Aquatic root cuttings

[mort]

I was just reading a thread about amazon sword propagating and wondered if root cuttings would work? Or if any aquatic (or what we call aquatic) plants could be propagated in this manner? It's that winter gardener mode I'm in at the moment and I know that it is possible, plus very productive from experience, with crypts and was thinking plants with big fleshy roots might be worth a try.

 

[Wookii]

I've had Potomageton Gayi grow from just roots left in re-used aqua soil - all the stems and leaves were ripped out prior to rescaping, and the P. Gayi just reappeared from nowhere after a while.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

It's that winter gardener mode I'm in at the moment and I know that it is possible, plus very productive from experience, with crypts and was thinking plants with big fleshy roots might be worth a try.

I'd guess that relatively few aquatic plants will regenerate from actual root fragments, just purely because very few aquatic plants have thick storage organs that are actually, technically, roots.

Java Fern (Microsorum pteropus) definitely can produce new plants from its rhizoid "roots", although I'm not sure they really are roots, it is a <"bit funny with ferns">.

I think that they are all more likely to regenerate from <"under-substrate stem sections"> e.g. rhizomes, turions, stolons etc. This is a Cryptocoryne sp.

cheers Darrel

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I've had Potomageton Gayi grow from just roots left in re-used aqua soil

I'm going to guess that was from a stolon / rhizome / turion (all under-substrate stems), rather than strictly from a root. <"Potamogeton - Wikipedia">.

Potamogeton species ........... All species are technically perennial, but some species disintegrate in autumn to a large number of asexually produced resting buds called turions, which serve both as a means of overwintering and dispersal. Turions may be borne on the rhizome, on the stem, or on stolons from the rhizome. Most species, however, persist by perennial creeping rhizomes...

cheers Darrel

 

[mort]

I think I got a bit carried away this morning limiting just roots. The crypts I propagated were through the stolons on some particularly mature crypt balansae. I'm quite interested in propagation so like experimenting in ways to make free stuff and don't mind if it's roots, rhizome or even stem cuttings but since most already do stems, was just wondering about some other ways to make more plants that perhaps others aren't using massively.
The crypt stolons I cut into 2-3" sections, quickly created multiple growing tips and roots along the whole section (is nodes still the correct term). I guess it's no different to removing all the foliage to prevent melt but I was surprised by how plentiful it was a method for propagation from bits that would normally be thrown away.