Spider plants and Syngonium grow well in water!

I forgot...wandering jew also will grow in water. I've kept all for a long time.

I have some wandering jew. I never even thought of it much as a house plant, I just bring some in to over winter it, it tolerates a lot of neglect, once I bring it in, I kind of forget about it till spring, just dumping water on it every month or so. I actually have a whole pot of it sitting in the middle of my kitchen I keep having to walk around because there is no good place for it. I'll give some of it a try.

Thanks
Jamie

I doubt a scheff would last long in water.

Aglaonema (Chinese Evergreen) does well in water. I've grown one that way for several years, it's NEVER seen any dirt.

Jamie, I'd suggest you pls. give more than once a month water to your Wandering Jew plant, I'm surprised it doesn't collapse on you. They can be pretty thirsty plants, that seems like VERY little water, & they are not succulents.

Hi Go Blue,

I'm newish to Scheffleras but found a nice variegated one in my bldg & took a cutting. I rooted it in water & have since moved it to Hydro (it's about a month now); it's here in the office w/ me for the 2nd week now, no windows just flourescent light. So far, looks great, including new growth so we shall see.

I've seen Anthuriums grow in a vase of water w/ the beta fish but I don't believe that would be good for a beginner.

schefflera will grow in water, I've had a small branch in water for a couple of years. probably won't grow very noticeably since you won't be able to fertilize it with a fish in there with it. Mine had almost no growth until I started to add nutrients (a hydro mix)I doubt a single betta would produce enough waste to make a difference to any fast growing plant.

Chinese evergren looks neat. I think I saw one of those today at the store.

The poor wandering jew & my spider plants were things I planted as annuals 2 years ago and got thrown in pots for the neck of it before frost. i.e. They have been treated fairly poorly.

They are in a soil mix worse than MiracleDie. Peat, Compost and fine Vermiculite. It's like a giant sponge, a 14" pot weights like 50# after it drains.

My spider plants are in the same sad mix. It is a testimonial to the hardiness of plants that these things survived. I didn't have a drain tray on the spider plant until last night, so it went over a month without water.. It shows...
{{gwi:106963}}

I've been meaning to repot them and take better care of them. I have a couple other plants in the house... I could probably fill 5 of these tables with plants right now. Most of my plants and Bonsai are beautiful and very well cared for.

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I got a couple nice hanging plants tonight. I'll shoot some photos and post them.

And I'm going to go water my poor wandering jew.

Jamie

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p.s. I watered it.

Jamie, are you planning on combining plants and Betas? When choosing plants, make sure they're not poisonous.
You know how fish are? They nibble, even try plucking plants from gravel. lol.
I used to breed Betas, and other fish. Non-toxic plants were bought at the pet store..non-plants would last 3-4 days. finally went to plastic, lol.
We had two Oscars and a few Jack Dempseys...they'd work their way pulling plants out of gravel. Think they were playing, lol.
So before adding a new plant, Google plants that are safe with fish, and will grow hydroponically. Toni

Jamie, forgot to mention your plants, lol. They're doing great. Clean up the Spider, remove brown leaves. Trim leaf tips by clipping, leaving about 1/8" of brown on.
After pruning, you'll see a huge difference. It's a nice specimen. I water Spiders with water that has been sitting out at least 24 hours. I keep old milk containers, clean, and leave water inside. When a plant needs a drink, the water is available, and room temp.

Your Purple Heart is nice and full. Did it flower this summer?

Your Croton, on the table, is nice, too..so full. Make sure it gets light and humidity this winter.
BTW, what is the plant, 'on the table, with purple leaves, to the left of the Croton? Toni

I'll clean up the spider plants, they actually are pretty big plants.

I think I have been calling the purple heart a wandering jew, thinking it was just a different type of wandering jew.

I think the plant next to the croton is really a wandering jew. Here it is:

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These are the Hoya I got at walmart, they are labeled "Rubra", I'm not sure if that is correct though.

