• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Seeds for Carpeting plants - Myth or Real?

Zak Rafik

Member
Joined
11 Aug 2014
Messages
466
Location
Singapore
Hi Everyone, :)
Came across this informative article that sheds some light on seeds for growing carper plants that are popular on many online shops. This article was posted on High-Tech Planted Tanks ( Facebook group) by Dennis Wong.
Since its a closed group, I thought of posting the article here for the benefit of fellow members of UKAPS.
This article is not mine and it belongs to the rightful author.
So here goes :


On carpet seeds:

Stole this post from Ripple akaname
"Recently there have been a lot of discussions amongst aquascapers about the use of the so called "Magic Seeds" for an instant carpet, claiming to be the seeds of HC Cuba or Glossostigma elatinoides. There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what these seeds actually are, and a general lack of solid information on various discussion forums in English.

Various scapers and hobbyists from the Far East have already tried these seeds out, before they were available for export to Europe, and have found out that these seeds are in fact seeds from various types of plants, such as Oxalis corymbosa, Trichodesma calycosum, and even Ocimum tenuiflorum (Holy basil). While many aquarium plants are angiosperms (Flowering Plants), the chances of them flowering in submersed forms are far lower compared to emersed forms.

While it is theoretically possible to grow some aquatic plants such as Glossostigma elatinoides from seed (yes they will flower and produce seeds in their emersed form), propagation is far quicker by means of asexual reproduction, ie. runners. It is therefore far more profitable to multiply the plants in this manner than collecting seeds from them; most aquatic plant nurseries grow plants in their emersed forms for this reason. The amount of work it takes to collect these seeds simply do not pay off for traders. The seeds will, therefore, need to be obtained from fast-growing, quick flowering plants - ideally some type of garden weeds. Many species of Oxalis plants, for example, grow wild in the Far East, and are often considered weeds in these areas. They will survive short periods of time underwater after germination, and the sprouts look more or less like the carpet plants we see today, hence why irresponsible traders in the Far East often sell them under the disguise of "Magic Seeds".

One article regarding this issue (Link will be provided below, original article in Chinese but I have provided a link with automatic English translation - it's far from perfect but you'll more or less get what the auther is trying to say) has also pointed out that seeds from the Oxalis and Ocimum family have often been used to be used as face masks - due to the sticky substance they naturally produce when wet. The seeds are often simply infused into a cotton wool mask, which can quickly turn into what you see in the photo by keeping the mask moist for a few days.

Hopefully this provides some insight into these so called "Magic Seeds". I would urge people not to purchase these as these seeds are highly unlikely to be what they are marketed as, and most likely not suited for aquarium use in the long run. There are currently no easy way out with things such as "instant carpet" in aquascaping, so please do consider investing your money in quality plants from a reputable supplier instead of these cheap seeds.

Link to translated article:
https://translate.google.co.uk/tran...UTF-8&u=www.coco01.net/post/113597&edit-text=

Criticism and discuss welcome.

Take it easy. Ripple"

32821456330_c8b67fb630_o.jpg

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SA7hGM]33203826125_19ce197db4_o.jpg

[url=https://flic.kr/p/SoP6pT]33075989781_db1dd96952_o.jpg

33075989751_4200104266_o.jpg
[/url][/url]
[url=https://flic.kr/p/SA7hGM][url=https://flic.kr/p/SoP6pT][url=https://flic.kr/p/SoP6pn]
Images fro Google.
[/url][/url][/url]
 
f3PWaCZ.jpg


Mine are the type listed as 'small' and sold as HC seeds. They're starting to look suspiciously like Hygrophila Polysperma 'Tiger'.
 
I've bought a pack of these to play with
Was thinking of emersed in a sealed glass jar
Do you think that would work ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Not sure exactly what you'd gotten but all of them do grow to be fairly tall plants so don't believe those cute little glasses with the little plants photos.
 
