# Pogostemon helferi / Downoi - Dry Start?



## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

If I got a pack or two of Pogostemon helferi from Petsmart and put them in my dry start tank to root, would it benefit them? Would they be able to start growing outside of water?

Or do you think they'd melt as soon as I filled the tank?


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## randpost (Feb 9, 2014)

GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy said:


> If I got a pack or two of Pogostemon helferi from Petsmart and put them in my dry start tank to root, would it benefit them? Would they be able to start growing outside of water?
> 
> Or do you think they'd melt as soon as I filled the tank?


They will grow better in a dry start environment from Petsmart. That's how Petsmarts supplier grows them; emersed. 

I have had quite a bit of melting from Petsmart Downoi when submerged as they need to adapt to the new environment. I now have 30 plants from the same package. 

emersed Downoi looks less full and stringy compared to the fullness of submerged.


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

randpost said:


> They will grow better in a dry start environment from Petsmart. That's how Petsmarts supplier grows them; emersed.
> 
> I have had quite a bit of melting from Petsmart Downoi when submerged as they need to adapt to the new environment. I now have 30 plants from the same package.
> 
> emersed Downoi looks less full and stringy compared to the fullness of submerged.


Thanks! :icon_bigg


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## wicca27 (May 3, 2009)

to be honest when i got mine they did great going right into water. and took root really fast. there was no need to dry start it. i had no melting either. and my package from petsmart was a new one with hardly any roots and they have crazy roots now


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## DSP (Apr 8, 2014)

wicca27 said:


> to be honest when i got mine they did great going right into water. and took root really fast. there was no need to dry start it. i had no melting either. and my package from petsmart was a new one with hardly any roots and they have crazy roots now


+1 same here 

-Seafari-


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

Yeah, but the tank is in a DS right now and I'd like to add them if it would benefit them.


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## DSP (Apr 8, 2014)

If you keep the plant moist then it should root good and acclimate to the water better when you decide to submerge it so Imo yes there can be benefits in starting them dry if you do it right.

-Seafari-


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## FewestKitten896 (Dec 13, 2013)

I also got mine from PetSmart and just threw them in the water. There was very little melting. I was able to get a lot of plants from one package and if the crowns that I cut didn't have long enough roots, I just floated them for a few days and then planted them.


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## GuppyGuppyGuppyGuppyGuppy (Feb 11, 2012)

I've raised ones from Petsmart before in water and they did fine, but they melted after a month of awesome growth for no apparent reason which caused ton of debris everywhere (there were at least 50 in the pack), which built up on my softer plants and caused decay... So it wiped out so many of the plants in that tank! That's why I want to dry start them in my new tank so that they're adult-sized by the time I fill it, hopefully.


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