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Initially, I kept all cuttings in cups on a windowsill.
Later, I moved some of the cuttings into aquarium nurseries and some were left in cups.
Here you can see cuttings of Mint on March 2nd, 2019 left in a cup.
It has been in this cup filled only with water for about 7 months.
The old cuttings are basically dried dead.
But look at the new tiny sprouts!
It's amazing how plants can grow on nothing but light, water, and remains of old plants.
Well, anyway.
Let's check how they will grow in high humidity ;)
I trim off old dried parts.
And here we have two growing plants.
Both plants have long, strong roots.
I made a base with a hole for my oldest 1.6 liter aquarium to use it for an aquarium garden.
Let's put it on top of the tank.
Put plants on the base with roots into water.
All leaves stay above water.
I secure the plants with a couple rocks.
Spray plants with dechlorinated water.
March 2nd, 2019
Cover the garden with a box turned upside-down to trap humidity.
One week later on March 10th, 2019.
The plant has grown noticeably!
Leaves grow small on the fragile stem.
And yet, the plant is visually...appealing for this tiny garden.
March 11th, 2019
I pick some land moss that grows all year at a nearby basketball court.
And there are some other plants already bathing in the first Spring sun.
Two years ago, I tried unsuccessfully to grow this land moss underwater.
It is nearly impossible to wash this tiny moss clean of all dirt.
Removing all dirt seems to be crucial for growing land plants underwater.
I think growing land plants in the high humidity of an aquarium garden and then using the newly grown, clean parts to grow underwater would do the trick ;)
And here is my aquarium garden testing ground designed for this experiment.
The mint has been growing nicely.
Let's put collected moss and plants with all the dirt on the base of the garden.
I don't make a point of identifying plants that I am not familiar with.
I trust my friends YouTubers with better knowledge in botany can help me with that.
So, here are the two plants.
I plant them in opposite corners of the garden.
And this is a close up view on the moss I use in this experiment.
Let's add one more rock for decoration.
Now, let's place the base on the top of the aquarium.
Let's trim off long roots of Mint.
This is a 3 year old aquarium without water changes.
I spray my garden with dechlorinated water every other day after I feed the fish.
Everything looks nice.
Keep the garden covered at all times to maintain the humidity!
March 20th, 2019
Mint has grown tall in the past week.
And there are new roots growing on the knee of the long stem.
Also, leaves grow bigger.
And fresh new light green moss grows very fast!
A week later, on March 27th, I decide to trim off the longest Mint to make it fit in the garden.
I cut off the top part with two pairs of leaves.
Let's put this cutting between rocks, allowing new roots to grow straight into the aquarium.
So far all looks great.
April 1st, 2019
Let's move old moss to make room for new cuttings.
Wipe dirt from the base.
Trim off newly grown light green moss.
Put the cuttings on the base.
And so I do with all the moss in this garden.
Trim off newly grown parts.
Throw away the old, dirty moss.
Clean the base before placing cuttings.
Growing moss and plants in high humidity basically prepares them to grow underwater.
It certainly puts less stress on plants than submerging them right away as I did in my previous experiments.
Here I trim roots of the short mint cutting.
It's not short anymore - it has grown very well.
Thinking about this type of aquarium garden...
It's like to have a tropical island on top of an aquarium :)
High humidity and a constant room temperature makes it perfect for growing plants in general and for underwater adaptation in particular.
The cuttings of moss take less space without all the dirt I removed.
I let the cuttings grow in the garden for a while before moving them underwater.
Keep the garden covered all the time!
Plants and mosses without cover would dehydrate in a matter of hours!
I spray my garden every other day.
Have fun and happy aquarium garden :)
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