# Microsorum



## Something Fishy (30 Sep 2018)

Hi guys

Anybody grown these emersed with success? Seen some things online but nothing concrete and I know the roots would need soil as the leaves wouldn’t be taking in nutrients?

To then submerge I presume it would be hard to attach to wood after?


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## tam (30 Sep 2018)

If you want to keep them emersed there are some species that live that way naturally that might be easier then using javaferns,for example, which seem to like quite high humidity.


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## Something Fishy (30 Sep 2018)

I was thinking of dry starting a new tank but have some Microsorum and was thinking of using them in there too but didn’t want to kill them. Online people said they grow fine but not seen much on here that’s all 


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## zozo (30 Sep 2018)

Trying here for years to try to aclimatize very young and small java ferns above an open top tank and always fail due to low humidity. Tho in a closed greenhouse, terrarium or paludarium setup with a suficient humidity they are rather easy to grow. You can grow them on wood as long as there is some moss (or dried sphagnum) at the rhizome holding some moist and or ferts. Regarding ferts it doesn't need very much, in an emersed invironment planted as epiphyte and keeping it moist there always will be some bacterial decomposition etc. at the rhizome feeding it suficiently. Same as for Orchids, they need very liittle fertilization to grow. But it will definitively grow faster if it gets ferts for example planted on organic soil.

@Edvet magaged to grow a few above an open top tank on sponge, these appeared spontaniously from spores.
https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/blue-backed.53756/#post-531767
And this is something rather very rare, but as showen not impossible.. Growing ferns from spores intentionaly is rather difficult and a painstaking long project, but it can be done. Than you first need to get a microsorum to cary spores, collect them and go from there.


Dry start and keep the tank covered is not an issue at all. They will survive.. Tho you might experience any new leaf developed emersed will not transition and die off once submersed.


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## Something Fishy (30 Sep 2018)

Really helpful cheers for that 

Do Tropica not grow potted plants emersed though? So no different to me buying ones from them and hoping the leaves take right?

It would be fully covered yeah with the usual air vents on the corners 

It’s only really the Cuba that I’m going emersed for as I’ve found that without emersed it’s so hard to get it to root well.


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## foxfish (30 Sep 2018)

Yes they grow like weeds, possibly the fastest going plant in my emersed set up....


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## Something Fishy (30 Sep 2018)

Great feedback thanks mate.

So flooding after should be a fair chance of them surviving or possibly adapting worst case?

I take it you’ve planted them in aquasoil or normal soil?

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## alto (30 Sep 2018)

Something Fishy said:


> Do Tropica not grow potted plants emersed though? So no different to me buying ones from them and hoping the leaves take right?


Tropica grows their emerse culture plants in multimillion dollar greenhouses with computer controlled environment systems (& daily human intervention) but yeah ...sounds just like a home dry start  



I’d just establish the HC first, then add the Microsorum species when you’re ready to flood - I believe HC roots “better” with slightly dryer soil conditions & this will be hard to control if you’re maintinaing sufficient humidity to prevent drying of  the Microsorum leaves 
If planning to maintain the tank as emerse culture, I’d add the Microsorum first, adding HC only after it’s established


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## Something Fishy (30 Sep 2018)

Yeah grown HC tonnes of times as emersed as never had a problem, it seems the co2 and high light with moist soil are the ideal conditions for it which is harder underwater to being with.

Yeah I get Tropica have far superior conditions than myself, I was meaning the leaf type i.e either submerged or emersed, and if emersed and grown in air then that leaf is not used to being underwater and must adapt. This is what I was referring to in terms on leaf condition type and adaptation when you buy them. I also know when dying this species send off new shoots to try and recover which is also very clever.

The tank will be flooded eventually as an aquarium and I will try and grow the lot emersed if I can, but if I need to I can leave the Microsorum in a bucket until ready but some people seem to think it’s fine to grow emersed.


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## Edvet (1 Oct 2018)

Look at this at 21.30 min:


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## Something Fishy (1 Oct 2018)

Nice vid! Ferns looks huge haha those would lose the leaves in a tank then you recon?


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## alto (1 Oct 2018)

Visit to Dennerle greenhouses - Part 2

is a MUST watch 

- another Microsorum tunnel where it’s more obvious how wet the conditions


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## zozo (2 Oct 2018)

Something Fishy said:


> those would lose the leaves in a tank then you recon?



Maybe, maybe not..  No guarantee.. I once thought to be smart and bought a bunch from a fellow hobbyist all very big plants that develloped submersed for years. Those plants all came from a high tech tank with ample CO². I hoped it would save me some time to grow them myself that big. Once in my low tech tank they started shedding leaves and i lost 90%.. It was actualy a complete waste of money and a wakeup call from a dream. I had to start over again from scratsh with little the baby plants i had left and now almost over 3 years later i'm still far away from the size i once bought them.

Go figur, they all grew submersed and still didn't take the transplant shock from one submersed invironment to an other.

For so far it is an easy plant..

Funy thing is, it is more greatfull and happy with transplanting it from submersed to emersed.. But the other way around, you never know.

Giving it enough CO² gives it the best chances to survive..


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## Matt @ ScapeEasy (3 Oct 2018)

I had a similar experience transferring from one tank to another where water conditions varied. The plant did produce lots of little planlets as it was on its way out though and so I have been growing these on over the last 12 months... I find the species quite a bit trickier than some of the other supposedly easy plants. It needs more light than some others is my conclusion so far...


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