Jan Bastmeijer says that Lagenandra species are easy to grow emersed, but that most are not suited for submersed culture. Perhaps the best suited, he says, is L. thwaitesii My guess would be to give your plant a rich substrate, roughly 50% peat and 50% topsoil, good light, and, if you are growing it submersed, plenty of CO2.

 

I was growing a beautiful specimen of this plant in a soil/clay (no peat) substrate, 2 wpg, no CO2, until a heater stuck in the "on" position. Very sad, I had the plant for about 3 years at that time. That particular event is what triggered the move to higher light levels and pressurized CO2, but the Lagenandra was long gone.

I have another Lagenandra plant (species unknown) now that I'm growing in a soil/clay (again NO peat) substrate under high light with CO2 additions. It's a slow growing plant but it's growing strong healthy leaves.

 

SCMurphey, I get the best growth with my crypts when I have a soil peat mixture, as opposed to just soil. I was assuming that the Lagenandria would be similar. Do you grow your crypts in clay without peat, too?

 

Sorry if I seemed snippy about the peat.

The current Lagenandra I have is in a tank surrounded by crypts.

No peat, ever. Mineralized topsoil with some clay (95%/5%), cap with substrate du jour, I like Tahitian moon sand, chick grit (pulverized granite), or a natural colored gravel. Crypts look like bugs on a windshield, pressed up against the front of the tank, they spread so fast. Substrates are good for, well going on 10 years now for one tank, without any new fertilizers added to the substrate.

 

Sean,

Where do you get the mineralized topsoil or how do you prepare it yourself?

 

Thank you very much, guys, for the advice...

I planted mine on a soil with coconut fiber and a "peat like" soil, and its doing pretty well...

Later, i post some photos here..

By the way...does anybody here have a photo of it´s inflorescence!?

Best regards and thanks a lot once more!

 

Sean,

Where do you get the mineralized topsoil or how do you prepare it yourself?

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=7721

Read post #2 for all the details.

 

Hi rafael, the cryptocoryne Lagenandra thwaitesii isit the same as Cryptocoryne thwaitesii . See link for pic.

Cryptocoryne thwaitesii

By the way, Anyone of you are keeping Cryptocoryne originated from Sri Lanka. Thanks

 

Nah, that's 2 very different plants! Go here for L. thwaitesii:
Lagenandra thwaitesii

I agree with Sean that peat is not called for with Lagenandra. This species does pretty well submersed but don't expect explosive growth. It takes a while to grow into a large plant, even in emersed culture...