propagating java fern

[biogirl361]

I have a leaf of what i believe is java fern (this leaf came in with some other plants, so not 100% sure what it is, but looks like the pics of java fern). anyways the leaf has some what looks like baby plantlets growing off of it, about 3 small leaves and 3 or 4 inch long roots per plantlet. how big should i let the plantlets grow before i attempt to detach them from the 'mother leaf' and try to anchor them on their own rock?

 

[SnakeIce]

I'm always inclined to wait for the plants to get a short rhizome(tis how they grow, creeping along) so it is easyer to afix to something.

also the bigger the little plant gets the stronger it is and the better it will do on its own.

alot of the time when a java fern leaf is growing plantlets like that the parent leaf is in the process of dieing. java ferns do everything kinda slow so the leaf will be still working on dieing for several months giveing you some time to let the little plants gain strength from the parent.

 

[biogirl361]

i know this is a stupid question b/c the only plants i have ever grown are stem and rosette plants, but, what is a rhizome? what does it look like, how can i see if the plantlet has one? sorry for the clueless question

 

[beviking]

I wasn't born knowing what a rhizome is either! It is the "body" (so I like to call it) from which the leaves and roots grow. Generally speaking (for simplicity), the leaves grow up, the roots grow down, and the rhizome grows left to right (horizontally). In young plants, it may look like the base of the leaf stem is bent. This is actually the forming rhizome. When older, the rhizome is much thicker than either root or leaf stem. It is also green and wood-like in texture. The rhizome should not be buried or it will rot and the plant will die.

HTH

 

[biogirl361]

thanks for the help everyone! i guess i will just continue to let the mother leaf float around until it dies, by then the plants should be pretty big for planting by themself. this leaf is pretty unbelieveable by the way, it was picked off of the main plant at the store 2 months ago, has just been randomly floating around my tank, stuck to my filter, i accidentally speared it once with my tank tool, and through all this it is still nice dark green and stiff, not rotting at all, and now it is growing new plants off it. never seen anything like that

 

[Timmain42]

Plant have a great tenacity for life. Amazing, isn't it?

 

[daveedka]

I'm new to plants, but I just have to say, that I think the java fern is one of the most awesome plants I've ever seen in a tank. Always changing always reproducing, always doing something new and interesting (never does anything fast though) I get a big kick out of how easy it is to get jave to pearl. There are always little plantlets growing somewhere. I usually let them come off on their own, but if the leaves get about 2 inches, I'll go ahead and remove the new plant. It has rapidly become my favorite plant hands down (of course I only have about 15 different plants to compare it to)
Dave