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Thanks
Jamie

Jamie, your Purple Heart, 'Setcreasea' has semi-fuzzy, all purple leaves.
The pic is a Wandering Jew, 'tradescantia,' but doesn't look like the plant on the table. lol. Your table is filled. lol.

Yes, both Hoyas are Rubras. Very very nice.
In one of your threads, you asked which hanging plants would do well in a south window..both Hoyas would do fine, especially in winter. I don't know how much sun your windows get in summer, but for now, Hoyas will do fine.

Common names can be confusing. For instance, I didn't know Purple Hearts' common name is used for more than one plant. Ex, Setcreasea and Tradescantia.

You got some really nice plants there, Toni

Hi Toni,

Pls. try not to add to the confusion on Hoya names, even if just accidentally. Those Hoyas are both H. carnosa Krimson Princess. That 'Rubra' name is one of those garbage names Exotic Angel insists on using to confuse things.

Yes, to the dark purple, fuzzy Wandering Jew plant, it is called Setcresea. At the lower left of its pic is what will be (or was) a flower. No wonder it's still alive after so little water (it's more succulent than the regular one you have also pictured).

I too would groom ALL the plants, that is remove all dead/decaying matter, not just for looks, but becuase it invites decay & bugs. (Personally, I'd spend some time developing better habits on this, before buying even more plants.)

Hi Karen;

So are both of these types of wander jew plants?

What else should I do to these besides pulling out what is dead / decaying?

Thanks
Jamie

Karen, Google or Ebay pics of KP and R. If you look closely, you'll see Jamie's are Hoyas carnosa 'rubras,'
or possibly H. carnosa rubra x krimson princess.
There's a couple of these hoyas selling on Ebay now.

Actually Rubra means red. Given enough sunlight, red hues should appear. Toni

Hiya Toni,

Yes, I know Rubra means red. It refers to the red STEMS this plant sometimes has. But in Hoya circles it's leaves & then bloom for certain that IDs the leaves, not stem color. I had missed the red stems, yes, I've seen that tagged Hoya 'Rubra' by EA, maybe even H rubra picta, I've seen too at local box stores.

I DO know what you mean as at different times I too, have tried to grow that Hoya.

No Toni, you're confusing different Hoyas w/ each other Rubra will only have red stems. It is NOT one of the whose leaves will redden or pink up. That would be several others including my beloved Krimson Queen (var. on outer leaf edge). These are the pinkish tinged leaves that whiten as they age. or its 'superb' form, extra succulent & some leaves almost pink/red purple/black. Sometimes even the extra handsome half & half leaves where they divide at the central vein 1/2 green & 1/2 white, very cool.

Hi Jamie,

If you do searches for Tradescantia, you'll discover a group of plants, a number of which are referred to as Wandering Jew (larger family, I believe of Commelinacae). Setcresea, Callisia, the related Rhoeo & more.

In general, you might want to browse a basic plant book or two as to what constitutes general care of plants, beside picking off the dead leaves (just browse, don't need to buy).

What kind of mix (soil), how old the mix is, light conditions, appropriate fertilizers, insect control, etc. You can browse here about general plant care.

Or you could browse Hoya Forum as well. There's lots more to be considered & to answer your other thread, Hoyas aren't necessarily fast-growing plants.

HI;

I think I gave the impression that I didn't know how to grow much anything. I never though of my spider plants and wandering jew plants as anything other than annuals that I happened to throw in a pot and they happened to live.

I mix my own soils and have been transitioning over to them as fast as I can, but have already wiped out over 20 bags of turface this fall. I am using primarily turface now. Turface is just so superior to anything else out there that I have grown in and easy to work with. I don't even have to screen it for most things, many fines wash through when you have good drainage.

I saved the spider plant: {{gwi:106969}}From Drop Box

A couple other things I am growing in the house: {{gwi:106970}}From Drop Box
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Jamie

Oh Jamie. Fantastic job! I especially like your Bonsai, and is that a citrus I see there, my favorite?

Good Job

Mike

Hi Mike;

Thanks, I hope to get my Serissa Bonsai to push out more blooms now that I have it under that massive bank of lights. I currently have 18 four foot bulbs running of the higher out-putting 32W T-8 bulbs.

