Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Growing Land Plants Underwater


Among the huge variety in land plants, there are many that are suitable for aquaponics systems (roots growing in water).



Here are examples from a longer list.
Spider plant.

Ornamental Sweet Potato.

Wandering Jew. 

Aloe Vera.

Pothos.

Some plants have the even more fascinating power to adapt for underwater life!
A common household plant, Pothos, is able to grow on land, underwater, and both at the same time!


Another common household plant, the Peace lily, is also adaptive to underwater life.
Here, you can see 2 Peace lily plants growing underwater.

Conversion of terrestrial plants into aquatic plants is an interesting journey, with many questions and very few studies to help on this subject.


The land plants I choose for growing underwater are those that originally propagate from cuttings.

Here are a couple examples of land moss that I grow underwater.
And again, these are just a few out of many thousand different types of land moss that grow everywhere.
Please check my previous videos for details on how I convert these and other land plants for underwater life.






So far, all land (terrestrial) plants that I converted to aquatic life responded negatively to the presence of soil in water.
 In other words - I wash land plants clean, before placing them underwater.
Notably, the Peace lily and Pothos growth rate is slower underwater compared to the same plants growing on land.
And some moss grow faster underwater compared to the same moss on land.

Nature is full of wonders and revelations waiting for you to discover.
Have fun and happy plants :)

5 comments:

  1. Great stuff! Really cool to see. Are you still working on this project? I'm trying to grow fruits from tissue culture; without using a plant. It would be very interesting to know whether a fruit could develop under water. Do you have any papers / information on why some plants can and others cannot grow under water?
    Also, did you try bubbling CO2 and oxygen through the water?

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    1. Yes, I work on this project continuously. Here is a playlist of my YouTube videos on this subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYjO4SoqDa4&list=PLM88hGt0AfGso8J51QCu-TSk4hnPpft43
      Here is a list of all my plants in aquariums: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYjO4SoqDa4&list=PLM88hGt0AfGvdY1rnqapi-0wLa0LUFgSG
      I don't use man made filters or air pumps in my aquariums since the end of 2016. Though, I've done it before. Check videos on this playlist for all my aquarium fish care routines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gbdmf66XUSQ&list=PLM88hGt0AfGvyY_LiG5aQzG1ymwn_7n94
      All the best on your adventure!

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  2. I'm a very new aquarist & aquascaper, & have been reading your posts & watching your videos for several months now. You've inspired me to experiment with numerous land plants, although so far I haven't had quite as much success as you (probably b/c I'm too impatient to slowly acclimate them!) But I've also succeeded with several, including a tiny grass or reed-type plant that grows in tufts in the yard. I used to think of them as weeds, but have since discovered they seem to thrive underwater, too, & I've got them stuck into the sand substrate all over the place. After at least a few months, they look as green & healthy as ever, and some appear to be sprouting new blades/reeds.

    Anyway, THANK YOU so much for your many online free examples of your experiments!!! I so appreciate them!

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  3. I've been planting creeping jenny from home depot in my planted tanks and they do very well. It's only been a few weeks but they look healthy and vibrant.

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