Growing and propagating plants: tips and techniques

[MikiE]

I've been thinking about growing and propagating plants outside of a traditional aquarium setup. I was considering using plastic tubs with lights. For anubias and crypts, is it better to grow them submersed or emersed? I want to buy a few pots, plant them, and let them grow and propagate before adding them to a display tank. This way, I can save some money.

I've read mixed things - some people get good growth emersed, while others say submersed is faster. So, what's the best approach for good growth? I'd appreciate any help.

[coltin]

I've been doing some research on this too, and from what I've found, most aquarium plants, especially Anubias and Crypts, tend to grow faster when they're not submerged in water. There are a few exceptions, like Vallis and Java Moss, but for the most part, you can grow them out of water.

If you buy plants that have already been grown out of water, it's pretty straightforward - just put them in pots with some potting mix, and then put those pots in a shallow container. Make up some liquid fertilizer, I use Thrive, and pour it into the container so it's about an inch deep. Just leave the plants in there and replace the fertilizer water every week. If the water gets used up, just top it off with fresh water without fertilizer - you only need to fertilize them once a week.

If you're using plants that have been living underwater, it's a bit different. You plant them in a pot with potting mix and put the pot in a container with enough water to cover it by a couple of inches. The plant will either grow up and out of the water, or you can let the water evaporate slowly and as the level drops, the plant will start growing terrestrial leaves. Once it's got enough of those, you can treat it like a normal plant.

One of the benefits of growing plants out of water is that they'll often flower and produce seeds, or you can take cuttings from them. The cuttings are really easy to strike, just put them in a pot with potting mix and leave them in the container with fertilizer and water. Within a few weeks, they'll develop roots and start growing.

Just keep in mind that if you grow plants out of water and then put them underwater, some of them might lose their leaves. But most of the time, they'll just grow new aquatic leaves and keep growing.

If you do want to grow plants underwater, you can use plastic storage containers and put the plants in pots with gravel. Fill the container with fertilizer and water, and just replace the water every week with new fertilizer water. When the plants get too long, take cuttings and plant them in pots - they'll take root and grow pretty quickly.

When you're ready to use these plants in your tank, just lift them out of the container and let the water drain out of the pots. Then put them in a bucket of fresh water without fertilizer, and let them drain again before putting them in the tank. This just rinses any fertilizer out of the pots and off the plants.

[MikiE]

I've been doing some research on this too, and from what I've found, most aquarium plants, especially Anubias and Crypts, tend to grow faster when they're not submerged in water. There are a few exceptions, like Vallis and Java Moss, but for the most part, you can grow them out of water.

If you buy plants that have already been grown out of water, it's pretty straightforward - just put them in pots with some potting mix, and then put those pots in a shallow container. Make up some liquid fertilizer, I use Thrive, and pour it into the container so it's about an inch deep. Just leave the plants in there and replace the fertilizer water every week. If the water gets used up, just top it off with fresh water without fertilizer - you only need to fertilize them once a week.

If you're using plants that have been living underwater, it's a bit different. You plant them in a pot with potting mix and put the pot in a container with enough water to cover it by a couple of inches. The plant will either grow up and out of the water, or you can let the water evaporate slowly and as the level drops, the plant will start growing terrestrial leaves. Once it's got enough of those, you can treat it like a normal plant.

One of the benefits of growing plants out of water is that they'll often flower and produce seeds, or you can take cuttings from them. The cuttings are really easy to strike, just put them in a pot with potting mix and leave them in the container with fertilizer and water. Within a few weeks, they'll develop roots and start growing.

Just keep in mind that if you grow plants out of water and then put them underwater, some of them might lose their leaves. But most of the time, they'll just grow new aquatic leaves and keep growing.

If you do want to grow plants underwater, you can use plastic storage containers and put the plants in pots with gravel. Fill the container with fertilizer and water, and just replace the water every week with new fertilizer water. When the plants get too long, take cuttings and plant them in pots - they'll take root and grow pretty quickly.

When you're ready to use these plants in your tank, just lift them out of the container and let the water drain out of the pots. Then put them in a bucket of fresh water without fertilizer, and let them drain again before putting them in the tank. This just rinses any fertilizer out of the pots and off the plants.

