Wisteria...

Charise

Charise

AC Members
Apr 9, 2008
91
0
0
Boondocks, Pennsylvania
So I have a 55 gall. community tank with 3 "bunches" of Wisteria in it that are looking pretty sickly (green, but edges are starting to turn brown)...I really know nothing about plants, and quite frankly I can't keep a "normal" plant alive. I bought these plants about 2 or so months ago, maybe more, but I'd like them to grow nicer! I don't want to get into CO2 or any special lighting (the bulb is whatever came with the 55 hood), but is there any kind of fertilizers I can use that are safe for fish??
 
Yes there are flourish products, but without correct lighting, you will not be able to grow much of anything in a 55 gallon with stock lighting outside of java moss and java fern. With correct lighting and without co2 or fertilizers, wisteria will still grow pretty nicely.
 
How many watts is the bulb? I'm willing to bet that low light is part of the problem. There are several good fertilizers on the market (I use Leaf Zone, and Seachem Flourish is highly regarded), but I would look at your lighting situation before using fertilizers. Otherwise, then plants might not use them up and you'll wind up with an algae problem from an over-fertilized tank. :idea:

Wisteria is a neat plant and, with the right lighting, it's easy to grow. (In fact, I need to trim what I have in my tank -- it's taking over! :eek:)
 
*Good water quality is necessary for aquatic plants. Certainly without high light required for wisteria, it will not make it. There are plenty of low light plants available on AC that will probably do very well with your lighting. Check out the AC classifieds. Ask lighting requirements before you buy.
 
Moreover, "bunches" sounds like you may still have the stems held together as they are bought. Wisteria is a bushy plant and it's worth separating the stems; this will also let more light get to each individual stem. Lighting is going to be the issue; the standard lighting fittings are usually between 25% and 50% of what's required for plant growth.
 
Wisteria grows best with a lot of light. My first one melted its original leaves that it grew under the MH lighting at the LFS, and adapted to growing much broader leaves to grow under my less-intense light. Once I upgraded my light, it started growing the more "normal" shaped leaves. Even still, I wonder if I have enough light :/
 
Sooo the light is a 40 watt t-10...so I guess that's really low considering it's on a 55...

I wouldn't have a problem upgrading the light, BUT I wanted to keep lower lights anyway due to my Elephant Nose...Maybe I'll just get rid of these plants and get new ones... :-/

Funny thing is that I actually didn't even know the name of the plant until yesterday, when I found it at thatpetplace.com...

I actually had these plants in my 10 gall when I first got them, and they grew so darn fast that I already cut them. They are still together from when I got them from the LFS, so maybe I'll seperate them tonight...
 
I think you'll struggle to find any plant which will grow in conditions that gloomy.
 
yeah, there is your problem, not enough light. "Special" light isn't required, But you do need more light. You should be able to get away with about 5+ 20-25 watt CFLs (screw in), I have 46 watts over my 20 long, its enough to make my Hygrophila Difformis (water wisteria) go nuts. AH supply sells retrofit kits, But in any case, your aim is 100+ watts of total light.
 
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