# Riparium Plant: Adiantum sp.



## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

This is a quick post. I want to get this picture up while I have the link copied.

I am trying out a new plant that seems to have promise for riparium culture, _Adiantum_ sp. "maidenhair ferns".

I picked up this full potted plant yesterday at a local garden center.










There are quite a few maidenhair fern species and varieties in cultivation, but the label on this just indicated "maidenhair fern". If I get any good results from it I will try to figure out which species/variety it might be.

I have it soaking underwater right now to kill any bugs that it might have brought with it from the nursery. This clump will give me a lot of divisions.

More soon.


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## RipariumGuy (Aug 6, 2009)

That would look great in a riparium! It is amazing how many plants you can use?!!


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## EdwardN (Nov 7, 2008)

If could be Adiantum tenerum ( black leaf stems)and then it could be aswell another Adiantum... Horticulture messed with this fern a lot!

Look into N.American Flora for description.

I wouldn't keep that plant underwater for too long...

It will definitely do well in riparium, terrarium and such.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Yeah I have no idea whether it might be a species or a cultivar. 

I am going to leave it underwater overnight. It might sustain some leaf damage, but I want to make sure to kill any bugs that it might have. I have had scale and other annoying stuff come in on greenhouse plants.

I'll see how it does with its roots in the water. I will try a couple of different potting methods.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

That should be a very good riparium plant, and I notice that Home Depot sells them too. Next time I'm at HD I will look for one. None of the internet references I looked at made any distinction as to various species of it, and I noticed that it is a native plant in several states.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Well I wouldn't count on all _Adiantum_ growing well in hydroculture. We have a native species here in WIsconsin, _A. pedatum_, which generally occurs on upland sites, though I have observed that it does prefer shade and moist soil.

I have looked around some and it appears that there are some maidenhair ferns that are strongly associated with wets spots in the wild, especially seeps in cliff faces and the margins of small, stony streams.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here's a second shot showing a bit more leaf detail.










If it grows right, this plant could be a good one for a "nature riparium" layout. With it's fine foliage and steady green coloration it would support a minimalist-type scape pretty well I think.

I really like the wiry black leaf stems.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I got a few divisions of this thing potted up and situated in a tank. 










I'll be interested to see what happens. I anticipate that they will either begin to grow very slowly, or up and die all at once.

I have a few more observations with pictures to add later. Now it's time for bed.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Here are some more detailed shots to show how I potted these plants up.

For three plants I used planters filled mostly with Hydroton, and with a cap of finer gravel.










For two of these I also included a layer of marine crushed seashell substrate. Many of the references on _Adiantum_ that I encountered indicated that they grow best in "sweet" (alkaline, high pH) soils, and that they benefit from the addition of powdered lime to potting medium. I figured that the crushed shells could act as a slower-release source of hardness minerals for the root environment in the pot.

While I have not seen any mentions of _Adiantum_ actually growing as aquatic marginals, these ferns do apparently have an affinity for permanently saturated spots on rock faces or the edges of small streams. Have a look at the habitat in the final picture of this linked page, described as "a continually wet limestone face covered with maidenhair fern"...

http://www.sbs.utexas.edu/bio406d/images/pics/pte/adiantum_capillus-veneris.htm

While the plant roots will be below the water's surface, rather than growing along the face of wet stone, I hope that this condition will be close enough to the kinds of natural habitats that many maidenhair fern species prefer.

I planted the last of the four divisions in a planter mostly-filled with the finer planter gravel. I also added the crushed shells to that container, along with a quantity of the clay powder + MTS amendment that I like to use. 










Here's one more picture.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I searched for this plant at my Home Depot a couple of days ago, with no luck. I may try a nursery today. It looks so good I want to try it too. I really like the leaf shape and the black stems.

EDIT: I just found this website: http://www.malawicichlidhomepage.com/aquainfo/my_swamp_tank.html where this plant seems to be a success as a riparium plant. Ugly riparium, but beyond that, the plant seems to be thriving.

