# Java Fern Maximum Growth Size?



## Thanks (Oct 9, 2004)

my standard java fern is about 8 inches tall and 1.5 inches wide at the widest point. i have no experience with windelov or narrow, though narrow gets about the same size except half as wide. A word of warning: even though they are said to be "slow growing", each week i have to harvest about 1/8 pound of baby plantlets (and i dont have that much in the tank). i have some babies on wood, and in a month they were half as big as the parents. :icon_bigg good luck


----------



## Dwarfpufferfish (May 29, 2004)

Java ferns can get VERY large. But it takes a very long time. Mine are about as big as thanks, but they do not throw out as many babies. I wouldnt worry to much about them getting huge!


----------



## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

> I wouldnt worry to much about them getting huge!


Bull to that ... how about 12" leaves that are 3" wide... they (standard variety) get as big as a sword plant , narrow leaf is a little more forgiving in width but leaf length can exceed the 12"... windelov is a tighter pattern but I have had some extensions in the 7-8" range. Ferns will go wild but do well if not best, with trimmings of roots and older growth.


----------



## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

Heheh Buck, I was sort of hoping that they would get huge myself. I've got plenty of room for them


----------



## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Yes you do Travis but be careful what you wish for... it may come true. :icon_roll


----------



## Thanks (Oct 9, 2004)

12" and 3" wide?! AWESOME :hihi: :hihi: well then they still have quite a road ahead of them... 

i planted babies on a driftwood, and they grow for a while then stop. Then a new leaf or two comes from the rhizome, grows a bit higher than the first, and then stops. this process repeats, and so i have a really really dense bunch of java fern... is it ok to just prune away the smaller leaves every week, and leave the bigger ones? otherwise its a lot of fern


----------



## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

This only applies to well lit tanks...low light ferns are different.
The trick to making nice ferns is to leave only the "healthiest" growth... with the javas you can immediately tell which leaves are being sustained the best. Do not be shy with the scissors... when you see an "abnormal" leaf come out... cut it. When you see a leaf come out that is not the right color, cut it...*what this does* is leave the rhyzome to only put energy into the new and "good" growth and not waste energy trying to sustain a plant that is whacked.
*You also dont want* them growing too many new leafs at once , again , this is wasted energy... ferns need to be trained to what you want or they can get ugly... :wink:
I stopped my leafs at that size... I wonder what they could really do... ???


----------



## Opiesilver (Nov 3, 2003)

I sell some that are 25" tall and have 3" - 5" wide leaves. They can get enourmous, but it takes a long, long time.


----------



## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

I started with a piece about as big as my little finger. In my fast 55 gallon tank it took about 9 months to fill about 1/3 of the tank. It was not quite up to the top of the tank but it did fill the tank front to back and almost 1/3 the length.


----------



## Oqsy (Jul 3, 2004)

saw some windelov in a store today that was easily 8-10" tall with about 15-25 leaves per rhizome... i couldn't tell you how much bigger windelov gets, but there's a starting point.

Oqsy


----------



## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

Sounds like this could get pretty interesting :wink: Thanks guys. And Happy New Year!


----------



## Thanks (Oct 9, 2004)

happy new year! I had no idea java fern can get so big... :icon_bigg 
how long will it take in a 3.5 wpg tank, w/ lots of nutrients?


----------



## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

Thanks said:


> how long will it take in a 3.5 wpg tank, w/ lots of nutrients?


I don't know but I'm about to find out :tongue:


----------



## Thanks (Oct 9, 2004)

i bet ill find out faster! :tongue:


----------



## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Well these two photos should give you an idea on how they grow, the first photo was taken on February 18 and the second photo is taken on July 7...just under 5 months.
The only thing in this tank at that time that I did not change was the Ferns and anubia's in the left side, the balansae's in the middle and the bolbitus in the right corner. The bolbitus started as 3 little bare rhyzomes to give you an idea of how that stuff grows too....


----------



## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

Holy . . . :drool: Just a bit of growth going on there Buck. I think that Java ferns should be just the ticket. I'll probably hold off on the C. balansae for a while though  That is crazy . . .


----------



## Mavvy (Aug 15, 2004)

Hey, while we're discussing it, will the Windelov leaves grow emersed as well as submersed, and will they flower?


----------



## Overfloater (Jan 12, 2004)

I'd say they get pretty big. I had to sell this one off because it outgrew my 40 breeder.


----------



## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

That was me that deleted it if you are wondering where that message went *Thanks*... I chuckled , but I dont think all would, sorry to rain on your parade :wink:


----------



## Georgiadawgger (Apr 23, 2004)

I just added some Windelov and its grows much "wider" and fuller than regular java fern. The unusual appearance of it really makes it cool looking. 

Buck, you've got some huge ones there! What in the world are you feeding them? Small children?


----------



## Urkevitz (Jan 12, 2004)

Mavvy said:


> Hey, while we're discussing it, will the Windelov leaves grow emersed as well as submersed, and will they flower?


I don't think ferns produce flowers, just spores and baby ferns.


----------



## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

Well I just planted the Java ferns today: two bunches of standard M. pteropus, two bunches of Windelov, and a nice thick bunch of Narrow Leaf. I attached the rhizomes to chunks of lace rock so I can move them around a bit as they grow, but I've got them placed fairly close together right now. I'll post a pic tomorrow when the lights come back on. Can't wait to watch them grow. Thanks again for all the info guys


----------



## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

Just took this pic from above the tank. The ferns aren't very large _yet_ but they are in place on the right side. I've read they're slow growers, how true is that?


----------



## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Cant see your pic Travis but I will tell you that if its a fern it will grow rapidly. roud:


----------



## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

Helps if I upload the pic to the webserver :icon_redf Should be good now.


----------



## Mavvy (Aug 15, 2004)

Urkevitz said:


> I don't think ferns produce flowers, just spores and baby ferns.


That's at least part of the answer I was looking for. Gracias! Now...will they grow emersed? (Perspiring minds want to know...)


----------

