# Emersed starter plants?



## Fish Ed (Oct 25, 2011)

Bacopa Monnieri.
I took 3 cuttings and put in a glass bottle, covered the top with saran wrap then put it next to my window. I spray it with water everyday until it acclimate to the humidity. Then when it grows to the surface, I open the saran wrap and it grew out of the bottle. Occasionally, I spray it with water. It even grew flowers. It is still growing now and when I forget to trim it, it'll grew too high and drooped down and grows sideways.


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## thefisherman (Oct 15, 2011)

i like growing cryptocorybne emersed  but i wouldn't plant them directly in pure unsubmersed miracle gro. its too nutrient rich to be submerged initially. the soil has to gradually convert to a stable submersed state for it to be safe to plant imo


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## Adam C (Feb 7, 2013)

There are a multitude of "starter" plants for emmersed culture. Some of the ones that come to mind as easy include Bacopa Caroliniana, Rotala Rotundifolia, Pennywort, and Ludwigia Repens. Although the last is a native so go figure it would do well outdoors. Limnophila Aromatica was also able to withstand the high summer temps here in Texas. 

If you have a lot of plants available, do some trial and error. Its always fun to see what you can get going.


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

Most plants can easily be grown emersed. It's all about choosing a few and see if they grow. One of the easiest to grow for me is Hydrocotyle tripartita aka sp Japan. It grows like a weed for me emersed and it can be hardened off to lower humidity. In fact, I grow it on my windowsill without any sort of cover.


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

thefisherman said:


> i like growing cryptocorybne emersed  but i wouldn't plant them directly in pure unsubmersed miracle gro. its too nutrient rich to be submerged initially. the soil has to gradually convert to a stable submersed state for it to be safe to plant imo


that was not my experience. my whole emersed tub is with miracle grow. got c. wendtiis brown, bronze, green gecko, and tropica. c. pondeterifolia, c. hudoroi, c. spiralis, and c. parva. the c. wendtii brown flowered. so did many other plants. 
the plants that do best in my setup are the crypts, anubias, bucephalandra, periscaria, eriocaulon parkeri, HM, HC, glosso, and nesaea.


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## l8nite (Aug 29, 2012)

Thanks guys! Marco's tub is my inspiration


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## Jeffww (Aug 6, 2010)

Anubias are my favorite emersed. They grow very fast when compared to submersed growth


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Jeffww said:


> Anubias are my favorite emersed. They grow very fast when compared to submersed growth


And algae-free, too!


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## Kory (Nov 8, 2010)

I did this very thing last weekend but in a 10g. One word of advise is that my dry miracle gro organic potting mix and my pots were very thin plastic from the dollar store created a very frusterating afternoon because everything wanted to float causing everything to tip over and spill out. So I would try an wet down the potting soil as best as I could before filling the pots and make sure it will sink before planting everything. 

I have dwarf hair grass and crypt parva in mine because that is what I had on hand.

Kory


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

Kory said:


> I did this very thing last weekend but in a 10g. One word of advise is that my dry miracle gro organic potting mix and my pots were very thin plastic from the dollar store created a very frusterating afternoon because everything wanted to float causing everything to tip over and spill out. So I would try an wet down the potting soil as best as I could before filling the pots and make sure it will sink before planting everything.
> 
> I have dwarf hair grass and crypt parva in mine because that is what I had on hand.
> 
> Kory


It helps to put a layer of gravel on top of the topsoil, too. You can either use a clay aquarium gravel (such as Fluorite) or an inert gravel. This will help to keep everything cleaner.


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

I used clay pots for my emersed plants. I keep the water level below the rim of the pot so not a problem. Top soil is the substrate of choice and it does just fine. Have never misted nor tried to keep the humidity up. No losses so far after 3 years growing.


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## Kory (Nov 8, 2010)

This was just to grow some plantes emersed I was only filling up with water to top edge of the pots but it took a while before I could get them saturated enough to stay upright.

Kory


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## l8nite (Aug 29, 2012)

Do you keep the lid on these things for humidity then? Maybe I should find something with a clear lid.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

l8nite said:


> Do you keep the lid on these things for humidity then? Maybe I should find something with a clear lid.


Yes you should keep a lid on top. Do you have any extra fish tanks around? It's easy to put glass top on an aquarium.


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## l8nite (Aug 29, 2012)

I have a couple of nano (1.5 gal) tanks I can use for the moment with some saran wrap until I find something more suitable. I'll surf craigslist


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## Monster Fish (Mar 15, 2011)

You can also slowly harden some plants to room humidity. I have a crypt wendtii growing in a pot filled with MGOCPM with only a water tray and top watering every other day.


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## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

Anubias are the easiest as well as being cheap and readily available. They definitely tolerate fluctuations in humidity better that crypts and swords.


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## Chyrol (Jan 18, 2012)

One thing I have learned is that when converting stem plants from a submerged state to emersed state, it works well to lay the stem horizontally on the soil. it will send down roots and then new emersed growth will start growing upwards at the nodes where the submerged form leaves were. Using this method, it is easier to keep the stem from drying out during the initial conversion because the whole stem is in contact with the moist soil. It also rewards you by turning one stem into several. 

Clear lids- I have found that using huge rubbermaid containers with clear plastic lids is the way to go. Cheap, keeps the humidity high, and seem nicer than a lot of the other options. Saran works but it is temporary and a real pain to work with.

Best of luck! Feel free to PM me with any questions. I am not an expert, but I have learned quite a bit in the past year (currently have two set up).


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## mosspearl (Jan 30, 2013)

Can you do this with bacopa? Would you recommend treating it as a stem plant, Chyrol?


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## Chyrol (Jan 18, 2012)

mosspearl said:


> Can you do this with bacopa? Would you recommend treating it as a stem plant, Chyrol?


Yes, I've had a lot of success converting bacopa this way. I have also had good luck just sticking cuttings in the soil upright- it's a very hardy plant, and really hard to go wrong. In my experience, bacopa is one of the easiest plants to grow emersed. 

Best of luck to you, and feel free to PM me if you have any more questions!


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## mosspearl (Jan 30, 2013)

Thanks, Chyrol!  I may try this with my bacopa before it melts.


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## Chyrol (Jan 18, 2012)

mosspearl said:


> Thanks, Chyrol!  I may try this with my bacopa before it melts.


No problem! Let us know how it works out.


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## l8nite (Aug 29, 2012)

Great tip, thanks for chiming in!


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