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I'm a plant newb but whats the difference between stem, root, and rhizome?

My Ambulia, Ludwidgia, and Water Wisteria does not have "roots". My Anubias Nana I think have roots and a horizonal part. How can you tell if it has a rhizome or not?

Enlightment me please

I don't worry about it. It may help hold the plant in the gravel.

Use a little fert. and look into doing a DIY CO2 or use some florish excel.

Thanks for you replies Dragon.

Concerning my Ambulia, is it ok to strip some of its needles at the base so I can plant it deep into the gravel? Or Should I just stick it in even though some needles will be submerged in the gravel?

I plant Broad Leave Ludwigia about 2" apart to give room for the leaves to grow. I plant ambulia in bunches af 3-6 and when they grow in my tank, they can fill the whole back of the tank to create a forest look.

both these plants are stem since the can be propagated from the stem. This means you can cut off any side shoots ot tops and plant them to create a new plant. Rooted plants either propagate through runners or through the roots. Plants can absorb nutrient through the roots or leaves/stems.

My Ambulias use to rot on the bottom when I first got them too. The idea is to be gentle in planting and planting deep in the gravel. Once they get established they do good. And don't use plant anchors (or use them with care) they never worked very well for me and caused the stem to get damaged.

Doh! More work to do tommorow!

I have some good sized pebbles that I tie my ferns to! Good idea about the cotton threads. :88)

[span class="edited"][Edited by sly 2004-07-28 22:13][/span]

No problem ! Yup, Javas like being tied to rocks or driftwood. I do have some java babies planted right in the gravel but they are not growing for that reason. Get the rhizome above the substrate for it to grow. Use some black cotton thread if possible to 'tie one on'. Cotton thread will disinegrate naturally. Or use normal dark thread and cut it off later with scissors, after the roots have taken hold.
Peace

The Amazon Nut...

Thanks for the much needed info DaFishMan.

Hm...I just realized that my Java Ferns have rhizome and in which case, I need to raise it up a bit.

[span class="edited"][Edited by sly 2004-07-28 19:05][/span]

Ambulia has 2 types of roots, some grow on bottom to anchor the plant, later you'll notice some 'side-shoot' roots, white and thin, which will make their way down to the gravel.. So yes, they are a rooted plant.

Anubias has small thin roots on bottom, with a thicker rhizome between the plant and the roots..

A 'stem' usually is a plants support, and holds the leaves.
A Rhizome is a modified form of stem that supports the plant, stores food for the plant, also some plants multiply thru the rhizome, you cut the rhizome and now have 2 plants. Roots are what absorbs nutriets either from water or substrate (depending on the plant) and draws it up into the plant.

The Amazon Nut...

Is there a proper way to plant this? I have natural gravel and I just took them out and found that the bottem of some have rotten away. They were bunched up and tied together, are they supposed to be plant one by one?


http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_viewer.php?id=4


What are the [font color="#008000"]rules[/font] to planting stemed, non-stemed (like the ambulia), and rhizome? How far should they go down in the gravel, etc. Because I've noticed that some of my plants' stems have soften

I also have Water Wisteria and they are messy too. I'm starting to hate all these needle and flimzy leaved plants! THey are so messy and delicate ]




[span class="edited"][Edited by sly 2004-07-27 20:51][/span]

Hi,
Take the plants out of the gravel and with a sharp
scissors, trim the dead/dying plant away from the
healthy stem. Or, just snip the stem about a
half inch above the old root system.

Then, in groups of three, plant them in the gravel.

Don't disturb them for at least two weeks (vacuuming,
etc.) to allow the newly developing roots to anchor
the plants. If you have high currents in the tank
you may want to use a lead strip around the stems
for additional weight. During this time the use
of a liquid fert such as Flourish may help. If
this is a newly established tank, then you would want
to add some plant tablets, plant balls, or plant
sticks to the tank to encourage growth. If it is
an established tank, the the use of the substrate
ferts is not necessary.

Any of the stem plants should be planted in this
manner, snip the bottom of the plants, plant in
groups of three, plant where you want them to
grow permanently, and do not disturb them by
vacuuming, etc. for at least two weeks and preferably
at least a month.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I have about 3 inchdes depth of regular sized gravel. I just find that its hard to put the stem/plants without making a mess and certain thats going to happen planting these Ambulia individually. ]

put the stems on the inside of your middle and index finger, use your fingers dig in the gravel at an angle, lift fingers straight out, and plants should be left in the gravel. makesure you have about 2 inches of gravel at least.

yeah i am starting to hate my cabomba too.

Don't feel bad I've had planted tanks for about a year now and I'm still clumsy at planting. To make things easier on yourself, how fine is your gravel ? Mine is more course then I should have for a planted tank and there's only 2.5 inches of gravel. Both these things make planting harder then if you have at least 3 inches of fine gravel. In my fry tank it's a smaller gravel but not even an inch of gravel, so any stem plant is awkward planting.

The Amazon Nut...

I also have Broad Leave Ludwigia bunched up. Should they be separate as well?

Usually I just sort of grip the stems I'm planting, shove two or three fingers into the gravel, remove my fingers while holding the stems in place, and pile gravel in around. Pretty simple one-hand operation, but I guess it probably took some getting used to (who can remember?).

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!

I have trouble getting the plants into the gravel. Is there any method to this madness? Usually I have to create a big hole which displaces the gravel and things get messy.

It's usually better to plant in small groups or singly. This is true of most plants but especially the fairly brittle, fine-leaved ones - they have a tendency to rot away near the bottom if the tops block the light too much. It's not terribly demanding, light-wise, but it ain't Anubias either, so you're best off splitting it up and giving it some room to breathe. Great plant, and in good light you'll see it turn a lovely brown about the tips. If you have high light and like this, check out Ambulia, sometimes sold as Australian Ambulia - a jaw-dropper.

-Molly
Visit shelldwellers.com!