# Proven Riparium Plant Combinations



## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I think the day may come when I try to design my riparium layout, instead of just putting some interesting plants together until they look good to me. Unfortunately I'm not at all sure I have the talent to do that - I also can't sing.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Well a wild jungle of plants can look pretty good too, but it seems to me that it is harder to pull off than a layout with a pretty strong theme and a few dominant plants.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

*1. A layout with Cyperus umbrella sedges and carpeting stem plants*

*Cyperus plants:* Plants in the genus _Cyperus_ are known as papyruses or umbrella sedges. Most grow in moist marsh or shoreline situations and the several hundred different species are distributed all over the world. Thus, they can be used to recreate the look of many kinds of riparian habitats in a planted riparium. Although grass-like in appearance, they belong to the sedge family (Cyperaceae). An aquarium _Cyperus_, _C. helferi_ is one of the few fully aquatic members of the genus. For such a large group fo plants there seem to be relatively few in use in horticulture. Here are the three different ones that I have tried in planted ripariums:


_Cyperus alternifoliu_s var. _gracilis_
_C. involucratus_ 'Baby Tut'
_C. albostriatus_

These varieties/species are most commonly used as pond marginals, although they also perform well as houseplants in sunny windows and as annual bedding plants in sites with plenty of moisture. This rather dark picture shows _C. alternifoliu_s var. _gracilis_. Notice that the stems are leafless around the base and with a whorl or leaves at the top. This kind of foliage is typical for most kinds of _Cyperus_.










Aside from being more or less representative of many kinds of water-associated habitats, _Cyperus_ plants have a number of other compelling features. The ones that I have tried have all grown very well under fluorescent lighting and they do not seem to demand careful fertilization. They grow into nice, sturdy plants that add vertical dimension to the riparium layout. Significantly, a mature _Cyperus_ has many fine grass-like leaves, so it will fill a good deal of space without throwing a lot shade. An especially appealing way to use these plants is in combination with sprawling emersed aquatic stem plants--even with the Cyperus growing as tall background subjects there can still be plenty of light left over to support a dense "lawn" of stem plants. This picture shows _C. involucratus_ 'Baby Tut" along with a few other tall plants in a 120-gallon riparium and with a dense growth of _Bacopa_ sp. covering much of the water's surface. 










Here you can see a similar effect in a 50-gallon riparium layout with _Cyperus alternifoliu_s var. _gracilis_ and various stems growing beneath.










_Cyperus_ have extensive root systems and are best planted into a riaprium hanging planter with a fine clay gravel substrate. They will really appreciate root feeding with a root tab fertilizer, such as the RootMedic Complete-Original capsule.

The only major drawback of using umbrella sedges in ripariums is that there is a limited availability of shorter-statured varieties. Of the ones that I listed above, the shortest is _C. albostriatus_, which grows to about 14" tall. _Cyperus alternifoliu_s var. _gracilis_ can reach to 30" tall, a height that requires hanging the aquarium lighting pretty high above the tank. When I have seen it growing outdoors _C. involucratus_ 'Baby Tut' develops as a compact plants about 20" tall, but under fluorescent lights it eventually grows to more than 36". It only looked very good in the 120-gallon setup shown above because the water level in that tank is lowered to about 40% of the total depth. 

_Cyperus albostriatus_ is apparently less tolerant of fully-saturated soils than mainy of its relatives. I have had the best luck growing this plant in ripariums by raising the planter cup up so that its top rim is about 1" above the water's surface. Here is a picture of this plant used pretty well in a 15-gallon riparium.










*Carpeting emersed aquatic stem plants:* Here is a preferred way to plant carpeting stem plants for this kind of layout. These _Bacopa_ sp. stems are planted into a hanging planter and will be trained to grow across the attached ripariumtrellis raft.










As they begin growth the stems will quickly start to grow across the foam trellis raft. You can encourage a dense, thick carpet that will hide the foam and plastic parts be pruning the growing tips of the stems as they reach beyond the raft. This next shot shows that same kind of _Bacopa_ after it has grown into a dense carpeting lawn of foliage.










All of the emersed aquarium stem plants that I have tried have also done best with a rich, fine clay gravel substrate. 

I occurs to me that I have not mentioned specific ideas for stem plants to use with this kind of layout. This post has run long, so I will return with another shorter entry and some additional notes one stems.


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## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

Very intelligent and constructive post. 