I've bought a pack of these to play with
Was thinking of emersed in a sealed glass jar
Do you think that would work ?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It will almost certainly work - just remember to water soil quite well ........... AND VENTILATE at least once a day, to prevent fungi.
 
Well - at least this seller do not claim any latin/botanical name.
Claim: it is seed. Fact: you will likely recieve seed.
Claim: they germinate. Fact: they likely will.
BUT I see no claim, they are aquatic or will keep growing carpeting - and in fact I doubt both...........
- so yes, I would stay away.
 
Hi Everyone, :)
Came across this informative article that sheds some light on seeds for growing carper plants that are popular on many online shops. This article was posted on High-Tech Planted Tanks ( Facebook group) by Dennis Wong.
Since its a closed group, I thought of posting the article here for the benefit of fellow members of UKAPS.
This article is not mine and it belongs to the rightful author.
So here goes :


On carpet seeds:

Stole this post from Ripple akaname
"Recently there have been a lot of discussions amongst aquascapers about the use of the so called "Magic Seeds" for an instant carpet, claiming to be the seeds of HC Cuba or Glossostigma elatinoides. There seems to be a lot of confusion as to what these seeds actually are, and a general lack of solid information on various discussion forums in English.

Various scapers and hobbyists from the Far East have already tried these seeds out, before they were available for export to Europe, and have found out that these seeds are in fact seeds from various types of plants, such as Oxalis corymbosa, Trichodesma calycosum, and even Ocimum tenuiflorum (Holy basil). While many aquarium plants are angiosperms (Flowering Plants), the chances of them flowering in submersed forms are far lower compared to emersed forms.

While it is theoretically possible to grow some aquatic plants such as Glossostigma elatinoides from seed (yes they will flower and produce seeds in their emersed form), propagation is far quicker by means of asexual reproduction, ie. runners. It is therefore far more profitable to multiply the plants in this manner than collecting seeds from them; most aquatic plant nurseries grow plants in their emersed forms for this reason. The amount of work it takes to collect these seeds simply do not pay off for traders. The seeds will, therefore, need to be obtained from fast-growing, quick flowering plants - ideally some type of garden weeds. Many species of Oxalis plants, for example, grow wild in the Far East, and are often considered weeds in these areas. They will survive short periods of time underwater after germination, and the sprouts look more or less like the carpet plants we see today, hence why irresponsible traders in the Far East often sell them under the disguise of "Magic Seeds".

One article regarding this issue (Link will be provided below, original article in Chinese but I have provided a link with automatic English translation - it's far from perfect but you'll more or less get what the auther is trying to say) has also pointed out that seeds from the Oxalis and Ocimum family have often been used to be used as face masks - due to the sticky substance they naturally produce when wet. The seeds are often simply infused into a cotton wool mask, which can quickly turn into what you see in the photo by keeping the mask moist for a few days.

Hopefully this provides some insight into these so called "Magic Seeds". I would urge people not to purchase these as these seeds are highly unlikely to be what they are marketed as, and most likely not suited for aquarium use in the long run. There are currently no easy way out with things such as "instant carpet" in aquascaping, so please do consider investing your money in quality plants from a reputable supplier instead of these cheap seeds.

Link to translated article:
https://translate.google.co.uk/translate?sl=zh-CN&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=www.coco01.net/post/113597&edit-text=

Criticism and discuss welcome.
Take it easy. Ripple"


View attachment 106284

View attachment 106285

View attachment 106286

View attachment 106287

Images fro Google.
I have purchased some seeds like this today from Shirley Aquatics, they had a couple of display tanks planted with this method and also had some growing in small tubs as an experiment, I hope I haven't wasted my money as all the seeds are now on the substrate, I've just kept the base at water level and will fill up over the coming weeks as they grow. Crossing fingers.
 
Yes I had a look, I have some seed in a damp base and a few higher up which I’ll mist a few times a day.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top