Aldro propagation

[arvin555]

Would like to ask what is the best way to propagate Aldrovanda? I imagine that it'll be through cuttings, but what is the safest way to do cutting, how many leaf "nodes"?

Safest meaning, to be almost sure that either half will not die.

TTFN
Arvin

[alcran]

It will branch and divide into more plants. That is the safest way but you could also try cutting your plant into several pieces, each an inch or two long.

[bactrus]

Arvin, When my Aldrovanda was alive, they multiply like mad when the condition is right- enough light and food. Don't bother cutting.

[kentosaurs]

Well.....Just separate them like alcran when your aldro is big and mature(info not from me)...I'm still confused how can people grow aldro in water without having a single algae build up.

Ken

[arvin555]

Thanks guys, okay I will NOT touch my Aldros then They are still 2 and 3 inches long, and the bottom ends would die and float off. I have an Utricularia Vulgaris that has branched, but the problem is that it suddenly disappeared, not sure if stolen by a family member or eaten by pests (I saw a rat in the area).

Ken, I am lucky that my Tubs have not had any Algae at all. I am not an expert but what I noticed with the tubs/ponds that I have are:

1. Lots of plants, I of course heeded the advice of the experts and got me some Grasses (monocotes), which is now thriving.

2. Not much fish, only maybe 5 medakas (like guppies) and a few shrimps.

3. No fertilization, except I do inject CO2 from time to time.

I have a bare tub that I am trying to culture some daphnia in, it had clear water like others, but recently I dumped a lot of spoiled fish food, in a matter of 2 days, the water turned green. One word Nutrients. I am almost sure that by dumping fish food in the tub, I polluted the water with nutrients thus Algae thrived.

TTFN
Arvin

[arvin555]

I hope Rich can chime in here. Rich would appreciate your comment about the following:

1. My Aldros has started to branch out, well one of them.
2. However the bottom end would continue to of course die out and float away.
3. I am not yet ready to do any cuttings yet but I have an observation:

I noticed that when Bactrus and Lim sent me Aldros, all of the plants died, except those that has growth tips. The 2 surviving plants that I have are the only 2 growth tips that survived during transport, they were pathetically small then, half an inch long or so. But they survived and now they are a couple of inches long and thriving. But those that didn't have growth tips just eventually died, even if they were still green.

I think that maybe Adrovandas do not do well when cut in the middle. What I mean is if I have a strand of say 1 foot long Aldro and I cut it in half. I have a feeling that the bottom half, the one without the growth tip might eventually die, while the top half with the growth tip will continue to grow. I am pretty sure though that the longer the bottom half is, the better chances of it surviving and growing.

I am not sure if there are any Aldro growers out there that has may plants to spare and willing to try an experiment.

I guess what I am asking is how many internodes or leaf whorles does it take to ensure that an Aldro cutting will survive?

Lastly, I have finally seen my Aldros catch daphnia, and because I do have snails, I often see Aldro traps that have caught snails. Often the shell is the only thing left inside. So yes I do agree with Rich, that Snails, shrimps, etc. do play a role in Aldro life.

TTFN
Arvin

[bukdub]

Ive had great success propagating with flower stalks. Nearly every piece of stalk Ive ever tried has hit. I keep it in my terrarium under very bright light on a 16 hour photoperiod and I just stick it in peat moss in the same way it was growing out of the plant flower end up. If Im planning on using the stalk to propagate, I snip the it when its about an inch or two. I usually only do one piece per stalk, but I have done two or three pieces when the stalk gets longer than Ive intended and those pieces have struck as well, but they take longer.

[HelenV]

It is well known that proper rooting presents the greatest problem in vegetative propagation of Jatropha plants. Why is only propagation by stem cutting alone practiced among all horticultural practices? Are there any other methods that could prove effective? How could rooting be improved? Can science come to the rescue?