bulbs from walmart

[fishdude92]

who has had experiences with the aponogoton bulbs? i recently bought 2 pack a week ago and most of the bulbs are doing nothing except growing mold on them. whats the problem?

[TipStylez]

the problem is that their from walmart.

[Mgamer20o0]

most people i read always have a couple bulbs that dont grow but most at lest have some that do. i never bought any of them myself though.

[Wintermire]

Last year I bought 2 packs of bulbs from walmart. One pack of those aponogeton which had 5 bulbs in the pack, and a pack of some type of lily (can't remember the name) 2 bulbs in the pack. Of the 5 aponogeton bulbs only two of them grew. Both of the lily's grew. the lily's where supposed to be redish/green and very slow growing but one was different species than was stated on the pack, it was all green no redish color at all and seemed to be hoped up on growth hormones :eek: it was the only one to survive my ameture plant care. Went back to walmart and bought another pack of the two types. This time none grew at all. Then about two months ago I tried again figured what the heck, bought 3 packs of each and none of them have grown at all.

So I would say they are not worth it. Oh btw the first ones i bought had been hanging on the hook at walmart so long there was a thick layer of dust on them and those where the ones that grew!

I don't think it's just the fact that they are being bought at walmart that is the problem but that they are usually very old by the time someone does buy them that is the problem

[WaterBaby]

funny you should mention this. I just bought a 2pack of the lily bulbs 2 days ago. When choosing the bulbs, I went through the rack looking at the "solidness" of the bulbs. Many looked "dried out" and dimpled throughout. I chose the most solid ones. Now, that's not to say that these will sprout.... you never know.

When I dropped them into the tank, one sank and one didn't. It's still floating on top of the water.

We'll see. They weren't that expensive anyway..but looked kinda neat on the package..

[Educatedthug]

none of mine have grown after a month and the loaches have started eating them

[Importskyline22]

I bought the lillys from there. They grew like a wild fire. Just took about a month to get started.

[fsn77]

I've had good success with the aponogeton bulbs, but not so much with the lilly bulbs. Only 1 of the 2 lilly bulbs grew, and that was only after several MONTHS of it being in our tank. I've bought 2 packs of the aponogeton bulbs total over the last several years and still have 2 plants from the last pack (bought more than a year ago). The ones from the first pack I bought were still alive before I had to tear down the tank, otherwise they'd probably still be alive.

[daayda3]

Mine havent grown at all..and I have had them in my tank for about 3 months:D

[fishdude92]

wow i dont think i gonna buy anymore of these crappy wal mart bulbs after hearing all these bad experiences

[Astramorgaine]

none of mine have grown after a month and the loaches have started eating them
mmmmmmmm lunch lol
I bought some of those bulbs about a month and a half ago and they never di anything... I just buy plants when I can now. I'm looking into a few places to get some online, but not until the freezing weather passes.

[dimebag983]

i bought one of each about two years ago and all but one of the aponegetons grew and the lilys grew. i still have them and they are doing fine.

[br553]

I currently have only aponogeton and lily bulbs in my tank, all from walmart. Although I have had a 70%-80% grow rate, I have gotten numerous apon seedlings so that helps make up for the difference. Also one of my lilies has split into 3 plants and the other is growing like a weed. The fast growing one has started to form it's own bulb so hopefully the parent bulb will sprout another plant. I guess part of my success has been adequate lighting and a good fertilizer routine.

[blackwolfXKAV]

Dont be discouraged by others' stories of no success. If you look on the back of the package, it shlould tell you something about their deal which goes like this:

"Return the bulbs that didnt sprout to us, and we'll send you a new one for it."

Good luck and please remember, these bulbs are VERY fast growers ONCE THEY GET STARTED.

Also, i recently had on of my bulbs which had sat dormat for close to 6 months suddenly sprout, so cheer up.

Hope this helps.

[vootsy]

You should try the link below for plants.

http://www.trilbytropicals.com/

[ChuckP]

I bought one pack of these (apons) a couple of months ago - of the five or six in the package, only one took, but it grew about eight inches in over a week, and looks quite nice.

I think I'm going to try a few more - it's only two bucks or so, if one takes, I've got a nice two dollar plant.

Like a previous poster mentioned, check the bulbs for hardness, if they're soft and squishy, it's probably not going to go.

[Star_Rider]

hit or miss with them..I do not place them in the tanks as some may rot.

