# Purple Crinkle



## kitkat67 (Mar 10, 2015)

Well, I did it again. I bought a non-aquatic plant unknowingly. :frustrated: So apparently this is a bog plant. So....if I keep it's roots in water, leaves and stem out, will it survive? Or planted in a container at the top of the aquarium? I really don't want to give up on this plant, but I do have limited resources (bog tank is not happening) and my LFS is hardly local so returning it is not happening either. Does anyone have this plant and have kept it successfully?


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Do you mean purple waffle?









It works great as a riparium style plant as in roots in water but leaves kept above water. On a riparium its new leaves will grow in a lighter hue of green and be more tender (less dry and crinkled looking). If you have an HOB you can remove the lid and place foam/sponge media on top, cutting a slit into foam and placing roots and a little of the stem into the foam. It does need light but is a low light house plant so not too demanding. I keep my in plastic shower caddies with expanded clay media (light weight ad wicks up water).

purple waffle on my 20g long riparium, left has been on the tank for months, right is new addition


and same plants several months later



caddies were from my local grocery store, plastic and rubber with slits in the bottom $2 each


I seriously love this plant and am tempted to sell off my other riparium plants and just cover the tops in purple waffle with some taller grass riparium plants behind for contrast.


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## InStitches (May 26, 2014)

that is a cool looking plants  And I need to try that suction cup organizer thing, that's qwesome.


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## kitkat67 (Mar 10, 2015)

Just to be clear, I CAN grow it without high humidity? I know some plants need moist air, greenhouse style. I just hope they don't dry out with the transition. Could you recommend a procedure from going to submersed to just roots? Or will it not dry out?


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Yes this is a common house plant doesn't need humidity. If you are growing say amazon sword, anubias, or java fern then you would need high humidity (and by high I'm talking 85-90%) but purple waffle is fine in low/no humidity ^^ I've had purple waffle on the tank since...I think last Oct or Nov with no extra care.
Some stems can grow emersed in low humidity including some ludwigia and creeping jenny btw.


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## kitkat67 (Mar 10, 2015)

Thanks! I suction-cupped half at the top, I'll need to get a cuppy thing and peat or soil. The other half is planted in the tank. I want to see what happens.


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Be careful about exposing peat or soil to the tank water (as in don't put freely into tank /cup that is in the tank without understanding how it reacts with the water). Peat can lower pH and soil.. some contain dangerous chemicals that can kill fish but the safe organic ones still leech ammonia in water (decomposing organics (major part of soil)= ammonia under water). You probably already know this or plant to not have soil/peat in the water but just wanted to warn you.


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

I love my little purple waffle plant. and mine is thriving above my 2.6 gallon tank.









purple waffle in the back.


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## Innerbeauty (Jul 31, 2014)

Oh my goodness, Tree, what is that striped plant?! That array is gorgeous! Who's the lucky duck in that tank?

AquaAurora, your arrangement as always is gorgeous. Now I want purple waffle. Also, I did not know that about the humidity on anubias- I purchased an extra two coffeefolia to grow rhizome submerged with leaves above water but I guess that's a bad idea?
(not trying to thread jack here- sorry!)


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

Innerbeauty said:


> Oh my goodness, Tree, what is that striped plant?! That array is gorgeous! Who's the lucky duck in that tank?


It's a Tradescantias common name "Wandering Jew" It grows like a weed when the roots are in the water. lol 

And Mola my little crown tail girl is living in that tank. =)


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## Aqua Aurora (Oct 4, 2013)

Innerbeauty said:


> Oh my goodness, Tree, what is that striped plant?! That array is gorgeous! Who's the lucky duck in that tank?
> 
> AquaAurora, your arrangement as always is gorgeous. Now I want purple waffle. Also, I did not know that about the humidity on anubias- I purchased an extra two coffeefolia to grow rhizome submerged with leaves above water but I guess that's a bad idea?
> (not trying to thread jack here- sorry!)





Tree said:


> It's a Tradescantias common name "Wandering Jew" It grows like a weed when the roots are in the water. lol
> 
> And Mola my little crown tail girl is living in that tank. =)


Wondering jew is another good plant with roots in water but its leaves melt very quickly if kept constantly wet (don't put when it would be sprayed with water or where a leaf is submerge). Its a vine but its a weak vine, when the stem gets too long it will sag. You can trim it when this happens to use clear thin fishing line (or guide/grow wire) to support it.
Wondering jew is pretty common around here at grocery stores or indoor plant sections of home improvement stores and garden centers/nurseries. Does not need humidity (having wet roots will make it happy), low light plant.


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## wildmountainthyme (Jul 13, 2015)

I have a ton of Wandering Jew in my house, never thought to put it in my tank! probably because I have full hoods on them :/

That suction cup holder idea is genius!

I feel your pain on buying non-aquatic plants. I trusted petco at the beginning because they so clearly had a huge tank full of bushy green plants totally thriving underwater, how could they not be aquatic! (sarcasm) Woe is me because EVERY plant I bought was a non-aquatic. Now I buy all of my plants online, lesson learned!

My favorite plant currently is hornwort. I got a bunch off of ebay for 4$ and free shipping. It floats around the top of the tank and gives a cool sort of mini-jungle that my bettas like to swim through.


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## aselvarial (Feb 21, 2014)

Ok, i LOVE wandering jews so now I've got to get some to put on top of my tanks! And what a great way to fill in those still holes for the huge filters (that I don't have) I've been wanting to add more houseplants to the house so that is fabulous! (i may get a purple waffley plant too!)


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