Riparium Plants: Gauging Interest

[hydrophyte]

OK, I am planning some plant propagation & growout projects for riparium plants. I intend to produce some of the best riparium selections as rooted plants already established in riparium planters, like this Acorus gramineus in a magnetic planter.

I am starting this poll to get an idea of which plants in particular might be of the most interest to people who have ripariums already or who might be pondering a new setup. Each of the ones that I list is a "proven" riparium plant that grows vigorously in ripariums and can function very well in a riparium layout.

Here they are in order and with pictures and brief descriptions. Thanks for voting in this poll!

Rain Lilies (Zephyranthes)

Rain lilies are wonderful flowering plants that grow from bulbs. There are several species that are very easy for growing in ripariums and with moderate-bright light they will bloom right in your tank. This picture shows the white flower of Zephyranthes candida. I also have a pick one, Z. macrosiphon, that has grown well for me.

Baby Panda Bamboo (Pogonatherum crinitum)

Baby panda bamboo is really a lovely plant. It is not a true bamboo, but it is a grass, as are bamboos. It takes some patience to get it established, but once it starts to grow with vigor it creates this wonderful effect. baby panda bamboo is an especially good riparium selection for nano ripariums. It has small, fine leaves and scales well with smaller spaces.

Cyrtosperma johnstonii

This plant is an aroid that makes a truly stunning centerpiece for larger setups. It can grow to eight feet tall, but I have found it to be pretty easy to control its size by trimming leaves and starting new plants with the suckering offsets that grow around its base.

Sweetflag (Acorus gramineus)

Sweetflag (Acorus gramineus) is one of the best riparium plants. If planted into several planters it makes wonderful background foliage emulating a grassy riverbank. There are several different varieties. I had A. gramineus 'Ogon' in the 50-gallon riparium that I had going some time ago.

Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum)

Peace lilies are my second-favorite plant for riparium backgrounds. They might be the easiest to grow of all riparium plants and are especially useful for creating "jungle" riparium layouts with other tropical plants. If you give them good light and ferts they will bloom readily in the riparium.

Mangroves

Mangroves are really fun plants. I have only grown them in freshwater setups, where they thrive, but you can also use them for brackish ripariums in combination with some of the very interesting brackish aquarium fish. There are several different ones that I have tried, but my favorite is black mangrove (Avicennia germinans).

 

[hydrophyte]

Just three votes so far...I'd love to know some more opinions.

 

[pjsmetana]

You forgot Pothos. Mangroves are awesome too.

 

[hydrophyte]

Pothos is not an especially good riparium plant. It grows well in the water but it is a vine and sort of difficult to use in a scape.

Thanks for the votes everybody! Mangroves are in the lead so far.

 

[hydrophyte]

Hey thanks for the continued votes everybody. Mangroves are still in the lead. It'd be great to get more feedback.

 

[MonsterMinis]

with the latest thing being more nano-tank typse set-up in planted tanks in general... had to vote for the panda grass. Very interesting stuff and I'de def use if I decided to set-up a riparium again. challenging species = more satisfaction personally.. if you where going for large market then you couldn't go wrong with the peace lily, and mangroves are fairly easy to get your hands on, though what species.. may be more difficult. Just my thoughts.

 

[hydrophyte]

with the latest thing being more nano-tank typse set-up in planted tanks in general... had to vote for the panda grass. Very interesting stuff and I'de def use if I decided to set-up a riparium again. challenging species = more satisfaction personally.. if you where going for large market then you couldn't go wrong with the peace lily, and mangroves are fairly easy to get your hands on, though what species.. may be more difficult. Just my thoughts.

Hey thanks for your vote and those thoughtful comments. I appreciate it!

 

[hydrophyte]

Thanks for your votes everybody.

Mangroves are still out ahead.

 

[knifegill]

Is the mangrove plant the same thing as the mangrove tree? Or is it a different plant of same common name like Hemlock vs. Poison Hemlock?

 

[hydrophyte]

There are several different plants called mangroves. They are all trees that grow in mangrove swamps.

Various species are distributed all over the world in tropical or subtropical coastal areas. Here in the US we have five or six different species of mangroves.

The one that I have been growing is black mangrove (Avicannia germinans).