My big jade is doing pretty well. Your right, it did stay a bit wet with the turface and I have had to give it more time to dry out in between waterings. I cut back on waterings and it seems to be doing pretty well now and pushing out new growth. So I think it is going to do okay on the turface. If it wasn't so large and difficult to deal with, I would add in some perlite or grit. I replanted some smaller Jades into turface and they have been doing extremely well. I think my big jade would have been better if I had done straight turface, I mixed in about 10% compost and I think that is making it a bit heavy.

Yes that is my little baby lemon. The other lemon we were discussing in the citrus forum is my parents. My lemon is just a few months old. It's a few feet away from my south window at the moment, due to cleaning, but it's spot is right in front of the south window. If it doesn't do well there, then I think it will fit under one of the lighting banks in the basement. I also have a lime and orange tree that are a bit smaller than the lemon. I'm going to tell my parents that they need to start over with a new lemon if they want one. I plan to move my citrus into a turface mix, they are currently in a cactus soil mix, which from a prior conversation, I think is going to end up becoming too compacted over time, but seems to be doing well at the moment.

I am sure I have over 100 containerized plants in the house right now. Outside I have a couple hundred plants in pots. Most of which have to go into the garage for overwintering to protect them. That includes about a dozen mature bonsai, over a dozen japanese maples and many other trees, hosta, and perennials.

I do a pretty darn good job of staying on top of them all, and very very rarely have anything that dies on me. A few of my lower value plants get a bit neglected from time to time. Some of it was due to lower light in the house. That is the reason I just setup the huge bank of lights in the basement to compensate for that. It is pretty darn bright down there now and I think I am going to do well with growing under those lights.

I'm glad I cleaned up the spider plant per Karens suggestion, it does look pretty nice now. I might move it to a hanging basket.

Thanks

Jamie

My baby Lemon:

{{gwi:106985}}

Hello! I am new to this forum...however, I'm doing some research on plants that grow with betta fish.

Jamie - I was wondering if anyone could tell me the name of the plant you posted after your "A couple other things I am growing in the house:"

Thanks!

I commend your efforts, but being an almost four year old post, I'm not sure Jamie is around anymore.

I believe the plant in question is Dracaena sanderiana (the all-green cultivar).

How do you plan on growing your plant with your beta fish (in a water bowl, aquarium?). Plants need fertilizer even if grown in water and I believe any form of fertilizer would kill off your fish. I'm not saying it can't be done, but I'm not sure how you'll be able to successfully grow a plant in water with a fish long-term.

Planto

...Unless the fish itself was providing the fertilizer. :)

Jon,
True, but I can't imagine their poop provides all the nutrients and micronutrients. :P

Planto

Not such a bad idea diging up old threads would like to see how the plants in pics from four years ago are doing curently

Ever hear of aquaponics,Beth? Haven't dabbled in it myself,but it looks interesting to me. The following is copied and pasted from a page I just found:
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Nitrification Cycle

Fish excrete ammonia in their wastes and through their gills. In sufficient quantities ammonia is toxic to plants and fish. Nitrifying bacteria, which naturally live in the soil, water and air, convert ammonia first to nitrite and then to nitrate. In your aquaponic system the nitrifying bacteria will thrive in the gravel in the fish tanks and in the growing medium in the grow bed. Nitrate is used by plants to grow and flourish. The plants readily uptake the nitrate in the water and in consuming it, keep the levels safe for the fish.
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The web page itself is at the link in case ya feel like looking at the rest of the info.
Not sure about the micronutrients myself either. lol

Nomen,the real question is usually whether or not a specific poster is even around anymore to provide "after" pics with "before" pics.
...but it's neat when they are and can.

Here is a link that might be useful: almost forgot the link! lol

Jon,
Actually, no, I've never heard of aquaponics lol. I've seen hydroponics before, but never bothered to look into it.

