# Java fern growing from rhizomes only



## IWANNAGOFAST (Jan 14, 2008)

Hi guys, wondering if you could help me out with this.

Someone offered me some rhizomes of Java fern, but they don't have any leaves on them. I think he said he plucked the leaves off the ship it. Will leaves grow from just the rhizome or will I just be stuck with green sticks?

Thanks


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

Assuming your tank conditions are adequate to grow that plant, yes you should see leaves growing from the rhizome.


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## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

yes that is how some of the people sell them, i have bought some without leaves and they grew perfectly fine.


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## gordonrichards (Jun 20, 2009)

Rhizome is a rhizome, put it in the light and see what happens. As long as it was living before, it will grow well for you in your tank.


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## Nue (Dec 27, 2009)

Ya its cheaper to ship that way. Besides the leafs would probably die and come back anyways adjusting to your water. So they just cut them off anyways, same goes for a lot of crypts.


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## aquaman3000 (Oct 21, 2006)

As mentioned the rhizome will produce leaves if conditions allow. However, be prepared for a VERY long grow out period, as it seems they don't really take off without some larger leaves.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

aquaman3000 said:


> As mentioned the rhizome will produce leaves if conditions allow. However, be prepared for a VERY long grow out period, as it seems they don't really take off without some larger leaves.


Whenever you add fern to an aquarium it takes a long time for any new healthy growth to start. That's why so many start threads with problems. Personally I have never seen a difference in growth rates between a rhizome with no leaves and one with a few big leaves left on.


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## AUAV8R (Jul 7, 2010)

I bought a Java Fern rhizome about a month and a half ago and I've seen no growth yet. I was just about to give up when I read this thread, I think I'll give it another month or so just to see what happens... it's still green.


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## aquaman3000 (Oct 21, 2006)

Regarding the grow out comment, I personally have cut all the leaves off a number of healthy java fern rhizomes and experienced extremely long grow out periods after each occasion, all without moving the plants to a new tank or environment. In my experience, java fern doesn't seem to really "explode" with growth until it seemingly reaches some sort of critical mass, particularly with regard to leaf number and size.

I will say confidently that a small sprig of rhizome with no or few small leaves will not match the growth of a larger specimen with larger plant mass and leaves.

The caveat here is that I only keep regular java fern. I have little experience with the various cultivars.

Another interesting off topic tidbit is that java fern supposedly has a leaf coating that is distasteful for fish to eat, but I have witnessed SAE eating the opaque ends of new leaf tips off, handicapping the new leaf growth.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

aquaman3000 said:


> Regarding the grow out comment, I personally have cut all the leaves off a number of healthy java fern rhizomes and experienced extremely long grow out periods after each occasion, all without moving the plants to a new tank or environment. In my experience, java fern doesn't seem to really "explode" with growth until it seemingly reaches some sort of critical mass, particularly with regard to leaf number and size.


Well the whole point of my comment was moving it to a new tank. That you are usually better of cutting off all or most of the leaves to get new growth going. Your comment has nothing to do with the OP's question. 

Here is what the master himself (Takashi Amano) has to say about the subject in excerpt from aquatic-gardners.org. 

*"...An important point for attaching a member of the fern family is to cut off old leaves of ferns, such as Bolbitis* *and Microsorum, as much as possible before attaching them to driftwood. Old mature leaves do not easily adapt to a new environment and algae tend to grow on them. The tip of a young growing leaf of Microsorum is transparent. You should keep mainly these young leaves and cut off old ones. In the case of Bolbitis, you can cut off most of the large leaves. In an extreme case it is quite fine to attach only the rhizomes to driftwood. Doing so allows the ferns to develop clean new leaves that are adapted to the new aquarium environment..."*

Full Article:

http://www.aquatic-gardeners.org/driftwood.html


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