Discover The Right Plants For Your Aquarium

by

Jimmy Cox

Most people like green growing plants, and you will find this very human desire expressed in aquariums. Almost every successful and beautiful aquarium has growing plants in it. Contrary to popular belief, it is not necessary to pack your aquarium with dozens of plants. Plant for decorative value, use as few or as many as you desire to make a tasteful arrangement.

Plants like Amazon Swords grow best with a sub-sand filter when the roots are confined. Use small, shallow, cup-like planters, either under the sand or on top of it. These will prevent the roots from spreading and clogging the slots in your filter and also prevent the crown of the plant from being pulled under. If this happens your plants will die.

Aquatic plants fall roughly into three groups. First those bushy ones, which send up branched stems bearing many leaves; these are usually propagated by cuttings, and these are what you are most likely to be offered at the dealers.

Secondly, there are plants which send up a number of long leaves from the same place, or “crown”, just above the root. These usually spread by “runners” under the sand, which send up new plants near the old one; the young plants are separated off, and so these will have roots to them when you buy them.

The third kind does not root in the sand at all, but floats at the surface.

It is useful to know something about the different kinds of plants in these categories before you buy them, as they have different uses and requirements. I would warn you against having too many kinds. The conditions in the aquarium are bound to suit some kinds more than others, and these will make rapid progress, eventually crowding out the rest. In a 24-inch tank therefore it is really not practicable to introduce more than three species.

Choosing Plants

When confronted with a huge variety of plants, there is a great temptation to take a piece of everything that appeals to you. If you do this, you will be wasting money needlessly. A dozen different kinds of plant in a tank will compete for food and light, and before long the strongest will have gained the mastery, the others dying off. So exercise self-restraint and limit your choice to three kinds. Two of these plants should be for massing in the background, and one as a center-piece.

Of the three, I would suggest that, for the first aquarium, one should be either Vallisneria or Sagittaria (not both in one tank, as they compete). Another can be one of the bushy plants – Hygrophila is the easiest to grow, but Cabomba Lim-nophila or Ludwigia are more decorative for the tropical tank; if starting a cold-water tank, make sure the plants you choose are hardy enough.

As a center-piece a Cryptocoryne, Echinodorus or an Aponogeton are recommended for warm water, a Hottonia, Muphar or Ranunculus for the cold water.

Healthy plants are plump, crisp and intense in color; refuse those that are limp and pale. Most aquatic plants are rather brittle when out of water and must be handled carefully. Never pick them up by the middle of the stem; the best way is to lift them by the base, so that they hang down from the fingers. Select young, half-grown plants rather than fully-grown ones, and with as many leaves as possible.

Many of the plants which propagate by cuttings will be seen to have fine, hair-like roots sprouting from the nodes from which branches spring; choose these, as they will “take” more quickly.

Plants with crowns must have good roots, and you should examine these to see that they are plump and bushy.

Selecting plants is a great part of setting up your aquarium, so have fun! There are so many to choose from, you will undoubtedly find some to your taste.

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Submitted by: Kenny M. Leichester

There is nothing more thrilling than seeing the first shoot peeping out of the ground of a once bare garden. Starting gardening from scratch can be a rewarding experience that brings not only great pleasure but also gives you the joy of enjoying a beautiful flower garden or eating the produce of your own land. Not everyone can be a successful gardener for gardening requires patience, perseverance, dedication, resilience and a lot of hard work and planning.

A person may mourn that they do not have a green thumb if their garden is not successful. Actually this may not be the case and the person may have failed simply because they did not research and plan their garden properly before venturing into it. Here are a few requirements to be a good gardener. He or she must know:

When to till and cultivate the land

What to plant

When to plant i.e. the season

What soil each plant type requires

How much of water

How much of fertilizers

How to weed, trim and prune the plants

As we see, there are so many details that go into being a complete gardener and it does involve tremendous amount of work. So, if you do not have the qualities to be a good gardener, do not venture into it. Of all the tasks involved in maintaining a garden, one is to know the Seasonal plants/crops. If you have a vegetable, fruit or flower garden for personal or commercial purposes, knowing which plant can grow in which season can help you have all year produce. Seasonal planting requires knowledge about each type of plant and a lot of planning.

This kind of information is easily available on the Internet or in gardening magazines. One can also get this information from the local horticulturist you may visit to get your seeds, fertilizers, garden tools and garden other supplies. Seasonal gardening involves fully utilizing your garden with careful planning. Strategic planning will allow you to rotate plants so that you can make the most use of your garden space.

Even if your garden is meant for pure personal pleasure, why not have a flourishing garden all year round? Spring and summer are not the only seasons to have a lovely garden and if you look carefully, you will find vegetables and flowers that will thrive in autumn and winter. The reason why knowledge of seasonal crops is so important is that some plants require warm, hot temperatures with a lot of moisture, while others require cool or even cold temperatures. This will automatically influence the planting pattern, their growing and flowering pattern.

Here are some tips on having a successful vegetable garden that will follow natural harvest time so that you have all year produce. Start by preparing the ground which should be sunny with plenty of drainage. Prepare raised beds, add fertilizers and organic nutrients. Allow enough space so that plants will grow freely without encroaching into each others space. Now, start to think seasonally, grouping vegetables that grow in the same season together. Start your vegetable garden in April/May and decide if you prefer to start with seeds or plant cuttings.

Vegetables that ripen in late spring include asparagus, spinach or peas and most berries. Root vegetables like carrots, beets and radishes are ready for use in May/June. Reserve the best area in your garden for perennial plants like onions, tomatoes, broccoli, herbs, beans etc. They require all year maintenance so that they will be healthy and give a bountiful produce usually from June-August. Late-summer vegetables need to be planted between June-August depending on the growing time. In mid-summer, you can replant favorite vegetables like carrots.

Keep a small part of your garden for an herb patch where you can grow basil, thyme, parsley, mint and other herbs that are favorites cooking ingredients. The garden should be well maintained even in winter by topping the soil with compost, mulch and covering with newspaper or hay so that the frost does not penetrate and spoil the healthy soil. Some seasonal flowers include tulip, daffodil and crocus favorite spring bulbs; summer perennials like geranium and fuchsia; autumn foliage like barberry or witch hazel and winter flowers like winter jasmine, honeysuckle and holly. So, you see there is a plant for every season and you can enjoy a bountiful garden all year round with careful and thoughtful planning.

About the Author: Article by Kenny Leichester of

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