I don't want to sidetrack the post, but I've been meaning to ask you if you know of any really good books about raising regular terrestrial houseplants that doesn't focus on hydroponics. I have a volume of the "House Plant Expert," but it's more of a small sized coffee table book; it contains lots of beautiful photos but not much practical pith. I borrowed a book from the library published by Ortho and it was far better, but still not what I'm really looking for.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I have looked around, but never seen any really great recent books about houseplants. I bet that you could find better stuff with older books and out of print stuff. It seems that houseplants aren't so popular like they used to be. People are just as happy to have plastic plants anymore.

However, there is a blog mainly about houseplants that gets frequent updates and has a mountain of detailed practical information. Here is the link to *Plants are the Strangest People*.

*http://plantsarethestrangestpeople.blogspot.com/*





*


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

*(continued) 1. A layout with Cyperus umbrella sedges and carpeting stem plants)*

*(continued) Carpeting emersed aquatic stem plants:* To summarize what I have observed for potential carpeting emersed stems in a riparium I would just say that there are many possibilities. It seems that there are constantly new stem plant species and varieties becoming available in the hobby and most of them can be grown emersed. Of the ones that I have tried the _Bacopa_ shown above has performed the best. It develops a strong root system in the planter cup and with some pruning and fertilization it quickly covers the riparium trellis rafts and planters with a dense carpet of foliage. I still don't know which species it is(?). It looks a lot like like _Bacopa monnieri_, but the leaves are a lighter green color and about twice as large. _B. monnieri_ also works well as a carpeting stem, but this other NOID _Bacopa_ grows about twice as fast.

There are a few *additional specific plant selections* that I should mention. I had very good luck with the _Limnophila aromatica_ that I grew in a 50-gallon riparium layout. This plant was rather slow-growing as emersed foliage, but had such a nice effect.










It also bloomed for me.










In addition to _Bacopa_ and _Limnophila_, other kinds of aquarium plants that you might try growing as carpeting emersed riparium stem include the following:

_Alternanthera_
_Ammania_
_Hemianthus_
_Hygrophila_
_Hydrocotyle_
_Ludwigia_
_Lysimachia_
_Proserpinaca_

Some of these groups include sizable numbers of species and varieties. There are doubtless a number of other groups with selections that will work with this kind of riparium culture.

It 's not actually an emersed aquatic--it can't grow underwater--but _Wedelia trilobata_ is another plant that I have grown rooted in a riparium hanging planter, and trained to grow across a trellis raft. In nature it inhabits wet areas such as swamps and riverbanks where it grows as a sprawling vine covering the moist ground. It will bloom in a riparium with these bright yellow sunflowers. 










_Wedelia trilobata_ is a large, coarse plant that should be planted in a roomy riparium. I had some going in a 120-gallon riparium some time ago.

A few additional *cultural notes* on growing emersed riparium stems come to mind. It is my impression that they are best grown in open-top ripariums with pretty good air circulation, rather than high-humidity setups. Once adapted to emersed growth most stem plants should grow well in moderate air humidities. I suspect that if grown in a high-humidity setup many stems would just become too leggy and flimsy to create a good effect. As mentioned earlier, carpeting riparium stems also need to have pretty bright light. If shaded too much from above they will just reach out into the tank midground and have a thin, spindly appearance. For this reason again they are excellent matches for _Cyperus_ umbrella sedges because the open foliage of those plants allows plenty of light to penetrate. 

Remember also the importance of *pruning* the growing tips of the plant stems. I try to prune stems when they grow to beyond about 1" from the edge of the trellis raft. This encourages stem branching and the development of a dense green carpet very similar to the kind of streamside vegetation often seen in the wild. The next picture shows some _Bacopa_ stems shortly after planting. The leaves of this plant shoudl eventually form a dense carpet that will completely hide the trellis raft and hanging planter from view.

To wrap up this thread I include a shot here that shows some more of the variety of stem plants that can potentially grow in a riparium. I had these little arrangent growing in a 15-gallon riparium setup.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

A lot of these aquarium stem plants are pretty easy to bloom in a riparium. Here is the flower of _Hygrophila corymbosa_ 'Siamensis'.










This one flowers non-stop in my 50-gallon setup.


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## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

Wow, I never knew Hygro's could flower.

Thanks a lot for recommending plantsarethestrangestpeople. That's a great site for info and entertainment.


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## Da Plant Man (Apr 7, 2010)

PATSP said:


> I remind the reader also that Aloe vera will be useful during the zombie apocalypse, mostly for those whose zombie-proofing includes flamethrowers. And even without zombies, any apocalypse is going to be hell on the skin. Can't hurt to have a couple Aloe veras around.


Funny.....


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Yeah he has cheeky remarks all over the place. 

