Flowering Bucephalandra

[MichaelJ]

Just discovered this flowering Buce in a very inconspicuous spot in one of my tanks earlier today... It's literally buried under a canopy of leaves from other plants in a low flow area. The plant is not in great shape to say the least (looks like gunk and diatoms on the leaves... looks somewhat better in real life... some could be image artifacts since there is not a whole lot of light to work with for my iPhone LOL). I probably had this plant for 2 years... Given the small amount of light this plant is getting at that spot I am surprised its even surviving and growing - let alone flowering. I continue to be amazed about how little light some of our plants can sustain. Ok, I run my light 12 1/2 hours a day (equatorial day length+) and that obviously helps when the tank is low light overall.

Sorry about the crappy picture... Just thought it would be interesting to post about the adverse conditions.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[_Maq_]

I run my light 12 1/2 hours a day and that obviously helps when the tank is low light overall.

Soooo different from my 7 hours a day...

 

[The Miniaturist]

I run my little lights around 10-11 hours as I'm the auto-timer & I forget to turn them off!
Also quite chuffed as a couple of my buce have produced buds in a very low tech tank! 🙂

 

[MichaelJ]

Soooo different from my 7 hours a day...

Right... and 6-8 hours seems very common among hobbyists. I am actually not aware of many other UKAPS members than Darrel/@dw1305 and myself applying 12+ hours of "daylight" .... besides the fact that it's sort of compatible with the equatorial daylight cycle (where many of our plants and livestock are from), a more selfish reason is really that my opportunity to enjoy my tanks are greatly extended with a 12+ hour daylight cycle. My lights ramps up at 11am in the morning and ramps down at 11:30pm in the evening. Over the weekend I tend to enjoy the tanks in the early afternoon where I also usually do maintenance. During the week it's more an afternoon and late evening event where my wife and myself gather in front of the tanks in the evening with a cocktail or glass of wine and shoot the breeze.... For me, my aquariums are mostly all about that to be honest... I just want my tanks to look the best and my livestock to thrive the best applying best practices with the least amount of effort ... For me, my aquariums provide that focal point where I, family and friends hopefully can flush their minds and possibly enhance their mental wellbeing by looking at something nice. If the lights would be on only for 7 hours that would make it much more difficult.

Cheers,
Michael

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

I am actually not aware of many other UKAPS members than Darrel/@dw1305 and myself applying 12+ hours of "daylight" .... besides the fact that it's sort of compatible with the equatorial daylight cycle (where many of our plants and livestock are from),

Christel Kasselman (@Christel) is another long day advocate - <"Lighting duration">.

a more selfish reason is really that my opportunity to enjoy my tanks are greatly extended with a 12+ hour daylight cycle.

Those <"were the reasons for me">. The tropical day is ~12 hours long and <"the sun is incredibly bright"> and I'd rather look at a lit tank than an unlit one.

I'll guess that I also differ from most (all?) members in that I let the plant mass grow in the tank until it has used all of the PAR. This means the bottoms of my tanks are <"dark and gloomy places">, however intense the light is at the tanks surface.

cheers Darrel

 

[Tim Harrison]

Just discovered this flowering Buce in a very inconspicuous spot in one of my tanks earlier today... It's literally buried under a canopy of leaves from other plants in a low flow area. The plant is not in great shape to say the least (looks like gunk and diatoms on the leaves... looks somewhat better in real life... some could be image artifacts since there is not a whole lot of light to work with for my iPhone LOL). I probably had this plant for 2 years... Given the small amount of light this plant is getting at that spot I am surprised its even surviving and growing - let alone flowering. I continue to be amazed about how little light some of our plants can sustain. Ok, I run my light 12 1/2 hours a day (equatorial day length+) and that obviously helps when the tank is low light overall.

Sorry about the crappy picture... Just thought it would be interesting to post about the adverse conditions.

View attachment 214643

Cheers,
Michael

Always nice when that happens 🙂

Lighting period is the same for me, low-energy. It’s been a while, never used timers light usually went on first thing and off last thing. Bit more than 12 hours. I also let plant growth find its own equilibrium with available light. That never really took long growing plants like vallis, Amazon swords, and various aponogetons and crypts, and easy stems such as ludwigia and hygrophila species. Fish loved it, I’m sure I could see them smiling.

 

[The Miniaturist]

You mean like this @Tim Harrison! 😁

 

[_Maq_]

looking at something nice. If the lights would be on only for 7 hours that would make it much more difficult.

I fully understand your preferences.
My preferences: 1. I'm a retired person. 2. My pension is low.

 

[Onoma1]

I seem to remember that flowering in Buce can be a stress response to a difficult environment. Perhaps it is linked to the difficult position. Not cognition but an automatic response to reproduce. I know you see this in terrestrial plants (garden shrubs) that produce a superb display one year and then die back.