I do take tank water in a glass, find a warm place(usually on top of the sump) and set them there..if /when they sprout..I then move them to the tank.

some of them are gorgeous others spindly. some don't sprout.(send em back..do not return them to wally world you get much better response from the mfg)
I did buy a pack of lily bulbs and they both sprouted..and they are growing

[gmh]

I put in 4 Dwarf lilly (Hybrid Ulvaceus) bulbs my tank just 3 weeks ago. Two of them soon sprouted and put out many pretty green leaves, but then shot up long runners to the surface which then sprouted some sort of flower above the water surface. These flowers appear to already be going to seed.
I read somewhere that the plant will go dormant or die when this happens, and you should pinch off these long runners when they appear, to prevent this.

[geofied]

Funny how many of us got these things from Wally World. I thought I was the only one. Out of the 5 Apon bulbs I put into 2 different tanks nothing sprouted, they just rotted away. Finally gave up on them after 3 months. I knew **** well I wasn't going to bother with contacting the company, and so did they...

Good for those that had success though.

[captaincrampton]

I bought two packs of bulbs from walmart with 7 total bulbs. only one grew, but it is growing really well. all of the rest just grew a bunch of mold so i took them out thinking they could be bad for my fish.

[wataugachicken]

at my local walmart they actually go through the bulbs pretty fast. i always browse, and 3 out of 4 times they will be sold out of bulbs. i also start the bulbs in a gallon jar with a desk light pointed down over it. lets me keep track of the bulbs, keeps fish from eatingt them, and keeps fungus out of the tanks. as soon as i see a sprout i move it to the main tank. i don't use ferts, so my aponos are staying pretty small, but i also let the runners grow for too long. they make a nice kind of ground cover that the cories and tetras hide out in, and that's fine for me because i have plemty of hornwort for height.

[geofied]

i also start the bulbs in a gallon jar with a desk light pointed down over it. lets me keep track of the bulbs, keeps fish from eatingt them, and keeps fungus out of the tanks. as soon as i see a sprout i move it to the main tank. i don't use ferts, so my aponos are staying pretty small, but i also let the runners grow for too long. they make a nice kind of ground cover that the cories and tetras hide out in, and that's fine for me because i have plemty of hornwort for height.

Hmmm, you gave me some good ideas there wataugachicken, thanks! Now we'll just have to see if my wife would prefer multiple jars sitting around the house, or just one more 10G just for plant grow out...and maybe a few shrimp...and...

[reybie]

I read this from azgarden's website and I'm tempted to try it with some of the bulbs from Walmart.

Tips for growing bulbs and our bulb warranty: (Applies to ALL Aquarium Plant Bulbs: ie: Dwarf Lily, Aponogeton, Barclaya, etc.): Try placing your bulb(s) in a folded "moist" paper towel (not sopping wet), put the paper towel in a plastic bag, an air-tight bag is not necessary, folded over or stapled is just fine. Place this bag on something warm where you won't forget about it... i.e. on top of your cable box, or your computer! Wait just a couple days and "voila!" Your bulb should have some protrusion poking out of it, this is the actual plant stem, the roots will grow much later, now you know which end is the top, this will help you not to plant your bulb upside-down! You have just pre-germinated your bulb! Another way is to just drop the bulb into your aquarium without burying it, (allow it to just sit on top of your substrate), wait for growth to appear (usually within 5 days for some, and up to 2 months for others...like Barclaya) and then push the bulb into the substrate leaving just a smidget of the bulb's crown exposed.

[reybie]

Woah! I got 2 sprouts already! If these plants live, like one of the previous poster said, I got the return on my investment already :)

[TipStylez]

I think bulbs are one of the fastest growing plants out there.

I used Onion bulbs, lilly bulbs, and lace bulbs. All that have sprouted of course.

I got a newly sprouted lace bulb with leaves a lil under 1in. A week later, its about 3in tall now. And my more mature bulb that i got around 8in, 3weeks later its reaching 2.5ft.

Onions seems to grow a lil slower, lillys are in the middle.

[reybie]

I think I'm up to a total of 5 sprouts now. I bought 3 packs of different plants, lilly, aponogeton, and the other I can't remember the name. When do you "plant" the bulbs? Do you wait until the sprouts are about 2 or 3 inches?