I'm not sure about the idea of aquaponics, a couple questions come to mind. Do you grow the plants underwater or ? I read the article, but maybe I missed that part.

Planto

More like a planter on top of a fishtank that recirculates and filters the water through the planter's medium(mix).

Neat,huh? :)

Planto, thanks for getting back to me so quick! Haha, yeah I thought I'd give it a try anyway, even if it is an old post. =)

However It's funny you say that, I have a betta fish at my workplace and he's been alive for 3 years (so far) and he still looks healthy, no broken fins or anything, and still lively. We have him in a water bowl, with a green leafy plant and some rocks, and no one in the office knows what kind of plant it is. I'm trying to find out what it is, so I can get one for myself at home.

I will post a picture when I get back to the office on Tuesday (hopefully one of you guys can tell me what kind of plant it is!). The closest plant I can find that looks like the one in office is a Chinese Evergreen, although, it doesn't have the lighter colours - just a deep forest green colour.

Just a guess,but run an image search on aglaonema modestum and see if it's a match. :)

You're welcome. :) I wasn't trying to sound like it's an impossible task, but I think growing plants in water is a whole 'nother ball field, lol.

Oh wow, 3 years? He's an old timer!

Yes, there is an all-green version to Chinese Evergreen (has no cultivar name) like Jon mentioned. I like those, but all-green ones don't seem all too common here. You wouldn't mind showing a picture of your beta/setup would you? Don't mind me, I like pictures lol.

Planto

*nods in agreement with Beth*

Hmm, now that I'm looking at the plant, the leaves looks skinnier than the aglaonema modestum...but I'm not sure..... the plant leaves are quite small as compared to the photo. (I also need to trim the roots on the plant lol)

Nice pic!

I cant see the stem-work very well,but I guess it would be possible that it's an aglaonema modestum...however I might also guess that it is a peace lily...never realized how similar the leaves are on those two(never owned a modestum).

My "gut" says peace lily though. :)

Thanks!

Here's another pic

And another one =)

(I'm not sure how to post photos all in one post)

Not only does the fish help feed the plant it also helps moves the water for more airation.

Apx 75.8 %(+/-) of every living plant on earth today are growing in water.

Not a Chinese Evergreen afterall, but a Spathiphyllum (Peace Lily). Your betta and plant look very happy. Thank you for sharing some pictures!

Planto

This post was edited by plantomaniac08 on Tue, Oct 14, 14 at 21:16

Mystery plant solved! Thank you all for taking the time to discuss!

Thank you for sharing. :D

Planto

I agree that the peace lilly and betta look great in a vase, but it isn't practical for keeping a healthy, happy fish long-term. The plant eventually grows to block the opening of the jar, thus preventing O2 from reaching the surface of the water where the fish can gulp it, or it can diffuse. You must constantly prune plant, roots, leaves and stems to keep a healthy opening for air circulation. You also need to pull the plant out to change at least 20% of the betta's water daily to prevent ammonia buildup and an unhealthy fish. It is a pain, and the novelty quickly wears off, especially if your fish doesn't appear healthy or happy.

I tried it once, but within a month I got the fish a 2.5 gallon aquarium with heat and filtration, faux driftwood and other items so he had things to interest him and places to hide. I also got him little ramshorn snails and bloodworms to hunt. His response was to start building bubble nests, get much more active, and appear much happier. I still used his tank to root plants because it was great for that, and he liked the roots, but I never let it take up more than maybe 20% of his space.

There is nothing to keep you from placing the fish and plant in a vase for a holiday center piece, or a party, but for his health, put him back in the tank afterward.

For more information on keeping bettas in vases, check in at the forums of Badman's Tropical Fish - badmanstropicalfish.com/forum.

Agree, vase looks great, plant looks great but I'm sorry for that fish. He needs way much more space and places to hide and swim around. Bettas tend to become lethargic so keep him busy! Peace lilies are fast growers, they double themselves in no time. Find a bigger vase/tank for both of them. Also a Betta needs heating in winter (optimal is 26-28°C) which is incredibly hard to maintain in this small vase without cooking him.