Growing aroids with roots in water - was "Philos & Wet Feet"

From: "Ron Iles" roniles at eircom.net> on 2002.05.23 at 19:24:27(8857) Thank you Sheralee & Iain for the question! This is of paramount interest to me since in the wild some but not all species of Spathiphyllum grow in swamps or rooted in streams. They do grow well in hydroponics/aeroponics where the roots are intermittently in contact with water. Cryptocoryne, Lagenandra, Anubias & other aroids are of course commonly grown emersed, many aroid species are swamp plants, & some (including a few Spathiphyllum) succeed as submerged "aquarium" water plants. I have tried growing a range of Spathiphyllum forms with roots submerged in both still or aerated circulating water at 25C(77F)-30C(86F) but so far the only form which really thrived was Spathiphyllum wallisii. Section Spathiphyllum species & cultivars did better than Section Amomophylum (S. floribundum)but some of the "soft" cultivars failed miserably. My experiments were inconclusive & puzzling. I grew S. wallisii in UK with great success with pots half or more submerged in warmed water. If there are any experiences as to how plants have been acclimatised from terrestrial pots to emersed pond conditions I would be extremely grateful. Question - should immersion be slowly over weeks or instant? It would be ideal if Spaths etc could grow in this way, it would make culture much easier & allow second crops of ornamental fishes to be kept in the ponds. It would also be interesting to know of any other terrestrial aroids which do well or better with roots fully in water compared with growing them on land. Ron +More ----- Original Message ----- To: "Multiple recipients of list AROID-L" Sent: Thursday, May 23, 2002 4:47 PM Subject: Philo's and wet feet I have seen situations when philos(climbers&self headers)have grown roots into nearby ponds and aquariums and change from seeking roots into feeding roots . I've grown philos with the pot standing in water with good results. Finaly I see philos growing semi aquatic in Eliovson's book on the gardens of Burle-marx. The question is can some philos grow with the complete root zone underwater? _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp.

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