[Nutt]

I have had great luck with wall mart bulbs however you must make sure that they are not getting moved around by either fish or water flow or they wont grow. Also half burry them and they will sprout a little sooner. I did, like some of the others, have a few that sat for a few months before doing anything at all.

[TipStylez]

just decided to pick up some dwarf lilly bulbs. Was looking for the lace bulbs but all they had was lilly and aponogeton. And i didnt like how the aponogeton looked so i picked up a pack of the lillys.

Lets see how things goes.

[br553]

If you are looking for lace bulbs, one place that I have ordered from is azgardens.com. Although they do not have a guarantee, all of the bulbs I ordered from them, 8 of the fancies and 10 of the natans, all sprouted except for 2 of the natans. I even got a suprise lace plant in the order. The price for the bulbs only are 3.49 a piece. The bulbs I ordered were moist and had their leaves and roots clipped off for shipping, so I didn't have to pre-germinate them.

The dwarf lily bulbs are nice, but they usually produce floating leaves that are about 4 inches across. The floating leaves are green with a red-brown mottling. I've heard that you can train it to stay submerged by clipping off the leaves that start going to the surface, but I am not certain on that. Perhaps someone else with experience on this will chime in.

[TipStylez]

you are right on the dwarf lillys.

I have a HUGE lace bulb right now in my 55. And just got another small one thats about 4"tall.

I just wanted to find a lace bulb to grow for fun because i liked them so much.

But i can get the already sprouted no problem cause we get them at my work all the time.

[shaggbark]

Bummer, I purchased a pack of Lilly bulbs at Wal-mart a week ago and they have yet to sprout. I thought they would have shown signs of life by now :( Michelle

[br553]

Dwarf lilies tend to be very slow starters compared to aponogeton bulbs. One of my lily bulbs took over a month to start growing. It now puts out a new leaf every 8 days or so and has split into 3 different plants. It's about a year old. As long as the bulbs don't get mushy or moldy, they should be fine.

[geofied]

Just picked up some of the Lily bulbs, gonna give them a shot after the Apon bulbs all rotted a while back.

Put two in a spare 10g I just setup for a QT tank in the garage and one in a jar in the window. We'll see what happens.

Has anyone gotten Lilys to be as red as the picture on the packaging?

[Temo]

I BOUGHT ABOUT 9 PAC OF THEM AND JUST 2/3 OF THEM GROW(NOW IT OVER GROW MY 10 GAL)
AND SOME OF THEM ARE DEAD I THINK YOUR IS DEAD,BUT KEEP WASH THE WHITE MOLD ON IT OFF ,IT MIGHT GROW

[reybie]

Just picked up some of the Lily bulbs, gonna give them a shot after the Apon bulbs all rotted a while back.

Put two in a spare 10g I just setup for a QT tank in the garage and one in a jar in the window. We'll see what happens.

Has anyone gotten Lilys to be as red as the picture on the packaging?

I got red ones but when they grow, they shoot towards the surface where if uncontrolled they block lights. I snip off the leaves as soon as they reach the surface.

[b_evans06]

I bought a package of them and only 2 grew. One has grew to be about 10 inches tall and shoots up stalks to the surface and has little white flowers on it. The other one is a lot slower growing and is only about 3 inches tall. Definitely worth the 2 bucks. Heres a pic: You can see the big one on the right and the little one to the left. I have since moved the little one because I thought the big one might be taking all the nutrients in the substrate.
http://i106.photobucket.com/albums/m258/b_evans06/jkjlj105.jpg

[geofied]

Dwarf lilies tend to be very slow starters compared to aponogeton bulbs. One of my lily bulbs took over a month to start growing. It now puts out a new leaf every 8 days or so and has split into 3 different plants. It's about a year old. As long as the bulbs don't get mushy or moldy, they should be fine.

I'm having the opposite experience. I bought the Lilys a week ago. One of the 3 Dwarf Lily bulbs I got has 1-inch shoots reaching for the lights, the other two are eeking out tiny fuzzy root-type things.

My Apons just rotted away, but of course they could have been a bad batch. Other folks have had bulbs sprout after a month or more.

[barthur33]

My walmart lily is doing weird things! It sprouted fine, grew a stem about 2 inches, THEN it decided to grow roots at the TOP of the stem that reach into the sand. Weird looking, but kinda cool! It's already grown 3 large leaves, but the way it's doubled back, it looks like the leaves are growing right out of the sand instead of on a stem. I bought 2 packs, one of lilys, and one of the apon bulbs. Got one plant from each. The apon looks normal and is growing rapidly. It's just the lily that is a little "challenged"!

