[gnome]

Although off-topic, I thought I'd share my experience with shipping Limnophila aromatica. My LFS gets this stuff in the emersed form and I've sent it to a couple of people. The first person received five very healthy stems. All but one stem completely rotted before making the transition to submersed form. The second person received three stems that were healthy when I sent them but didn't really ship well (probably because the temps were freezing on the receiving end). Everything disintegrated in two days. Another person told me that some emersed L. aromatica he bought ended up completely disintegrating, too, and I know he normally has the "magic touch" with even the most difficult of species.

Anybody know if the same thing happens with the submerse-grown stuff? I once got a piece of healthy, submersed Hottonia palustris and it mushed away in a matter of days. I guess some plants just don't take to transplantation too well.

I have five stems of R. indica 'aurea' (aka R. indica 'green') that's in so-so condition (lower half is a bit ratty) I'm eager to part with (roots and all - not just cuttings). Anybody have 2-3 pieces of Hygrophila difformis as a trade? You're also welcome to some puny Lindernia rotundifolia 'variegated' and some very sickly Myriophyllum matogrossense 'green' that I can throw in if you'd like to try and revive them to their former glory.

-Naomi

 

[gnome]

Hi, Erik!

Thanks so much - that would be awesome!!! I still have to RSVP. I'll do that soon.

Nothin' better than fresh-cut plants 8) .

-Naomi

 

[gnome]

These are the plants I own in one tank or other:
Alternanthera reineckii
Anubias nana
Anubias nana 'petit'
Bacopa caroliniana 'variegated'
Bacopa monnieri
Cryptocoryne pygmaea
Cryptocoryne wendtii 'Tropica'
Cryptocoryne wendtii x hybrid
Cryptocoryne wendtii (? - got at PetsMart)
Echinodorus parviflorus 'Tropica'
Echinodorus tenellus 'broad leaf'
Echinodorus tenellus
Echinodorus tenellus (?)
Egeria densa
Hemianthus micranthemoides
Lemna minor
Lindernia rotundifolia 'variegated'
Lobelia cardinalis 'dwarf form'
Lysimachia nummularia 'aurea'
Micranthemum umbrosum
Micranthemum sp. ("Amano")
Microsorum pteropus
Myriophyllum matogrossense 'green'
Proserpinaca palustris
Rotala indica
Sagittaria subulata
Vallisneria torta (?)

Najas grass
Java moss (whatever I couldn't get rid of from a few weeks ago)

I'm constantly trimming back the Micranthemum sp. and H. micranthemoides.

Right now I'm trying to find any takers for the C. wendtii x hybrid. I may want to keep one or two pieces for myself, but that leaves three or four unwanted ones that have been floating around for a couple of weeks. A few leaves have turned yellow and died, but there doesn't appear to be any severe melting going on. There are even baby plants growing off of some of them and new leaves (not the greatest-looking) sprouting despite the fact that they're not planted. I wouldn't count on them being able to keep this up for too much longer, though.

Also, the Lindernia rotundifolia and M. matogrossense are doing very poorly but surviving, nonetheless. I'm going to pull them out sooner or later, but I would really prefer that somebody take them and try to nurse them back to health rather than chucking them myself. Same with E. parviflorus 'Tropica.' It's been growing really weird and getting holes. These I'll happily give to anybody who wants to pay for shipping.

Plants that I keep getting out-bid on, but am eager to have are:
Vallisneria gracilis (aka V. nana)
Hottonia palustris (which I'll know in a couple of days if I won or not)

-Naomi

 

[gnome]

Is this true of the Lowe's in California? I've been noticing that California seems to be particularly restrictive in what plants they'll allow in.

Also, would they sell this plant in emersed form? I would prefer to get the submersed form, if possible.

Thanks.

-Naomi

 

[gnome]

Re: lets trade

Hey Naomi, You might want to look up in your phone book for green houses or nurseries, those that might sell pond supplies as well. You would be amazed at how many plants they sell in the emersed form. On another note, Does anyone have or know anywhere I can get Limnophila aromatica? I am almost at the point where I have to order the emersed form from a green house in Canada, but would rather not.

Also Naomi, how mush is your LFS asking for the blue shrimp?

I got my blue shrimp for $2.59 a pop. OTOH, tiger shrimp were $3.49 or 3 for $10. Weird... How did you know I had blue shrimp :?:

My LFS does sell the emersed L. aromatica, but if you read my first post in this thread, I explained what happened when I sent them to two people. Apparently, this plant has serious problems transitioning from emersed to submersed form. In fact, I lost a lot of money when I made a guarantee that I shouldn't have. Sent the second person L. aromatica, L. ovalis, and R. macranda 'narrow-leaf' (total being over $16 with tax and $3.85 for shipping). The plants made it to him in two days but in the following two days, all of the plants disintegrated. So I basically wasted $20 of my own money. After that disaster, I decided to drop my so-called "guarantee" and not to send the L. aromatica any more. You might have better luck if you receive some from somebody who's already got a submersed culture going.

Thanks for the tip about checking out the nurseries. Do you know if they would go by their scientific names or some common name that would leave me absolutely clueless?

-Naomi

 

[gnome]

Priority Mail is $3.85 for up to 1 lb. Beyond that, it depends entirely on where the recipient lives. Some people like to have delivery confirmation. That's another $0.45 for Priority Mail.

You can go to www.usps.com and do postage calculation.

-Naomi

 

[gnome]

Good news - I won the auction for the H. palustris! But yesterday I checked out Home Depot's gardening section. They didn't have any pond plants. The only plant that looked remotely like Hottonia palustris was Euryops pectinatus viridis ("Euryop daisy") and I knew *that* wasn't it. Next time I'm at Lowe's or any place with a water gardening section, I'll definitely check. Thanks for the tip! Good to know that if I have the same terrible luck with this bunch, I can find more from a local source.

-Naomi