EDIT AGAIN: Adianthum capillus veneris is said to grow on constantly wet limestone. So, why not filll the planter with limestone pea gravel? Or, maybe Dolomite gravel? That should be a very close match to its natural environment.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Well now most of the leaves on these plants have shriveled up, although that's not necessarily a bad sign--it might just take some time for them to re-adapt to new conditions. I might have an idea what they will do in another few weeks or so.

You're right that could be good to fill the planter cup with a limestone or similar substrate. I really wonder if these plants might do best with rooted _on top of_ wet rock substrates, and if the conditions inside of the planter cup might be too oxygen-poor. I suppose time will tell.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

hydrophyte said:


> Well now most of the leaves on these plants have shriveled up, although that's not necessarily a bad sign--it might just take some time for them to re-adapt to new conditions. I might have an idea what they will do in another few weeks or so.
> 
> Your right that could be good to fill the planter cup with a limestone or similar substrate. I really wonder if these plants might do best with rooted _on top of_ wet rock substrates, and if the conditions inside of the planter cup might be too oxygen-poor. I suppose time will tell.


I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I haven't found any of this plant to try, so I'm going to have to follow your results instead. Just out of curiosity, so many plants will grow hydroponically, even when they are not found growing in water in nature, do you know if the majority of plants will or won't grow hydroponically? The world of plants is so huge this is probably an unfair question.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Being unable to resist temptation, I found this plant, just this single pot, at my local nursery, so I blew $14 on it, then stopped by a LFS and got a couple of pounds of crushed coral to use in a planter as the substrate. Now we will have two data points with this plant, which, by the way, was not labeled by the store.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

That's neat. That looks like a good-sized clump that ought to give you a couple few divisions. This one is more attractive than the variety that I have. The foliage on mine is denser and more closed and you can't see the nice branching pattern so well.

I'd recommend situating that in the tank so that just the bottom of the planter is down in the water, and with water wicking up through the substrate--I wonder if these ferns will last with their roots actually underwater. In their habitats they grow on permanently wet rocks, but the rhizomes sit on top of the substrate, so I imagine they are accustomed to having more oxygen around their roots.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I don't think this is going to survive. I washed off the soil, but ended up with what appeared to be just a knob or something like a rhizome with only short roots left. I dunked the whole plant in water for a couple of hours to try to eliminate any pests. There was no way I could see to tease out single plantlets, so I ended up using my pruning scissors to cut it in half to get two clumps. One I planted in a large planter cup, with a small layer of clay balls, and the rest of crushed coral. The fern is planted a bit deep in the coral. I added a few balls of Osmocote between the clay balls and the coral. It is now in my 65 gallon riparium, with about a half inch of the planter under water, after being a couple of inches under water for an hour or so. The new fronds are already wilting.

The other half I planted in a 4 inch pot, to see if I can keep it alive. Since removing the soil ball was so drastic I'm not at all sure this one will make it either. Ferns just aren't like other plants. My fingers are crossed.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Mine doesn't look very good now either. I also lost almost all of the root when I divided and washed mine. I get the impression, however, that ferns are pretty well able to bounce back so long as they have some good rhizome. I htink that ferns in general might have relatively little root in proportion to foliage. I am more doubtful of the wet conditions inside of the planter cup, which seem distinct to me from the wet rock habitat.

I ran into a few different mentions of _Adiantum_ with "creeping rhizome" growth habits, which I imagine to be more like the growth of Java fern or _Bolbitis_. Perhaps such a plant would be a good candidate for growing on a trellis raft in a tank with hard water. I don't think that this maidenhair that I have would grow that way. The rhizomes, or whatever you'd call them, were all bunched together in a tight clump and only 1" or so in length.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I am puzzled by the fact that my fern was potted in what appeared to be standard potting mix, but was growing very well. The natural habitat for this fern doesn't seem to even barely resemble a standard potting mix. One way to look at this is to assume it is a very adaptable plant, able to grow in a variety of settings, so our planter cups may work just fine.

I would also like to learn what makes a plant able to grow in a hydroculture setting vs. one that can't do so. The variety of plants that will grow in a hydroculture setting is so big that I can't see what distinguishes that group yet. Knowing more about it would help a lot in identifying riparium candidates.

Some favorable characteristics are obvious - natural marginal plants, those that like lots of continual dampness, vigorous growers tending to be pests, etc. But, that only covers some of the successful riparium plants.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Hey Hoppy maybe you will see this post.

