# Anubias "mother" plant, questions.



## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

I finally did it...I caved...I bought a "mother" potted anubias nana. Gah, the leaves, the soft, lovely leaves...This is the first aquarium plant I really rather wish could live out of water so that I could put them everywhere...lol!  

That being said, I've never done anubias before (I figured that I could just go on ahead and buy the big one for 25$ rather than spending 5$ on several small ones...more plant for the price to just go big), now, you don't plant it...right? It gets tied to things, like java fern? 
Any special considerations for it? 

How does it propagate? Does it send off shoots/baby plants the way java ferns do, or does it do something else? 

Also, did anyone else know these things *bloom*? They're small, and they look like light green calla lilies. Is this part of their propagation?

Help is, as always, appreciated!!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Actually Anubias CAN live out of water! They need misting often but otherwise they can live mostly emersed ^_^ For propagation you can cut off a stem from the rhizome and it will regrow from there. Anubias is part of the lily species same as the Peace Lily and Calla Lily so yes, that is why the *flowers* look all the same :-D


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

Oh, thanks for the information!! I have difficulty keeping my house plants watered...so I'll probably have to keep it in the water for now, but good to know!

The rhizome is the long, green part that all the other stems are coming off of, correct?

Gah, I feel like such a newbie...I know all about stem plants, but these potted things are new to me, lol!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yes, that is the Rhizome :-D And no worries! You're catching on fast! I assume you took it out of the pot, correct? Oh and I see I forgot a question up there; yes it is tied to things like Java Fern.


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

LOL, thanks.  I've been doing stem plants and java fern for over a year now...but I've avoided crypts and really just about anything else because a) they're expensive and b ) they require what seemed like much more difficult fertz. Now I know that some jobe's sticks broken into pieces and shoved into the roots every now and again make these almost **easier** than the stem plants...live and learn, lol!  

Yes, the anubias is out of the pot, but right now is still existing in it's giant clumped/potted form because I haven't had a chance to cut into it/distribute it among the tanks.  Also, it's such a pretty thing, I almost hate to break into it, lol!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I'm not sure if it makes much of a difference but I'd let it acclimate to your water first and get comfortable before you go cutting it up to distribute it; just an idea but I'm not sure if it's totally necessary or not!


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

Oh, wonderful point, I hadn't even thought of that.  I'm planning to keep it mostly whole and will be putting it into the sorority, but I'd planned to do some cuttings from it for the other tanks as accents. I'll definitely let it acclimate for a awhile though, just to be sure.  It's such a pretty thing, I don't want to kill it.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

It's pretty hard to kill Anubias and Java Ferns lol but it's nice to let it acclimate first since it might do a little bit of melting before it becomes stable again ^_^


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

I plant my anubias in the gravel, making sure the rhizome stays on top of the gravel
I didn't know they could live outside of water!!! *keyboard mash* They're such beautiful plants omg. I'd love to have one (or a bunch) to go in my garden window. They'd be a nice addition to go with my 395,475 orchids. Do you also have to keep the rhizome out of the soil if you grow it outside of water?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

I'm not sure about it. I don't believe they can be in like regular soil but I know they can be grown emersed where their roots are still in the water. So like they're great for paludariums, vivariums and ripariums. You can do little bowls with like a little island of rocks with some water at the bottom and if you mist the plant daily or so, it will live just fine.


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

lilnaugrim said:


> I'm not sure about it. I don't believe they can be in like regular soil but I know they can be grown emersed where their roots are still in the water. So like they're great for paludariums, vivariums and ripariums. You can do little bowls with like a little island of rocks with some water at the bottom and if you mist the plant daily or so, it will live just fine.


Oohhh, ok cool. I should make one of those micro planted tanks in a 2 gallon bowl or something where I'd have some kind of rock that sticks out of the water and have some anubias on top of that, and then have gravel on the bottom and have some dwarf baby tears as ground cover and then some floating myrio and like a bunch of cherry shrimp. omg I'm so excited I have to do this.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

OrangeAugust said:


> Oohhh, ok cool. I should make one of those micro planted tanks in a 2 gallon bowl or something where I'd have some kind of rock that sticks out of the water and have some anubias on top of that, and then have gravel on the bottom and have some dwarf baby tears as ground cover and then some floating myrio and like a bunch of cherry shrimp. omg I'm so excited I have to do this.


YES! I want to make a 10 gallon Paludarium with a false bottom so badly! I have the design all set up pretty much, but some of the materials are a little more expensive and I don't feel like pouring all my money into it at the moment lol But yes, please do that!


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

paludariums are so awesome. I was researching them last week and I came across a thread on the plantedtank boards where a guy was keeping a journal of himself building a paludarium, but I never knew it could be so much work and cost so much money for all the materials! I was like, "whoa, I guess I'm not doing that any time soon."


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