But I guess that the plant information is more or less factual.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

I love that u did this for people like me just starting too think of anew tank idea. If you could add more plants to help is pic more out this would be great

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

OK I hope to pretty put together the post about using _Spathiphyllum_ and other tropical-looking plants. I'll list additional suggestions there.

For the above idea the best ones that I have tried are those _Cyperus_ that I list and various stems, especially that _Bacopa_.. There are various others that you can add as accents, but those ones work the best for the foundation of the whole layout.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I should have #2 ready here in an hour or so.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

*2. A layout with Spathiphyllum peace lilies, Pilea and other tropical forest plants*










*Spathiphyllum peace lilies:* Peace lilies are a group of plants from tropical Central America and South America plants that are widely used as houseplants. The genus _Spathiphyllum_ includes 40+ species, but most peace lilies used as houseplants are hybrids (crosses between two or more different species) are selected for large and long-lasting blooms. The peace lily flower is comprised of a large white spathe and other floral parts. Most peace lilies have attractive, if rather plain, dark green foliage of sturdy, oval leaves. Most or all of the wild species plants live in areas with moist to wet soil, so they are preadapted to riparium conditions. Some wild _Spathiphyllum_ live right in swamps or along the edges of streams.

The picture here shows a slice of a riparium planting (just two plants) in a 20-gallon tank. The larger green background plant is a _Spathiphyllum_ peace lily.










Peace lilies are especially useful in ripariums for developing most of the above water background area. Their dark green foliage is a neutral base against which plants of other colors are accented very well. They are overall quite hardy in riparium conditions and easy to adapt and establish in riparium planters. One could even argue that a riparium is a superior kind of way to enjoy peace lilies. When grown as houseplants in regular potting media peace lilies must be kept slightly moist at all times or they will quickly decline, but if kept too wet they can often develop root rot. I have observed no such trouble with peace lilies in ripariums, and my plants have been willing re-bloomers too. The abundant light, water and nutrients in a planted riparium encourages good growth and flowering.

The picture below shows the best method that I have found for planting peace lilies in riparium planters. Despite their origins as plants growing in areas with wet soil, most peace lilies seem to do best with good water diffusion (and presumably good aeration) around their roots. Thus, it is preferred to fill most of the planter cup with hydroton clay pebbles, which have sizable voids between their large round grains. The roots of this plant were first washed clean, then trimmed to about 1 1/2" inches long. Holding the plant in place with one hand, I filled around the roots with hydroton to about 3/4" from the top of the cup, then filled the rest of the way with a finer clay gravel. This *clay gravel cap is important* as it hides the rather unnatural looking hydroton from view and prevents it from floating out of the planter, secures the plant in place and provides some nutrients to the plant via its cation exchange capacity. Notice that I filled with the clay gravel all the way to the top of the planter in order to better obscure the plastic planter rim and maximize the space inside of the planter cup.










Peace lilies are generally easy find in any kind of store that sells houseplants or flowers and they are usually affordably priced. A pot with peace lilies can contain numerous divisions, so after washing away the existing potting media and pulling the individual plantlets apart you might have enough from a single purchase to plant up your whole riparium background. When shopping for peace lilies I would suggest careful comparison and selection of plants for their foliage characteristics. Some varieties can grow quite large (to >36" tall) while others stay much smaller. Semi-dwarf varieties that can work especially well for medium to small ripariums include 'Allison' and 'Petite'. A white-variegated cultivar, 'Domino', will contrast nicely if planted among other plain green peace lilies, as will the yellow-green 'Golden Glow', shown below.










I will cover additional points related to this layout type in one or two additional posts.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

I hope to get another entry into this thread soon. In the meantime I post another FTS showing the kind of layout that you can get with the _Acorus gramineus_ + other plants combination.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Sorry still no new entry--these things take a while to write--but in the meantime here is a quick video for that 50-gallon featuring _Acorus gramineus_ and other plants (and lots of fish and other stuff).

http://www.youtube.com/user/ripariumsupply#p/a/u/0/vtV_qEuZ4zg


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## im2smart4u (Dec 7, 2010)

Do you think that you will finish this little educational post? I am interested in setting up a riparium and found this thread while searching for a list of good riparium plants. I found what you typed up so far very informative. Not many people posted here, but this thread does have over 1000 views, so people are reading it.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Yeah I got to be busy but I can try to continue with this thread some more.


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## londonloco (Aug 25, 2005)

Subscribed? Will there be more?


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Thanks Loni for reminding me about this one too. Yes I do have a few other ideas and I could make a few more entries.


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## hitmanx (Jun 24, 2012)

Hey hydrophyte, I would LOVE to see your 3rd entry, as the grassy look is what I am looking for :help:


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