Pogostemon Erectus Purple

[PaulLB]

I’m attempting a dry start on a Dutch’s style nano scape using a Superfish 45 scaper and the provided 28W LED.

I’ve used Tropica soil with no additional fertilisers and predominately tropica 1-2 grow tissue culture plants apart from Ludwigia Palustratis which I could only find as a pot.



Everything is doing well except my Pogostemon erectus which while it has bright green tips of new growth has purple leaves underneath.

I’m only 2 weeks into dry start and I was determined to try to get to 6-8 weeks to establish the Monte Carlo and root stock development on the stems before I add water but I’m debating whether I should fill it now, or is this purple colour symptomatic or something else wrong that water won’t fix?

I’ve read it could be phosphate deficiency, or too much light but I’ve seen Pogostemon erectus grown emersed by aquaculture producers so it can be done I think?

I’m also slightly reticent to add water now as I think the Hemianthus Micranthemoides is very delicate at the moment and might melt if I add water.

Closeup of Pogostemon attached as well as one of overall aqua scape, plants in order L to R are:

Pogostemon Erectus
Ludwigia Palustratis super red
Hemianthus Micranthemoides
Rotala Vietnam Hra
Rotala Bonsai
Monte Carlo (carpet)

The scape is designed to be seen from two sides hence why the carpet goes all the way round the island of stems.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Paul

 

[plantnoobdude]

I’m attempting a dry start on a Dutch’s style nano scape using a Superfish 45 scaper and the provided 28W LED.

I’ve used Tropica soil with no additional fertilisers and predominately tropica 1-2 grow tissue culture plants apart from Ludwigia Palustratis which I could View attachment 198838only find as a pot.

View attachment 198839

Everything is doing well except my Pogostemon erectus which while it has bright green tips of new growth has purple leaves underneath.

I’m only 2 weeks into dry start and I was determined to try to get to 6-8 weeks to establish the Monte Carlo and root stock development on the stems before I add water but I’m debating whether I should fill it now, or is this purple colour symptomatic or something else wrong that water won’t fix?

I’ve read it could be phosphate deficiency, or too much light but I’ve seen Pogostemon erectus grown emersed by aquaculture producers so it can be done I think?

I’m also slightly reticent to add water now as I think the Hemianthus Micranthemoides is very delicate at the moment and might melt if I add water.

Closeup of Pogostemon attached as well as one of overall aqua scape, plants in order L to R are:

Pogostemon Erectus
Ludwigia Palustratis super red
Hemianthus Micranthemoides
Rotala Vietnam Hra
Rotala Bonsai
Monte Carlo (carpet)

The scape is designed to be seen from two sides hence why the carpet goes all the way round the island of stems.

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Paul

It’s just converting from tissue culture conditions to emmersed.

I’m curious why you chose to dry start? especially with Dutch style. I’d just flood it soon as possible,in my opinion lots of emmersed plant growth submerged quickly is detrimental to the aquarium.

 

[PaulLB]

It’s just converting from tissue culture conditions to emmersed.

I’m curious why you chose to dry start? especially with Dutch style. I’d just flood it soon as possible,in my opinion lots of emmersed plant growth submerged quickly is detrimental to the aquarium.

I don’t have much experience so you’re probably spot on with your observations, thanks.

I was curious about dry start to see if I could better establish my Montecarlo carpet while managing a trade-off with the stems being less than ideal in dry start.

I find it tricky planting in a flooded tank and given all my plants didn’t arrive on time and also that I underestimated how many I’d need (and had to wait for more to arrive) the dry start seemed like a good way to be able to add additional specimens conveniently as well as make minor adjustments to the layout.

Finally I was waiting on my budget CO2 kit to arrive, which included having to find a reliable local fire extinguisher supplier, and didn’t want to flood the tank without it.

As it turns out, yesterday (3 weeks in) I flooded the tank as I had gathered all the CO2 equipment and was eager to get started especially as some specimens weren’t doing so well in dry start.

What I found is that the Montecarlo did well in dry start and established good roots. The Rotala Vietnam Hra and Bonsai also did very well, as did the Ludwigia Palustratis. The Hemianthus Micranthemoides was ok in dry start, but not ideal as some leaves lost their vibrant colour. The Pogostemon Erectus however did not do well and lower leaves started turning a bright purple. It is recovering now it’s been submerged and starting to show new growth, but it’s still not pearling as much as the rest of the plants.

I also planted one pot of Alternanthera Reineckii which developed mould in dry start and this together with the Pogostemon Erectus issues really encouraged me to get on and flood the tank earlier than I might otherwise have done.

 

[PaulLB]

Thought I’d close off this discussion to say that the PE is doing much better now in the flooded tank. It has put down deep roots and increased in size significantly. The purple leaves have also now gone.

If I were to use this plant again I would certainly go with flooding the tank immediately and next time I may well use potted specimens rather than tissue culture.

Here are photos showing progress. I’m still not 100% happy with the colour of the plants as they do not seem vibrant green enough to me, but hopefully in time will improve.