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Stem Plant Suggestions For Planted Bowl/Wabi Kusa

GotCrabs

GotCrabs

Member
Joined
22 Sep 2015
Messages
211
Location
Adelaide, Australia
I bought two large glass bowls today at the local cheap store, I'd say about almost 20l each, am looking to put a small layer of ADA Amazonia in the bottom of each and plant some stem plants and have them grow and eventually grow out the top of the bowls.

I'm after some nice suggestions of stem plants to consider for these two bowls, some of the stem plants I will also use in making a Wabu Kusa as well.

At the moment I am thinking of the following stem plants:

Limnophila repens 'mini', Alternanthera reineckii 'mini', Hemianthus glomeratus, Ludwigia arcuata x repens, Persicaria sp. Sao Paulo, Rotala colorata, I am also looking at using Hydrocotyle tripartita 'Japan', Hemianthus callitrichoides.

Any opinions on these plants for a planted bowl?

Any other stem plants I could also consider?

Cheers all.
 
About a year ago I did this, but it didn't last long. It was hm, hydrocotyle tripartita and some flame moss. It's now home to a succulent.

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What happened to it @Dantrasy

Once this other tank is planted I'll order plants for both bowls, just making my mind up of which plants I want first and to do both bowls planted, or 1 planted and 1 Wabi.
 
Are you planning to fill the bowls with water? Than you might end up the same as Dantrasy 🙂 it wont last very long. There are some things very difficult with small amounts of water in small containers. 1 - Keep the temperature at a acceptable constant level. 2- The water quality stable. 3 - firtilization constant. 3 - cleaning the inside of the glass when setup. 4 - clean the substrate. 5- create water movement. Etc. etc. Since it's a bowl the water surface versus the volume is rather small so gass exchange never is sufficiant enough, not for a plant and not for a fish. The tiniest mistake will have emediate and mostly disaterous consequenses. I also tried different experiments like that in the past and it never holds very long.

It looks cool for a few weeks and it's nearly impossible to keep it stable for longer periodes and keep algae growth in control. It's just to labor intensive and to tiny to stabalize and keep constant and keep clean. 🙂 Go away for a weekend and you're bowl will probably be in trouble when you com home.

been there done that 🙂 and failed all the time.. 1 advise, make nice Wabi Kuza's from the bowls and you'll have much longer fun with them.

Use any plant you can get your hands on and see what they do, as long as they can grow emersed they can be used in a W-K. You can look in your garden or in the near by park or forest for mosses and or nice pieces of aged dead wood to decorate it even more beautifull.
 
Thanks for all the info @zozo, it's got me thinking twice.

I was thinking about filling the first bowl I was going to work on but I don't think I will now considering everything you and @Dantrasy have said.

I sat down earlier, looked at images of planted Wabi Kusa in bowls and came across a planted bowl with just Crypt, HC and Dwarf Hairgrass in it, looked great, so I decided I might attempt to make something similar to that, so ordered 1 Crypt Undulatus Red, 1 HC pot, 1 Dwarf Hairgrass pot, this will give me plenty to work with in the bowl, as far as I know all the plants mentioned are able to be grown emersed, so I'm thinking plant them in, mist them once/twice each day and cover them with cling wrap for a couple weeks, eventually giving the bowl a slight gap to let air in to prevent mold, once everything is established can I completely take the cling wrap away and still mist it each day? The bowl should have what? a couple inches of water in it?

The next bowl is what I will use for a Wabi Kusa, ball type, with stem plants, I'm thinking add left over ADA Amazonia in a stocking, some pebbles/rocks in also to add weight, perhaps a slow release fertilizer, tie the stocking, form a ball shape, then wrap some Java Moss, Christmas, Peacock Moss or some type of aquatic moss around it, wrap plenty of cotton/fishing line around the moss to keep in place, then add some stems of a couple different aquatic plants, place in the bowl with a couple inches of water in it, mist once/twice each day, cover the bowl with cling wrap and do the same as above in regards to air.

Thoughts of what I have said above? I'm new to this kind of thing so also willing to learn, thanks.

Oh, also discovered Kokedama as well, might look into that in the near future.
 
Cheers @zozo, does everything I mentioned above sound about right though?

Will give the link a read now, even though it's just turned 1:00 am here, haha.
 
GotCrabs said:
does everything I mentioned above sound about right though?
Click to expand...

with leaving a container with swamp plants uncovered all depends on the plants in there and how well they can take it. Some are easier on less humidity then others.
So for certain plants i might work for others anything bellow 90% humidity is difficult. I can't say which plant will do and which not, also because of all different external factors playing a roll and everybody has different typical invironmental propperties, like light, temperatur, draft, water paremeters, local climate.

maybe someone else can but I realy can't say.. 🙂 A sudden heat wave can spoiil the fun, a colder winter periode then average dryer air indoors can too. To many external influences.. Something working for you can be a fail at my place. Trail and error. 🙂 But in general slowly acclamitizing and see what it does is the best way to go.. If you see them in trouble cover it again as soon as possible. 🙂
 
I've alway have great succes with Micranthemum sp. Monte Carlo taken from the tank. Adapted well to normal air humidity.
 
I've alway have great succes with Micranthemum sp. Monte Carlo taken from the tank. Adapted well to normal air humidity.
 
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