I was thinking, instead of using pots, could I use plastic tubs with some small holes drilled in them? I've seen people do it with a large tub and smaller ones inside for the soil, and the larger one for the water. Would this setup work for me? And I'm guessing I'd want to keep the lid on the bigger container to maintain the moisture, right?

Also, I wanted to confirm that Thrive is an aquarium fertilizer? I usually use Easy Green, would that be a suitable substitute?

As for lighting, would a standard LED aquarium plant light be sufficient? And what's a good photo period to aim for - 10-12 hours or less?

Sorry for all the questions, I'm completely new to this. My inspiration for trying this is my Anubias Nangi plant in my 10-gallon quarantine tank. It's been thriving under a normal LED light for almost 4 years and has gotten huge. I'd love to replicate that growth, but much faster, if possible.

[coltin]

I actually use Thrive because it's widely available here, but honestly, any liquid fertiliser for normal garden plants will do the trick. I've got a link to the Thrive I use, it's just a common one - https://www.bunnings.com.au/yates-1-8kg ... d_p3010216.

You can use whatever containers you've got on hand, whether it's pots or tubs. I personally use normal garden pots because I've got a bunch of them lying around and they're super cheap. Just make sure you've got some decent drainage holes.

Don't bother putting the lid on the storage container, just treat them like regular plants and keep their roots nice and wet.

My plants are actually sitting by a window that gets some morning sun, and then in the afternoon I've got a compact fluorescent globe on in the room. The room light's on from around 5 pm to midnight, and the sun rises at about 7:30 am.

Any light with a 5000K - 6500K rating should be fine. I'd recommend having the lights on for 16 hours a day.

[MikiE]

I really appreciate all the information, I'm definitely going to give this a shot. I'll be sure to post some pictures once I get everything set up, it'll be pretty cool to see how it turns out.

[MikiE]

Hey coltin, I've got my totes, soil, and fertilizer ready to go, but I'm still deciding on the lighting. I've found a few LED options that seem decent and won't break the bank. Since the room doesn't get direct sunlight, I think any of these would work. Plus, I can attach them to a shelf to get them up higher.

I narrowed it down to three options - they're all LED and relatively inexpensive. I can post the links if you want to take a look. They're all pretty similar, but I think the first two are full spectrum with 6500k white lights. The third one only has white and blue lights. Do you think any of these would be suitable for my setup?

[coltin]

I think the nicrew Skyled is the better option here, it looks more suitable for plant growth compared to the beamworks and nicrew classic.

[MikiE]

I've been doing some research on this too, and from what I've found, most aquarium plants, especially Anubias and Crypts, tend to grow faster when they're not submerged in water. There are a few exceptions, like Vallis and Java Moss, but for the most part, you can grow them out of water.

If you buy plants that have already been grown out of water, it's pretty straightforward - just put them in pots with some potting mix, and then put those pots in a shallow container. Make up some liquid fertilizer, I use Thrive, and pour it into the container so it's about an inch deep. Just leave the plants in there and replace the fertilizer water every week. If the water gets used up, just top it off with fresh water without fertilizer - you only need to fertilize them once a week.

If you're using plants that have been living underwater, it's a bit different. You plant them in a pot with potting mix and put the pot in a container with enough water to cover it by a couple of inches. The plant will either grow up and out of the water, or you can let the water evaporate slowly and as the level drops, the plant will start growing terrestrial leaves. Once it's got enough of those, you can treat it like a normal plant.

One of the benefits of growing plants out of water is that they'll often flower and produce seeds, or you can take cuttings from them. The cuttings are really easy to strike, just put them in a pot with potting mix and leave them in the container with fertilizer and water. Within a few weeks, they'll develop roots and start growing.

Just keep in mind that if you grow plants out of water and then put them underwater, some of them might lose their leaves. But most of the time, they'll just grow new aquatic leaves and keep growing.

If you do want to grow plants underwater, you can use plastic storage containers and put the plants in pots with gravel. Fill the container with fertilizer and water, and just replace the water every week with new fertilizer water. When the plants get too long, take cuttings and plant them in pots - they'll take root and grow pretty quickly.

When you're ready to use these plants in your tank, just lift them out of the container and let the water drain out of the pots. Then put them in a bucket of fresh water without fertilizer, and let them drain again before putting them in the tank. This just rinses any fertilizer out of the pots and off the plants.

Thanks so much for the info, I really appreciate it. I'm excited to give this a try and will definitely post some pics once I have everything set up.