Are you getting any new leaves from your ferns yet? I saw just a couple new ones sprouting in the last couple of days.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

hydrophyte said:


> Hey Hoppy maybe you will see this post.
> 
> Are you getting any new leaves from your ferns yet? I saw just a couple new ones sprouting in the last couple of days.


I don't see any new growth at all, not even the little fronds that start up from the base. But, the existing fronds seem healthy. The new little fronds that were at the base when I first planted it all dried up. I'm hoping it just takes a lot of time for the plant to adapt and recover from being chopped up. The portion of it that I planted in a plastic pot outside the riparium, with flourite as the planting medium, looks the same. It is largely neglected though.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I think that these plants that I have might be making a real recovery. Most of them have grown a couple new sets of leaves.










I think that they might also be doing some sort of strange-fern-sexual-reproduction-thing-that-I-don't-understand. There are a few little strange heart-shaped things (arrow) growing in the planters and I wonder if they might be new gametophytes (?) that started from spores dropped by the original leaves(?).


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Maybe your success is due to the small size of that particular plant. I bought what I could find when I got mine, and that was a pretty large plant. I saw some much smaller planters the last time I visited that store, so maybe I should try again with one of those. It may be like planting a tree - it is much easier to get a sapling to grow than a large transplanted tree. I think the rewards, if it does well, justify some effort.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Mine was pretty large before the leaves all started to die off. I imagine that there are varietal differences in overall hardiness and adaptability to different kind of culture.

I really thought mine was all going to die, but now it's growing back in each of the planters where I potted it up.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Yesterday I found this plant in a 2 inch pot, at my local big nursery. So, I couldn't resist it. I soaked it for just a couple of hours, hoping that will kill off any insect problems, but without over stressing the plant. I soaked off most, but not all of the soil, then planted it in a small planter with a thin layer of crushed coral, a half inch of hydroton, and then enough Flourite to finish filling the cup


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The maidenhair fern, Adiantum, is growing very well for me. Notice the new frond uncurling in the middle of the picture. I'm feeling very confident that this will prove to be the great riparium plant we thought it might be. And, I suspect the secret to making it do well is to not wash all of the soil off the roots. I left quite a bit for this plant - not a ball of soil, but a ball of roots with soil in it, but mostly roots showing.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

It took a long time to turn around, but my _Adiantum_ is doing well too, and it looks awesome. This is definitely a winner. It just requires some patience.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

It seems to require something that many of us have a very hard time obtaining.:hihi: Too bad we can't buy it at the LFS. (Seachem Flourish Pa?)


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

For a few days now I have been watching a tiny green leaf sprouting on a raft of Christmas Moss. There are now two leaves, just to the left of center in the photo, and they are big enough to identify as Adiantum. This little nano trellis raft has spent several weeks under a large Adiantum fern, so I assume a spoor dropped onto it and started growing! I don't think I have ever seen a fern start that way before, so this will be a very interesting thing to be watching. The raft is there to grow a couple of cuttings of Staurogyne, which are also doing very well, but now it has two jobs!


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Nice going Hoppy. I suppose that that thing started out as a really small gametophyte, and then the little sporophyte frond started to sprout, if I have that right(?). That definitely looks like the real fern leaf there and not the gametophyte.

That is fun that they sprout so readily, but I imagine that growing those little things up into full-sized ferns would take a while.


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## Chrisinator (Jun 5, 2008)

Gonna have to try this plant!


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

hydrophyte said:


> Nice going Hoppy. I suppose that that thing started out as a really small gametophyte, and then the little sporophyte frond started to sprout, if I have that right(?). That definitely looks like the real fern leaf there and not the gametophyte.
> 
> That is fun that they sprout so readily, but I imagine that growing those little things up into full-sized ferns would take a while.


I have time to wait:biggrin: I almost pulled it out when I first saw it, thinking it was just a random weed.

Chrisinator, I'm finding these at Home Depot now, in 4 inch pots. Cheap and about the right size.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

It would look really great to use _Adiantum_ as the main background plant in a riparium layout, and then with various other plants poking out from between the fronds.


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