Aponegeton regeneration and storage

[Russ]

I got some nice, fat Aponogeton bulbs from Arizona Aquatic Gardens recently and I'm wondering how to store the ones I'm not ready to plant. I bought duplicates of several so I can rotate them. How do you store them and keep them dormant until needed?

Also, after one goes dormant, how do you store/regenerate it so it's ready to use in a couple of months?

thanks,

Russ

 

[vidiots]

Re: Aponegeton regeneration and storage

I've never tried what you are suggesting, but would imagine that if they were stored in a cool dry place, they would last quite a while. The reason for this assumption is the ones you buy in the packs from Walmart or Petco have been sitting on the shelf for who knows how many months, and they come back to life when added to an aquarium.

I just leave mine in the aquarium when they go dormant. The bulbs are fairly small and not really noticeable in a heavily planted tank unless you are looking for them. Then after a month or two of being dormant they come back on their own. At which time I may have to rearrange the plants grown in their absense to make room for them especially if the bulbs have shifted position.

I too would be curious to learn what others do when they go dormant.

The only problem I've had with the bulbs is sometimes when I add new ones that have been stored dry they won't sink. What I have done in this case is just allow them to float until roots have grown enough to hold them down when planted.

 

[Russ]

Re: Aponegeton regeneration and storage

Thanks for the reply vidiots.

Is there really no one on this forum that can help us with Aponegetons?

-Russ

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: Aponegeton regeneration and storage

There are a few folks that talk about domacy, most every bit of it is speculation.

I've never found them to go dormant myself.
After 2 years or less, they too big and I remove them.

Generally, flowering and warmer temps will cause domancy IME.

I think poor conditions cause most to go dormant(drop in the CO2 for a few weeks etc) and then once corrected, the bulbs resprout.

Keep the bulbs cool, not cold if you want to store them.
Don't let them dry out.

Storage is hard since removing the bulb from the dirt causes them to sprout some, so when we get them, they are ready to grow.

Here's the best paper on the group, although it's just for one species:

ian.umces.edu/bill/pdfs/crossley_2002_thesis.pdf

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Russ]

Re: Aponegeton regeneration and storage

Tom,

Thanks very much. That's a big help.

-Russ