Plant growth rates

[willzs]

So I understand that different light levels, CO2 and ferts all make a difference but what I am trying to find out is what is meant by slow, medium or fast growth rates. I'm after a rough guide if anyone can help me?


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[rebel]

It gives an indication of trimming requirements. Fast weekly or more. Slow maybe every 6 weeks. Each can be easy/difficult for various other reasons.

 

[Eduard18]

I think it's the genetic code embedded in each plant; each plant is programmed to grow differently; it's like that and there is nothing to do about it - unless you are in the genetic engineering business ; so when you order plants you're supposed to know which kind of plants you're ordering based on the research you've done before; on the other hand regarding trimming it's a matter of nutrients ( light, CO2, fert ) fast growing plant given ample nutrients will grow at lighting speed while a slow growing one will grow correctly, BUT in poor conditions a fast growing plant will grow poorly or correctly ( if it's a robust one ) and a slow growing one will melt away

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[dw1305]

Hi all,

it's a matter of nutrients ( light, CO2, fert ) fast growing plant given ample nutrients will grow at lighting speed while a slow growing one will grow correctly, BUT in poor conditions a fast growing plant will grow poorly or correctly ( if it's a robust one ) and a slow growing one will melt away

I think it depends upon the plant, a lot of the "easy" plants are easy because they can grow slowly in sub-optimal conditions.

Leaf colour is a useful guide, if a plant has very dark green leaves, (like an Anubias spp., Java Fern or Bolbitis heudelotii) it is likely to be a slowish grower, but to grow successfully under low light/low CO2/low nutrients.

cheers Darrel

 

[zozo]

Try to see it a bit like this, +/-95% of the plants available to us are actualy bog plants growing (semi)emersed in their natural habitat.. Zone 1 to 3 and very few zone 5, they are commonly Helophyte, Hydrophyte or Epiphyte..


The epiphyte is a plant growing on wood (trees) or (litophyte) rocks have in it's natural habitat a limited source of nutrients and sometimes even water, they take up water via air humidity and litlle nutrients from running down rainwater the wood provides or what it gets from the splash water from rapid river streams. Most of them grow in the shades of dense forest canopy, it's not realy addapted to grow in an open spot where it recieves the biggest part of the day full sunshine. It would be relatively to dry and to warm, it's leaves would evaporate faster then i would take up moist and it would just die. Still those epiphytes growing very close to the water surface in zones which randomly flood and are addapted to be submersed longer periodes are available to us. Like the anubias, ferns, bucephalandras and mosses. still they are originaly epiphytes developed in and with and used to limited recourses. Since this all is limited they wont grow fast. So if you het your hands on an epiphyte in our hobby you can be 95% sure it's a slow grower not needing much light..

For the helo and hydrophytes available to us is a bit the same story, but this is a bit more difficult.. Most of them are in nature rarely to find in zone 5 or 6.. If for what ever reason they end up in zone 2, they first develop a submersed form growing towards the light to go emersed and transition to that form. It's actualy that very first young plantform we keep growing on in our tanks.. Anyway if you have little information on the plant it is very difficult to see what it needs, then you have a slight chance the color may say something like Darrel describes. you need at least to know a bit about its geographical and natural location. Does it grow in the jungle bogs or in a rice pady, does it grow in the bogs shaded by dense forest canopy in blackwater areas like Echinodurus and Crypts then it's most likely a low light plant, most of them are roset plants.. Does it grow in the rice padies then it's a plant which likes open areas with lots of light. Might be also to find in the forest at the south side river banks or lake shores etc. They are mostly grassy or flowering stem plants. So if you have a roset plant, it might have a good chance in low light is it a stem or grassy plant you definitely are more towards the medium to high light chances.

That's about the roughest guide you can get.. 🙂

 

[willzs]

Wow, thanks for that zozo


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[zozo]

Welcome 🙂

It's actualy that very first young plantform we keep growing on in our tanks..

With this is might add, because in nature they start all in quite shallow water like this, zone 2, maybe 3 if water is clear enough. Only here it will have enough co2 and light to survive its baby stage to the surface. The deeper you go the less light and less co2 is available for the baby plant. But because we freak nature a bit and put them much deeper sometimes and maybe add co2. And since water filters light significantly we need to addapt to that and put relatively a lot of light above the tank and need to keep the water clear to make enough of it reach the plant. If it's not enough you'll see a plant just not grow at all and maybe developing a pale color or grow relatively fast but very leggy the first part and denser to more it reaches the surface where is more light. Like for example a stem plant would do. And the lesser light we give it the less energy it can store to get strong enough to ever break the surface and go emersed. Only in very clear water with very high light (like full sun outside) a stem will break the surface when planted in relatively knee deep water like a rice pady. With articifial light it maybe never will do this not even when planted shallow, probably never gets a strong enough stem and keeps floating along the surface submersed. Till it grows so dense so its bouyancy can support the weight of its side shoot growing emersed. In nature rice pady 50 cm can be quite shallow in an articicial lit aquarum 50cm can be considered immensly deep.. 🙂