aponegoten ulvaceus

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

i have had the same bulbs in my tank for a long time and they have been really lame... i bought them from walmart in the package and havent really done anything special for them. well, i have had these in the past and they did really well... but noo flowers. now i am taking care of these ones and there is a flower now, what should i expect??? does anyone know anything about these things????

[ChilDawg]

How do you know that they are A. ulvaceus from just the packaging? I have seven of the bulbs in my tank, and I think that they are either all dormant or worthless, so I honestly can't help you with keeping an actual Aponogeton. Worthless bulbs, though, I could tell you all about those!

[wetmanNY]

It's good to buy the bulb already sprouted. Not good to buy it in full leaf, since those leaves won't make it home.

Getting them through the dormant period hasn't been easy for me. They like to sit undisturbed in cooler temps. Other people have success pulling them and storing them in damp sand, etc etc. Never worked for me.

I've been getting better results with ?A. rigidifolius? which doesn't go so dormant.

[djlen]

I bought mine with leaves sprouting. Grew like a son of a gun. Flowered nicely. I let it go to seed. The seeds floated briefly, and dropped and I'm guessing 80% of them germinated and are growing well. the only problem with it is that you never know where the plantlets will sprout by doing it this way. I had Apons. all over the place. But they are easy enough to move.
Len

[wetmanNY]

djlen, Karen Randall says that our aquarium Aponogetons are all complicated hybrids, so you may get some interesting variations in the size and style of your seedling Aponogetons.

[125gJoe]

http://gordon.sourcecod.com/images/flagicons/american_flag.gif
We have tried those Wal-Mart bulbs with no luck at all. :(
They never grew.

[djlen]

Joe, I'm not so sure that the Wal-Mart bulbs are very good quality.
I've heard a lot of bad reports from people that got theirs there.
I got mine at a really good LFS in my area.
Wetman, that would explain why some of the young plants look nothing like the parent. I wondered about that.
Len

[K_S_W_I_S_S]

well i dont see anything wrong with the walmart bulbs that come in the package, they all have worked for me... and i havent even used anything special for them yet... just a unused small flower pot with normal gravel and some jobes sticks in them...

[wetmanNY]

Well, I'd be interested in a more "apartment-size" A. ulvaceus. One strongly-growing bulb sure fills a 33 gallon high!