[br553]

That sounds like one of my apons, an undulatus/natans cross.

[Cyp_Lover]

The trick I have learned to growing these bulbs is to place them in between some damp (not soggy) paper towels in a plastic bag and place the bag on top of your cable box or computer, something that is on a lot and produces some kind of heat. Wait two days then open the bag and look at which bulbs have sprouted. Plant the ones that have sprouted in the tank with the sprout pointing up. The ones that have not sprouted just place back in the bag and wait another day and check them out. Keep repeating this until they have sprouted or they do not look like they will. I have had very good success this way with these bulbs. It also prevents you from putting bulbs that will rot into your tank. Then when the plants flower all you have to do is rub two flowers together and you will get seeds that will break off the plant and grow in your substrate.

[wataugachicken]

that is a very good idea. i'll try that next time.

[geofied]

Update: Two out of three bulbs have now sprouted at about the 10-day mark. Both of these are sinkers, one in a 10g in the garage and one in a tiny jar in a South facing window. The third one is a floater, and is in the 10g garage tank. As I mentioned, this 3rd floating one does have little root type things poking out, so I've still got high expectations for it.

I'm wondering if the density/floating predicts the potential for these bulbs.

[uglyfido]

I had some wal-mart bulbs for lilies and such and all I got were snails. After about a year of nothing, I fished out the bulb and threw it away. Wal-mart sucks for anything fish related. Especially plants and advice. IMHO go somewhere else.

[geofied]

I had some wal-mart bulbs for lilies and such and all I got were snails. After about a year of nothing, I fished out the bulb and threw it away. Wal-mart sucks for anything fish related. Especially plants and advice. IMHO go somewhere else.

In most every way I agree with your statements. However, I intend to exploit the convenience and sometimes relative bargains that the big box stores offer. I also can appreciate the sheer novelty of being able to buy a dry package of bulbs for cheap, drop 'em in water, and watch them grow. My first package of Apon bulbs did not grow, but I couldn't resist trying again with the Lilies.

BTW, our Wallymarts no longer carry live fish and have relegated their fish section to a small area now. I don't feel nearly as bad when I go to the pet department now.

[OhNo123]

I bought 1 pack from Walmart a month ago, came with 6 bulbs but one was messed up. I threw that one in the tank anyway to see if it grew. 3 grew and one is really big right now that I don't even think its an aponogeton. It is in my 10 gallon tank its out of the water. The stem of the plant is bent and there is one part thats out of the water and it looks like a flower is about to sprout. The other two do not look like this and are rather short right now. About 5 inches tall.
If you want to be safe, I would buy the Top Fin brand of the Aponogeton.
I bought a pack of 4 and 2 grew already in 2 weeks. I bought these at my local Petsmart.

[gmh]

The best advice I have heard on this thread is from Star Rider. Put the bulbs in a seperate bowl of water and then see which one(s) sprout, then put them in the main tank.
I have bought various bulbs from Wallmart and Petco and the success rate has been about 40%. Still not a bad deal when you consider the low price, and it is so cool when a bulb takes off and becomes a beautifull plant.

[fishdude92]

i sent back my apongontons bulbs which didnt sprout in 2 months like a month ago and to date i still havent gotten my replacement bulbs

[wataugachicken]

I bought 1 pack from Walmart a month ago, came with 6 bulbs but one was messed up. I threw that one in the tank anyway to see if it grew. 3 grew and one is really big right now that I don't even think its an aponogeton. It is in my 10 gallon tank its out of the water. The stem of the plant is bent and there is one part thats out of the water and it looks like a flower is about to sprout. The other two do not look like this and are rather short right now. About 5 inches tall.
If you want to be safe, I would buy the Top Fin brand of the Aponogeton.
I bought a pack of 4 and 2 grew already in 2 weeks. I bought these at my local Petsmart.

I have not seen bulbs at my local petsmart, but i will look next time i go there.

[iamgroovy]

I've had alot of success with the lilys. I recents bought two packs and all but two sprouted and are growing like crazy. I bought them mailorder from Petco so maybe they were fresher?

I have bought them from Walmart including aponogeton bulbs. About half of them sprouted.