 

[_Maq_]

a stress response to a difficult environment

And what about Eriocaulon? Namely Eriocaulon cinereum? If I'm not mistaken, it was @erwin123 who said that if they are flowering, they respond to stressful conditions. I don't know...

 

[Tim Harrison]

I know you see this in terrestrial plants (garden shrubs) that produce a superb display one year and then die back.

Flowering can be a response to environmental stress. It’s an adaptation probably common to all angiosperms. It’s the ultimate survival strategy ensuring species survival. Seeds can lay dormant for years until conditions become more favourable.

But plants can flower in response to supra-optimal levels of temp, light, water and nutrients. Also, obviously flowering is induced by normal circadian rhythms.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

And what about Eriocaulon? Namely Eriocaulon cinereum? If I'm not mistaken, it was @erwin123 who said that if they are flowering, they respond to stressful conditions. I don't know...

Flowering can be a response to environmental stress. It’s an adaptation probably common to all angiosperms. It’s the ultimate survival strategy ensuring species survival. Seeds can lay dormant for years until conditions become more favourable.

I'm going to guess that flowering isn't a stress response in Bucephalandra spp. (or other Aroids). The reason I say this is that they are long lived perennial plants and don't have a finite life span.

It is different for "annual" plants (by this I mean <"monocarpic or hexapanthic plants">) which will inevitably die once flowering is initiated. I'm going to guess that Eriocaulon cinereum is near to the "flower and die" group, but can produce new plantlets when happy. This is what @Mick.Dk said <"ERIOCAULON CINEREUM">

I have tested several different types of Eriocaulon. They are generally only thriving in soft water. Eriocaulon cinereum is one of the hardier types - tolerating much less soft water than most other Eriocaulons. So your plant will probaply recover once acclimaticed, if your water is not really hard.
The Eriocaulon cinereum, though, will very often start flowering right after inplanting in an aquarium. The numerous flowers will defenitely drain energy from the plant, but a healthy plant growing in good conditions will survive, gather energy and sprout new plants from the basis of the rosette, some time after flowering has ended.
If you want to save energy for your new plant you can cut the flowers, yes, not the leaves. Personally I would only cut the actual flower ( =the little ball) and leave the stem, since it can probaply still do photosynthesis and generate energy for your plant.

cheers Darrel

 

[tam]

Mine go on at 8am, ramp up until 2pm, then ramp down from 5pm to 11pm, blue light from 11pm until 1am. So more of a 7 hour light off cycle. I enjoy the ramp up/down and seeing fish at different times of the day. I don't both with room lights as much so it probably evens out the electricity cost.

There is a lot of emersed growth though so even at peak light parts of the tank itself are quite dark. My buce seem to occassionally send up a flower but I haven't noticed a pattern. The emersed buce probably flowers with roughly the same infrequent frequency as the underwater.

 

[Onoma1]

literally buried under a canopy of leaves from other plants in a low flow area. The plant is not in great shape to say the least (looks like gunk and diatoms on the leaves... looks somewhat better in real life... some could be image artifacts since there is not a whole lot of light to work with for my iPhone LOL). I probably had this plant for 2 years... Given the small amount of light this plant is getting at that spot I am surprised its even surviving and growing - let alone flowering

I am going to disagree with Darrel (first and last time) I promise.

I have a long and inglorious history of killing of buce in my early days of running a planted tank. To the extent that when I called @Aquarium Gardens they tended to sigh when I asked for yet more buce. I think they thought they were sending there plants 'up north' to die. I was however able to get them to flower... normally just before they died or when like MichaelJ they weren't in an optimal position or state of health. I remember excitedly posting to the forum that they were flowering to be told that its not necessarily a good thing....

A lay persons perspective (as an obsessive gardener) is that when shrubs and perennials have super optimal conditions they put on vegative growth but a little bit of stress + the correct nutrition brings on flowering. You can stress a plant to induce flowering by for example pruning stimulating as an adaptive response to flower. The 'Chelsea Chop', Pruning Wisteria or reducing water for tomatoes are all stress inducing techniques. A 'naturally occuring' superbloom in perennials, however. tends to proceed a poorer year for flowers or plant death.

 

[erwin123]

Flowering and life cycles​

Some Eriocaulons do not flower underwater regularly (Eriocaulon ratnagiricum, quinguangulare, cuspidatum, Shinga, Sieboldianum). Others may flower rarely with no significant impact, and continue to produce side shoots. However, certain species flower underwater as a sign of the end of their life cycle (E. polaris, cinereum). Such species should be split before their end of life cycle comes so that one can have constant supply of new baby plantlets.

When flowers appear, some species will put all energy into the growth of flowers and stop growing leaves. Pulling out the flowers will halt his process, and allow energy to channel to leaf growing again. However, for some Eriocaulon species for which the end of life cycle flowering is triggered, even pulling out flowers will not stop that from happening.

For a few Eriocaulons such as E. polaris, baby plantlets can grow from the flower stalk. This happens also for E. Cinereum if the flower stalks can breach the water line. Baby plantlets can be harvested straight from the flowers and planted.

