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Ludwigia Cuba emmersed vs immersed

2.2K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  Mikevwall  
#1 ·
Ok, so, I ordered some Ludwigia Cuba from a reputable dealer I have done business with before....they do say they ship the emmersed variety, and it will change once its in the tank...but how long does it take? Mine is close to the surface now, soon, probably today, to breach the water surface...In my first picture, the cuba is the frontmost plant. You can see the leaves are still large, and root structures are forming from the stem, but no narrowing! The second picture to the left shows a cuba which Ive had for a while...its branching now that its reached the surface, will end up cutting it down and replanting the top soon. To the right is another cuba recently added, growing to the surface....

So curious how long to expect before it turns into the immersed look! Lights are Ecoxotic E-120, 2 sets, at 85% power, six hours per day. By and large have pretty much conquered the algae issues, except for some old green algae on some old growth...if you look closely you can see some on the older L. Cuba
 

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#3 ·
Update!

So, it's been about a week.....
The L. cuba has since grown OUT of the water.......sadly, no real change in the look of the leaves....they still appear as the emmersed form! They grow like mad....around an inch per day.
What I have now done, is cut the stem in half, left the bottom portion in place (has some leaves), and replanted the tops. I don't know if the bottom portion will survive, or just slowly die off. Maybe by replanting the tops the newer growth will change? Nothing ventured, nothing gained!
I really would rather have the immersed leaf form, as I find it considerably more attractive than the sparse and large-leafed emmersed varietal form.....any other ideas!
Thanks!
 
#7 ·
well, an update!

So, I cut them in half, left the stalks, and replanted the tops..........
The tops continue to grow toward the surface in the EMMERSED leaf form, while, weirdly, the stalks are sprouting what appears to be immersed growth from the junction of the upper leaves! Who knew?! I almost just removed the old stalks because they had a few big leaves on them, but otherwise were ugly, to make room for the tops! I will give it a couple weeks and report back.