# Apongeton questions/problems:



## TakingthePlunge (Jul 6, 2013)

Out of 5 apongeton hybrid bulbs, only two ever sprouted -- the other three got soggy and melted. The two apongetons I have, though, could not be more different. 

One has curly-edged leaves, slightly brownish in color, and the leaves get so long they reach the surface of my 10 gal tank, and float a good 8 inches on the surface. 

The other is a beautiful spring green, with very straight edges on the leaves, but the leaves are still 3 to 4 inches from reaching the surface of the water. It grew what I thought was going to be a flower stalk, but instead it has 3 or 4 baby plants budding, beginning to drop roots. 

In order to mimize the tangling I was getting in the taller, browner plant, I have been trimming off the ends of the leaves so that they just touch the water's surface. It has reacted by sprouting all kinds of extra leaves, almost faster than I can keep it trimmed. 

My questions are;

Why do they look so different if they were from the same package, supposedly same species?

Is it ok to continue to trim the leaves?

Will the baby Apongeton break off when they are ready, like my Java fern did? Or will I need to cut/break them off once they reach a certain size, like with a Spider-plant? (chlorophytum comosum)










The brownish one is almost center in this photo. The straight leaved one is almost out of frame, left-most edge right underneath the thermometer, and next to the Tardis.


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## TakingthePlunge (Jul 6, 2013)

Also, if anyone knows what the bushy looking plant is in front of the Tardis, I would appreciate it. It's the only thing I don't have a name for. In the tank: 

Two Apongeton, apparently different species
Water wisteria
Anubias
Amazon Sword
Java Fern
Mystery bushy plant

Plastic floating plants


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## RowdyBetta (Feb 1, 2013)

I'm no expert by any means, believe me xD, but it look like pennywort to me. (The one in front of your amazing, beautiful TARDS.)


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## TakingthePlunge (Jul 6, 2013)

RowdyBetta said:


> I'm no expert by any means, believe me xD, but it look like pennywort to me. (The one in front of your amazing, beautiful TARDS.)


 
lol, My Tardis thanks you for the compliment. The growth pattern is right for Pennywort, but the leaves are smooth-edged, not lobed/wavy, and the leaves aren't cup-shaped like a lot of the pennywort pictures I've found. If it comes in a smooth-leaved variety, it might be, though.


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## RowdyBetta (Feb 1, 2013)

I wonder if maybe different lighting can effect its looks?? I know it does with my water wisteria. xD


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## TakingthePlunge (Jul 6, 2013)

That may be what it is. Or maybe it's moneywort? IDK.


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## RowdyBetta (Feb 1, 2013)

I was just looking up moneywort. xD It may be. Hopefully, someone more experienced can help. c:


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## TakingthePlunge (Jul 6, 2013)

Bump Bump. Nudge.


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## rickey (Jul 7, 2013)

Individual Aponogeton Bulbs plants are not always easy to identify due to hybridization. 
Looks like moneywort to me

R


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## tlatch89 (Apr 26, 2013)

I'm wondering about this as well. Three of my apons just started sending up what i thought were flower stalks, but it is really baby plants. They are now growing floating leaves. Kinda cool but i don't know what to do.

My other apon send out flower stalks, i removed them, and the plant when dormant. So i guess i shouldn't have removed the stalks.


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## TakingthePlunge (Jul 6, 2013)

maybe I better look up more on apongetons, then. glad to know I'm not the only one that is having problems with unexpected baby plants. Lol.

Tlatch89, I may have found why yours went dormant: "
You can at least get a clue to the ancestry of an unknown plant by looking at the flower spike. An _Aponogeton_ from Asia will have a single bloom, while those with African heritage (including Madagascar) have multiple blooms on the same stalk. Most Asian species remain submerged year round, while the starchy tubercles of the African species are able to survive the dry season by shedding their leaves and going dormant. Most Asian species have a dormant period too, but this is temperature related, not a response to drought conditions."

It sounds like I have a mix of these two: "
Aponogeton ulvaceous This is an exceptionally beautiful species. It is a very large plant with very wide wavy edged leaves in a bright lime green color. It comes from Madagascar, and is happiest in a strong water flow. A good place for it is in front of the outflow of a power filter. Iron fertilization is necessary for good growth, and the plant does require a rest period. It has attractive yellow double-spiked flowers that are self-fertile. Aponogeton undulatus This plant is similar in form to A. crispus, but the leaves are a truer green, (crispus is brownish) and slightly narrower. It comes from India and northern Indo-China. It seldom flowers, but instead produces stalks with adventitious plantlets, similar to those of _Echinodorus sp._ (Amazon Swords). It may produce between five and ten of these stalks in a season, each one carrying up to twelve baby plants. This is one of the tougher species, and well suited to the beginner as long as it receives adequate light."

All info from here: http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Plants/apons-randall.html

Now, usin the term adventitious plantlets, I was able to find this: "Plants of this genus are propagated mainly from seeds. Two exceptions are _A. undulatus_ and _A._ _rigidifolius_. In the former case, adventitious tubercles form on the end of the flower stalks. They soon develop leaves and roots and are shortly thereafter released by the disintegration of the flower stalk. _A._ _rigidifolius_ is the only member of the genus to possess a rhizome rather than a tubercle. This rhizome develops offshoots which can be divided from the main plant. " This info was fom : http://www.calgaryaquariumsociety.com/Articles/The_Genus_Aponogeton.html. So, I am going to say that you and I, tlatch89, ar just going to have to wait it out until the stalks fall apart and we have floating babies.


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