Stable tank conditions and cooler temperatures generally discourage pre-mature flowering.

Propagating Eriocaulon species

Eriocaulon species generally prefer a combination of soft water (<2dKH) and rich soil. Some Eriocaulons naturally develop side shoots as they grow large. They can also be propagated by splitting a large plant in half. Eriocaulon ratnagiricum, Eriocaulon quinquangulare are both popular Erios that...

www.2hraquarist.com

FWIW I don't think Buces are in the same category. On the other hand, Buce flowering submersed may be a plant being confused about whether it is submersed or emersed and going through a conversion into emersed form while flowering

From the reproductive standpoint, there is no reason for Buce to flower while submersed, so I am guessing that the reason it flowers is because it something has triggered it to think it is emersed, or going to be emersed soon? Thnking about its native habitat where it may go through regular emersed/submersed cycles.

 

[DeadFish]

Propagating Eriocaulon species

Eriocaulon species generally prefer a combination of soft water (<2dKH) and rich soil. Some Eriocaulons naturally develop side shoots as they grow large. They can also be propagated by splitting a large plant in half. Eriocaulon ratnagiricum, Eriocaulon quinquangulare are both popular Erios that...

www.2hraquarist.com

FWIW I don't think Buces are in the same category. On the other hand, Buce flowering submersed may be a plant being confused about whether it is submersed or emersed and going through a conversion into emersed form while flowering

From the reproductive standpoint, there is no reason for Buce to flower while submersed, so I am guessing that the reason it flowers is because it something has triggered it to think it is emersed, or going to be emersed soon? Thnking about its native habitat where it may go through regular emersed/submersed cycles.

I have had similar experience. The only times I have had buces flower has been in response to two things (both of which have occurred plenty of times): 1. I have moved tanks from house to house
2. New plants I have acquired were grown emersed.

These are the only two times I have experienced flowering, and under both conditions, plants were subject to prolonged periods without water. In the case of moving, draining the tank and covering with plastic wrap to keep humidity for a few (or more) hours. This is typically followed by the melt of a couple leaves and then a resurgence of typical or newly submerged growth. Doesn't necessarily point to a clear conclusion, but seems to have something to do with cycles of submerged/emersed growth. They also take FOREVER to return to normal growth for me - sometimes two months. On probably 4 or 5 occasions, once they have flowered, it has taken forever for them to put out leaves again.

 

[Tim Harrison]

I have Buce flowering at the moment too, sorry to hijack your thread @MichaelJ, but thought it might be interesting for comparison. It's in what has turned out to be a perpetual dry start, but I guess it's become more of a terrarium. I think the conditions are optimal or maybe supra-optimal, good levels of light, nutrients, water, humidity, and a nice even temp, so no real environmental stress. The flower is a bit past its best but more are developing out of shot.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

You can stress a plant to induce flowering by for example pruning stimulating as an adaptive response to flower.

I think you are definitely right.

when shrubs and perennials have super optimal conditions they put on vegative growth but a little bit of stress + the correct nutrition brings on flowering.

It really depends on the plant. If you think of something like <"Davidia involucrata"> or Ivy (Hedera helix) or <"Magnolia campbellii"> or a <"Walnut tree (Juglans regia)"> it has to reach a certain state of maturity before flowering commences.

FWIW I don't think Buces are in the same category.

might be interesting for comparison. It's in what has turned out to be a perpetual dry start, but I guess it's become more of a terrarium. I think the conditions are optimal or maybe supra-optimal, good levels of light, nutrients, water humidity and a nice even temp, so no real environmental stress. The flower is a bit past its best but more are developing out of shot.

I think @Tim Harrison is right, they are more like the trees (above) partially because it is the same for <"Monstera"> and Philodendron spp., they need to mature before flowering and they are both woody Aroids, like Bucephalandra spp.

cheers Darrel

 

[MichaelJ]

normally just before they died or when like MichaelJ they weren't in an optimal position or state of health. I remember excitedly posting to the forum that they were flowering to be told that its not necessarily a good thing....

I read something to a similar effect elsewhere; that the submerged flowering is a sign that the plant is stressed, as they should only really be flowering when emerged from what I understand, and as mentioned the plant is not in overall great shape, so that could very well be it. Yet, I still find it fascinating to have flowering aquatic plants. Beside Buce, I've had flowering Anubias (submerged - see my avatar image), Swords (emerged flower) and Frogbit (emerged flower).

Cheers,
Michael

 

[The Miniaturist]

I think underwater flowers are fascinating too, flowers should be above water!
My buce has been in the same low tech tank, in the same place with no alteration in light & regular water changes for a couple of years so I can't see what would have stressed it & made it flower?
I actually thought it was looking the best it has with some iridescence showing on the leaves!
I felt the plant's healthy condition was the reason for it flowering.
I hope it doesn't die now! 😕