but I'm already managing to kill half of it just by staring at it.

[kingrise]

Frogbit doesn't look great, does it?

[CasCat]

That Salvinia looks rough, doesn't it? Looks a lot like Amazon frogbit to me, though. My own Salvinia's getting devoured by my snails, so I guess that's one way to keep it under control.

[onyx]

Your frogbit's actually looking pretty good, considering the rough start. I had a similar experience with mine 5 months ago - all the leaves were burned, and most didn't make it, but the one that survived quickly took off and multiplied.

[CasCat]

Your frogbit's actually looking pretty good, considering the rough start. I had a similar experience with mine 5 months ago - all the leaves were burned, and most didn't make it, but the one that survived quickly took off and multiplied.

A good chunk of the leaves are just floating around, broken off with no roots attached.

[oceanix7]

I'm curious, is your Hygrophila actually water wisteria? Did any of the stems you received come with roots? I've had a similar experience with stems I bought off eBay, including water wisteria - they arrived in pretty rough shape. Most of the original stem on my water wisteria melted away in the tank, but every piece managed to grow roots and they're thriving now. If the base of your stems starts to melt or get mushy, don't toss them - just cut away the damaged part under a healthy node.

I've found that plants ordered online often melt a bit when first introduced to the tank, but they usually recover well. I've had my fair share of online plant orders, and the only ones that didn't make it were some hornwort that broke into a million pieces (what a mess) and some salvinia.

[angelica]

Your frogbit's actually looking pretty good, considering the rough start. I had a similar experience with mine 5 months ago - all the leaves were burned, and most didn't make it, but the one that survived quickly took off and multiplied.

For the frogbit, just break off the leaves and toss them back in - they'll start growing roots in no time. If you've got healthy-looking but broken hygrophila stems, give it a shot too - just remove a few leaves from the bottom first. Once they start growing and you trim the tops, you can plant the cuttings. Trimming also helps them bush out more.

[CasCat]

I'm curious, is your Hygrophila actually water wisteria? Did any of the stems you received come with roots? I've had a similar experience with stems I bought off eBay, including water wisteria - they arrived in pretty rough shape. Most of the original stem on my water wisteria melted away in the tank, but every piece managed to grow roots and they're thriving now. If the base of your stems starts to melt or get mushy, don't toss them - just cut away the damaged part under a healthy node.

I've found that plants ordered online often melt a bit when first introduced to the tank, but they usually recover well. I've had my fair share of online plant orders, and the only ones that didn't make it were some hornwort that broke into a million pieces (what a mess) and some salvinia.

No, I got Hygrophila polysperma, not water wisteria - I actually have that in another tank though. So I cleaned off the broken leaves on the hygrophila, removed the bottom ones and planted it - it already had healthy roots and new shoots, which is awesome. Only minor damage, plant's doing great. I got 6.5 stems, and yeah, there's some algae on it, but I'm okay with that - it's the soft kind, so my nerite will have a blast munching on that.

Thanks for the tip on the frogbit, angelica - I was worried about how it'd recover, but if breaking off the leaves helps them form roots, that's a huge relief.