It's hit and miss with them but if you can choose the firmest ones you'll have better success.

[stormomi]

These walmart bulbs are pretty awesome. I bought a couple packages, 1 dwarf lily and 2 apons. So far out of the 3 packs only 4 plants have sprouted. Maybe I'll return them for more plants.

One red/green lily plant, which is tiny compared to the apons I placed in a couple weeks later. It only shoots out tiny leaves. Perhaps my low lighting? I only have 1wpg right now.

One apon has dark green curly leaves that sends up floating leaves as well and has flowered a couple times.

Another apon has bright green semi-transparent leaves that are all submerged.

Another apon only sends up floating leaves.

[silentskream]

i bought a couple packs of bulbs from walmart as well.. but out of the 5 or 6 bulbs, i only got one plant.. and that didn't even show up until like 6 months later.

weird.

of course, i dont have the planted set ups that most ppl do.. no CO2, no fancy lights.

[br553]

These walmart bulbs are pretty awesome. I bought a couple packages, 1 dwarf lily and 2 apons. So far out of the 3 packs only 4 plants have sprouted. Maybe I'll return them for more plants.

One red/green lily plant, which is tiny compared to the apons I placed in a couple weeks later. It only shoots out tiny leaves. Perhaps my low lighting? I only have 1wpg right now.

One apon has dark green curly leaves that sends up floating leaves as well and has flowered a couple times.

Another apon has bright green semi-transparent leaves that are all submerged.

Another apon only sends up floating leaves.

That's what I like about those bulbs from nnnnnnn. You never know what kind of plant you will get, whether it's long, wavy leaves, long narrow crimped leaves, floating or a combo of all. Not to mention the various shades of red and green.

[chrisgoforth]

I bought a pack of those. Mine began growing after about 3 weeks under high lighting with fertilizer and plenty of iron. I also have fairly hard water with ph around 7.8

[C98Hall]

Wow I guess I had pretty good look. I bought two packs and all but about 4 of the bulbs grew. The also sprouted after just a week or two and some reached the surface after only 4 or 5 days. I am really happy with how they turned out, especially since they were so cheap.

[aparker2005]

I bought 1 pack and all but 1 have sprouted and the plants are growing fast and look great. How long do they last?

[aparker2005]

I bought 1 pack and all but 1 have sprouted and the plants are growing fast and look great. How long do they last?

[aparker2005]

I bought 1 pack and all but 1 have sprouted and the plants are growing fast and look great. How long do they last?

[br553]

I have a few apons and a couple of dwarf lillies that have been going for over a year.

[ZSandmann]

I bought three packs, 1 apons, one dwarf lily, one lily. I put them in my tanks four days ago and many are already sprouting. Two were floating and on inspection were hollow but no great loss they are cheap and I've heard of people getting rather expensive plants like Madagascar Lace from these packs.

[br553]

Although I have never had a Madagascar lace plant from the bulbs at nnnnnnn, I did order some bulbs from an online site. One of the bulbs that was supposed to be a biovinianus was actually a lace plant. It is still growing, but not as well as it should since I do not have the best setup for this type of plant. On the other hand, the undulatus I ordered is doing quite well. It's the dominant plant in the tank.

[Firebelly__girl]

I just seen some bulbs tonight at my wal-mart, first time I seen them. I don't even remember the name, but they said there was no need for co2/fertilizer. What do you guys think if you just buy a pack of them, put them in an old mayo jar with water, in a window with plenty of light? Or do you recommend the damp paper towel thing?

[ChilDawg]

I didn't have much luck with them when I had them a few years ago...that having been said, I've seen a lot of cases where folks had great luck with them...but the ones I saw were Aponogeton spp., so treat them the same way as you would an Aponogeton spp. plant. (I would have to send you to www.plantgeek.com for info about those as I don't know all that much about plants.)

[Cyp_Lover]

I tried these bulbs many times, with mixed results the best results I had were with the damp paper towel in a ziploc bag like I posted. I can not say that this works really good for everyone but for me this worked. Using that method I had bought five packs and had 15 or so plants sprout out of 20 or so in the packs. The plants started sending up surface leaves and then flowers rub the flowers together and they will pollinate each other. If you do not want flowers do not let the plant grow surface leaves as this will train the plant to stay more compact (does not work on all plants though). The bulbs are hybrid aponogeton plants so they are hardier then most aponogetons.