Umbrella palm information?

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DebbyS

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Sep 19, 2006
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Do you think they [umbrella palms] may come back at some point? I didn't remove the roots, I just pulled the rotting parts out and cut all the dead looking stuff all the way to the substrate. There should still be some roots down in the substrate.
Plants can be very surprising. If you can give them even modest conditions, even out of the way somewhere (maybe in a bright corner, keeping the soil wet, misting against spider mite, if you don't want to keep them in the same situation), they may reward you with another attempt to grow, at which point you can say "Hey! I like you -- come on out here, I'll put you in with friends!" I might even be able to send you some little plants started in the same way I note above, when the weather allows again and if my own plants make it through the winter in a fairly sunny window.
 

RiVerfishgirl

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Jan 15, 2007
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Poplar Bluff, MO
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Heather
I might even be able to send you some little plants started in the same way I note above, when the weather allows again and if my own plants make it through the winter in a fairly sunny window.
If mine don't come back I'd definitely be interested in that :). Thank you for the offer.

On another note, I forgot I had some Tradescantia zebrina cuttings sitting in my kitchen. So I threw those in there too.
I searched google and people have had luck growing them with roots submersed, so hopefully they'll do well.
 

SPL15

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Sep 20, 2010
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West Michigan
I bought several Umbrella Palms at petsmart thinking they were true aquatic plants which they are not according to what I have read. I've had them growing extremely well for the last 2 months in my tank. New shoots weekly, but my goldfish eat the shoots more often than not as soon as they get noticeable in size. They havent grown much in root length, but the old leaves keep growing & new shoots keep coming up. I've got them in Black Tahitian Moon sand with no fertilizer at all. I'm still waiting for them to die so I can take them out, but they keep growing bushier even with a thick layer of diatom algae on all the older leaves. They are the only plants in my tank that pearl with the lights on as well.

Dont know if my exerience helps at all, but maybe try putting them fully submerged until they start to get established, or maybe there just isnt enough stuff in the water for them to get what they need, my goldfish are stupid messy & it's a constant battle keeping nitrates below 40ppm. I also fert with regular Seachem Flourish once per week, no CO2, & 50 watts of T8 Flourescents (1x15W Aquaglow, 1x35W Powerglow).
 

DebbyS

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Sep 19, 2006
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I had to look up "Tradescantia zebrina" and it's "wandering Jew" (or as my mom occasionaly said "wondering Jew"). Pretty plant though I've never had one. Keep us informed on how it does. SPL15, you may be right about Umbrella Palms not being true aquatic, especially if that means they don't like being completely submersed. I think of them more as bog plants -- actually I think of them in Egypt growing in the mud of the Nile River :) That also means a lot of sunlight and possibly high humdity. Difficult conditions to replicate inside, though the plants are good for sunny ponds unless the grower gets freezing weather (like we do here).
 

RiVerfishgirl

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Jan 15, 2007
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Heather
I'm still waiting for them to die so I can take them out, but they keep growing bushier even with a thick layer of diatom algae on all the older leaves.
Maybe that's my problem. I should have planted them expecting them to die. Perhaps they didn't like my enthusiastic attitude :p:
or maybe there just isnt enough stuff in the water for them to get what they need, my goldfish are stupid messy & it's a constant battle keeping nitrates below 40ppm
I keep my nitrates around 10ppm which should be sufficient. I don't want algae so I watch it closely and only allow enough for the plants to utilize. If they start using more I have kno3 I can dose though.
I have no co2 (would probably be hard to dose in an open tank anyway due to offgassing) but it shouldn't be necessary for a plant whose leaves are not submerged. I do dose plain flourish, and there are fert tabs in the substrate for the rooted plants.
I had to look up "Tradescantia zebrina" and it's "wandering Jew" (or as my mom occasionaly said "wondering Jew")
That is the common name, but I noticed a few other plants also commonly use that name, so I wanted to be specific as to not confuse anyone.

I killed off most of mine because I kept forgetting to water it, so hopefully it will get enough water in the tank lol. I just have these couple of cuttings left, but they were sitting in the kitchen in a dry pot because I forgot about them and were still alive, so I guess they're pretty hardy.

I think of them more as bog plants -- actually I think of them in Egypt growing in the mud of the Nile River :) That also means a lot of sunlight and possibly high humdity. Difficult conditions to replicate inside, though the plants are good for sunny ponds unless the grower gets freezing weather (like we do here).
From what I read they are actually native to Madagascar, but are indeed related to actual papyrus from Egypt.
Either way, the conditions you describe would probably be similar for them in the wild.
 

RiVerfishgirl

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Jan 15, 2007
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Just a new pic. A little more growth from the fully aquatic plants and re-aquascaping. My java moss completely died, I dunno what my deal is with that stuff.
Removed some of the smaller mangroves and bamboos and left the bigger ones. It was looking a little too overcrowded.

 
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