Ludwigia info

[beeky]

I'm thinking of plants for my 3 footer and have a few ideas, one being that I want some Ludwigia in there. The reason being that (believe it or not) I've never grown any! Doing some research and I find that there are several available, although different suppliers offer different species. Are they're some synonyms at work here?

L. palustris - seems to be sold quite a lot for garden ponds Will I regret putting this in my tank? The Greenline picture gives it a nice fresh green look, can anyone confirm this?
L. ovalis - I really like the look of this on aquarium-gardening.com, but it looks like a different plant to that from Greenline. Some suggestion it's shorter than the common ones, is this true?
L. repens - this seems to be the really common one. How does it compare to L.palustris?
L. mullertii - Can only find this at Greenline, could this be L.repens 'Rubin' from tropica?
L.arcuata - Could this be L.palustris "narrow leaf" as seen here: http://www.aquariumplants.com/Ludwigia_ ... /bp018.htm
L.natans - Looks much like L.repens to me. Any thoughts?
L.inclinata var.verticillata "Cuba" - anyone growing this?
L.glandulosa - The red in this looks really vibrant. Anyone got a picture of what it looks like in reality? Anyone growing it?

Sorry for all the questions, but I don't know much about these plants.

Thanks,
Graham

 

[ceg4048]

I'm thinking of plants for my 3 footer and have a few ideas, one being that I want some Ludwigia in there. The reason being that (believe it or not) I've never grown any! Doing some research and I find that there are several available, although different suppliers offer different species. Are they're some synonyms at work here?

L. palustris - seems to be sold quite a lot for garden ponds Will I regret putting this in my tank? The Greenline picture gives it a nice fresh green look, can anyone confirm this?

I Can't see any reason to regret it. If it's grown in a pond it will be in the emersed form so it will grow like any pond plant. If it's submerged it will be grow as any Ludwigia in a tank would.

L. ovalis - I really like the look of this on aquarium-gardening.com, but it looks like a different plant to that from Greenline. Some suggestion it's shorter than the common ones, is this true?

It will only look shorter if you cut it. Slower grower, susceptible to inferior CO2 and looks leggy. Prune it often and it will stay short and bushy. Only blushes to pink as it approaches the light though, so if you keep it short it tends to stay green.

L. repens - this seems to be the really common one. How does it compare to L.palustris?

The most irritating of all Ludwigias. Starts out nice and delicate, changes color depending on lighting, but as it picks up steam grow a million aerial roots, grows fast and furious (sideways as well as upwards) and becomes completely unruly if left to it's own devices. Very high maintenance, especially in an EI tank.

L. mullertii - Can only find this at Greenline, could this be L.repens 'Rubin' from tropica?

I think it could be. See comments for L. repens above. Good for tank startups though. :idea:

L.arcuata - Could this be L.palustris "narrow leaf" as seen here: http://www.aquariumplants.com/Ludwigia_ ... /bp018.htm

Not sure about that, but I know L. arcuata is a beautiful red and is also slow growing. Very thin as well. Looking for a place to put this in my tank but I'm out of space.

L.natans - Looks much like L.repens to me. Any thoughts?

I believe it's very similar to L. Repens. That means it's under the same UN sanctions in my tank.

L.inclinata var.verticillata "Cuba" - anyone growing this?

Gorgeous plant. Slow grower and has very few aerial roots. Unforgiving of poor CO2/flow. Probably best to keep it short but does not really like to be pruned - Catch-22, but worth the effort.

L.glandulosa - The red in this looks really vibrant. Anyone got a picture of what it looks like in reality? Anyone growing it?

Agonizingly slow and does not produce a lot of leaves. Stunning under Grolux, Arcadia Triplus or any pink/orange lamp. Intolerant of poor CO2. Does produce aerial roots but it's slow growth makes this manageable.

Sorry for all the questions, but I don't know much about these plants.

Exam next Wednesday.

Cheers,

 

[aaronnorth]

ceg4048 is the one of the only people i know that would give a detailed answer with pics like that! you are the master!

 

[beeky]

Fantastic stuff. I love this place!

I went to my local P@H last night and they had two tropica Ludwigias - repens and glandulosa. I must say the glandulosa looked amazing. The repens I think had been there a while - it was a tangled mass of roots and leaves. Someone came up to me asking if I was looking for something and I mentioned "Ludwigia Arcuata and an amazon sword, an Echinodorus called Red Diamond". He looked completely blank like I was talking a foreign language and then I asked if it was possible to order specific plants in. He went away for a few minutes and then came back saying they get all their plants delivered on mass every week and anyway they weren't going to be stocking Tropica plants for much longer

 

[ceg4048]

beeky, honestly I don't know why you torture yourself. :? You should have known what was going to happen. You should have grabbed the glandulosa immediately because it is rare that you find it in stock anywhere. There are so many places you can simply browse on-line and order what you want. Green Machine, Birstall and now AE. I got A. reinekii from p@h following your advice, remember? I was able to get their surface scum for free which included a small stem with a root. All I had to do was to berate them. That same plant has since turned into a Frankenstein.

I think people get too wrapped up in what the plant looks like when it's been sitting in a shop for 4 weeks, or what it looks like after several days in the post. Some of our members living in far off lands have no access to a shop like p@h and would gladly accept one regardless. I've read a couple of posts recently where people complained about the fact that the plants they received from xyz shop were not perfect on receipt. Who cares what it looks like now? If it's a Tropica plant, or a plant from a reputable supplier, your gardening skills will determine what that plant will look like in 2 months. Given a friendly environment of high CO2 and high nutrients, and with decent lighting the plant will turn around and become spectacular if it is within it's genetic code to do so. The fact that the plants survive at all in such appalling conditions, being tended to by buffoons, should be proof positive that the plant has the right stuff. Now go get that glandulosa, chuck it in the tank, open the needle valve some more and get on with it man!

Cheers,

 

[beeky]

If it's a Tropica plant, or a plant from a reputable supplier, your gardening skills will determine what that plant will look like in 2 months.

hehe, well I think that's the problem! Still, on the positive side, if it's mush inside a week at least I can blame the condition of the plant....

You're right though Clive. I should beat myself over the back with the nearest branch for being such a whinger.
It's just if I pay out for a plant I expect to get something decent and not something on its last legs(leaves). The glandulosa did look good though. I think it's my inner chicken which is putting me off buying it as I've had too many disasters in the past.

Incidentally they had a crypt what was labelled as "Cryptocoryne div.". Couldn't find this on the web site. When I go back tonight ( ) I'll take a note of the number.

Cheers Clive.