From: "Ron Iles" roniles at eircom.net> on 2002.05.26 at 04:43:46(8879)
Hi
Julius,
Thank you very much for your
kind advice.
For security, during the
northern winter, after acclimatisation & quarantine the Spaths were planted
in heated beds (75-80F) of peat moss/soil-less compost with gravel over >6"
of sand for heating cables, all kept moist & the root systems were
extensive. They have now been potted to rationalise the
assemblage. A mixture of soil-less compost & gravel was used
in pots with drainage. This is short term (summer) because I do not
like the soil-less compost. Apart from fine perlite, very costly, I
have no access to lava rock, pumice.
In Ireland the plants are
grown indoors, no rain, no wind & good light but no direct unfiltered
sunlight.
Since certain Spathiphyllum
are grown as submerged aquarium plants I wanted to see how more could be grown
in that way. I transferred a range of sample common forms into
strongly aerated waters immersed up to petiole bases, but it was NOT
successful & I need to find out WHY. These forms do grow naturally
emersed & I did this in UK but in very well drained soil not in peat based
composts. Does your method maybe allow a different kind of root to develop
for immersion (more aerenchymatous???) not harmed by waterlogging, whereas maybe
the plants not immersed have a different structure? Willow (Salix)
& other native Trees here grow best here in my muddy sludgy Garden Stream, I
just wonder if they too develop roots of special structure adapted to less
aerobic conditions?
So, thank you, I will try
your method with common plants & as roots penetrate the inorganic lower part
progressively immerse them. I will also examine the nature of the root
growth as it happens.
Many plants especially
Spathiphyllums can be grown hydroponically in inorganic aggregates, e.g. pumice,
rockwool, perlite or even with roots in a covering membrane in
air being intermittently submerged or sprayed with water containing very
weak nutrients. What I would most like to do is to grow as many
Spaths as possible as rheophytes/helophytes. They would then
surely be immune to all soil threats. Swamps
have substrates which are often foul smelling & seemingly anaerobic so
it seems that Spathiphyllum plants which thrive in such conditions may have
roots of different structure to those in my moist & adequately aerated
pots? So if they are different, can I get my Spaths to
grow such roots so that I can grow totally immersed in indoor
stream/pond environments, not so much in those darn (plastic!)
pots?
Has anyone else tried instant
or slow inundation with aroids?
Ron
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----- Original Message -----
From:
Julius Boos
To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L
Sent: Saturday, May 25, 2002 4:05
PM
Subject: Re: Aroids growing better in
water?
----- Original Message -----
From:
Ron Iles
To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L
Sent: Friday, May 24, 2002 3:24
PM
Subject: Re: Aroids growing better in
water?
Ron,
I can only suggest a method that I use for growing 'wet loving'
genera such as Urospatha, Dracontioides, Cyrtosperma and Anaphyllopsis,
AND Spathiphyllum canifolium, all notoriously reputed to be difficult or
impossibly to grow over extended periods of time. They
all grow in nature under VERY wet conditions, some almost submerged for
long periods of time, some with the rhizome, roots and petioles constantly
submerged, but if you do NOT grow them in the manner I will once more
detail, they WILL rot and die. I believe that in nature
there is an imperceptable movement of water through the flooded soil, plus
many 'natural' fungus supression agents must be present under natural/wild
conditions. I have been frustrated MANY times when I
have explained the method I use to grow these wonderful plants, gave
specimens to folks, then a few months later I receive a call telling me
that the plants have died. Invariably when I question on HOW
they potted them, they admit to doing something different or 'trying
something new', I then sometimes 'loose it' and ask them why they did not
grow them the way I detailed for at least as long as it would take for
them to mature and produce seed, THEN do whatever experiments they wanted
to with whatever 'new' potting method THEY might think up! An
irreplacable, wild-collected plant was lost by their 'monkeying
around'! Enough 'preaching'---
Place about 3 to 4" of 1 to 2" larva rock in the bottom of a
suitably sized plastic pot. Place some small gravel on top of
the rock (about 1/2 ", this prevents the soil mix filtering down through
the larger larva rock). Make a mix consisting mainly of coarse
washed 'play sand' ( Home Depot or K-Mark) and peat moss, a handfull or so
of a commercial 'soil-less soil mix is added' Plant the
specimen in the pot with roots spread as far downwards as their length
allows. Place the pot in a LARGE saucer of water
which allows about 2" of standing water at all
times!!! The whole idea of this method is to
prevent ANY of the soil mix in the pot from being CONSTANTLY under water
at any time, if the 'soil' in the pot is allowed to sit underwater,
the plant will rot and die, and your 'soil' mix will smell like a corpse
when you un-pot the dead plant. Grow in bright light but NOT full
sun, say under the canopy of a tree w/ N. exposure.
Water from above DAILY till the roots are observed growing out of the
drain holes of the pot into the water in the saucer. I
also treat the plants with a soluable fungicide about every few months as
a precaution, rinsing the saucers out the next day, same after I
fertilize. A good rain is very benificial in 'flushing'
built-up fert. salts out of the pots and saucers. Use a very
weak fert. mix say every two weeks, and change the water in the saucer
as often as you can, say every week or two at the very
least. Protect from ANY cold, wind is also BAD
news! Ron, I think that Spaths would LOVE this
method!
Good growing!!
Julius
WPB,
FLORIDA
>>Folks!
I am still
wondering....!
Put
simply:
What terrestrial aroid
species have you found to grow as well or better in water?
Ron
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