Crypt - flower shoot?

[Mark Allen]

Hello, as per the photo, a stem has come out a Crypt, what can I do with it?!

 

[Mick.Dk]

That is not a Cryptocoryne, sorry - that s an Echinodorus. It looks loke Echinodorus bleherii.
You can cut it off, to save the plant from spending energy on it, producing more new leaves instead. Or you can leave it sitting on the plant, where it will produce some new plantlets. These can then be pulled off the stem, when they have grown into little new plants with leaves and roots. Tje small new plants can then be planted somewhere else in your tank.

 

[zozo]

These can then be pulled off the stem, when they have grown into little new plants with leaves and roots.

You don't even have to wait for plantlets to cut it off, if you cut it off after it has flowered. For the beauty of it i would wait for that and enjoy the flowers. Than cut it and just leave the flower stalk floating in the water.. At each axis of the flower bunches a plantlet will grow in time. Echinodorus is a unbelievable vertile plant. If it has 5 flower bunches you'll get 5 new plantlets.

 

[Mark Allen]

It's grown that big in around a week, it's actually poking out the water now.
Will leave it for now then,

 

[zozo]

The flower stalks in a tank easily can grow 2 metre tall.. At least my small sized Echinodorus does. Even after the flowers are long gone, the stalk keeps growing.. A fish tank is an unnatural place to be for this, the glass box tall side panels prevent the flower stalk from falling over and it will never tough any ground. So the plant will keep putting energy into the flower stalk to grow, trying to find ground. In nature or in a pot the flower stalks bend over towards the ground much sooner. if the stalk or plantlet on it toughes soil, it's going to root. Than the flower stalks propagation cycle is completed. It's not just a flower stalk, it'smore like an aerial runner with flowers..

 

[Mick.Dk]

I'm sorry to spoil the fun a bit.......but the flowers of Echinodorus bleherii is really much smaller, than most of the hybrids (ex. the Echinodorus "kleiner Bear')....... not very impressing, really !
I am also quite sure, the humidity of a living-room is not sufficient to develop healthy plantlets on Echinodorus bleherii (this species need higher humidity than most Echinodorus, when cultivated emerse)........so I would actually recommend to force the stem to stay submerged, ex. by gently leading it around the inside of the walls of your tank. If this is a tank with a glas-cover, the problem is ofcourse solved - humidity being much higher underneath.
- hope this is of help .

 

[zozo]

I am also quite sure, the humidity of a living-room is not sufficient to develop healthy plantlets on Echinodorus bleherii (this species need higher humidity

Thanks for that, scratched that name off my list.. Is it btw a typical hybrid thing to do well emersed in moderate humidity?

 

[Mick.Dk]

Thanks for that, scratched that name off my list.. Is it btw a typical hybrid thing to do well emersed in moderate humidity?

The Ech. bleherii has its worth, by being very, very tolerant of low light and relatively poor conditions in general - but really not for emerse home-growing.
- and no; you can not really conclude, that hybrids are better at lower humidity. Ech. bleherii is just exceptionally bad at coping with low humidity.

 

[zozo]

Ok thanks mick, the mystery quest continues.. Yet seen quite some pics from emersed forms, but they always kinda fail to put the sp. name in the file name.