[Raymond S.]

I had someone give me a couple of stems of this and a few days after I planted it, the stems just started to rot off near the base.
I have left two of them floating on the top in hopes it might sprout new
roots. But might you speculate what I did wrong ? Is this another Rotala
which needs to be handled carefully while planting ?
The person told me they were about 5 days out of water in damp paper towels before shipping them. I bought a couple of plants from them and
a couple didn't make it but he had thrown in more than asked for anyway. At least two were in the package that I hadn't asked for so I'm
not the least bit unhappy with my purchase. But I would like to see if
I could save this one. A site says med light and med difficulty of growing so what else can I do to help it along ?

 

[Dr Fishbait]

I wish I could shed some light on this beautiful plant but I can't . I have had it for over a year in a low tech set up( actually with medium light, no ferts, and of course algae!)and it has a mind of its own. Some times it grows and sprouts like crazy and then, find it all but dying away. Kinda like my cryps, had one growing to the top of my 75, then melt to nothing with no apparent change in the tank. When the stem at the base rots all I do is brake that part off and replant . Then hope and pray. I have seen it in a tank with CO2 and it makes a remarkable "shrub".

 

[Dr Fishbait]

Is pogo erectus so uncommon that nobody has any info or experience with it?

 

[wastewater]

I had someone give me a couple of stems of this and a few days after I planted it, the stems just started to rot off near the base. Is this another Rotala which needs to be handled carefully while planting ? The person told me they were about 5 days out of water in damp paper towels before shipping them. A site says med light and med difficulty of growing so what else can I do to help it along ?

Maybe the timeframe with shipping (and the plants being in a damp paper towel for an additional 5 days) has created extra stress for your plants. You mentioned the stem rotting off near the base. How long are the stems? If long enough, I would cut the stem and replant. Pogostemon erectus (if I remember correctly, this plant was formerly classified as Rotala verticillaris) is pretty quick at developing roots.

A beautiful plant, indeed. I've always had good luck with P. erectus. Seems to appreciate medium/high light, CO2, water column nutrients, and root fertilizer. Although the plant looks fragile, I've found it to be a fairly tough plant. Once it gets a 'toe-hold' and is happy, it's a very nice addition to the scape.

 

[Seattle_Aquarist]

I had someone give me a couple of stems of this and a few days after I planted it, the stems just started to rot off near the base.
I have left two of them floating on the top in hopes it might sprout new
roots. But might you speculate what I did wrong ? Is this another Rotala
which needs to be handled carefully while planting ?
The person told me they were about 5 days out of water in damp paper towels before shipping them. I bought a couple of plants from them and
a couple didn't make it but he had thrown in more than asked for anyway. At least two were in the package that I hadn't asked for so I'm
not the least bit unhappy with my purchase. But I would like to see if
I could save this one. A site says med light and med difficulty of growing so what else can I do to help it along ?

Hi Raymond S.

Pogostemon erectus is not an extremely difficult plant to grow; I grow it in a 10 gallon with medium low light and no CO2. I also grow it emersed. It is possible that you damaged the stems when planting them. If you are pretty sure that isn't the case the only other times I have had the lower portion die off was when I was not fertilizing enough, especially nitrogen.

10 gallon; no CO2; Pogostemon erectus left side

Emersed

 

[Raymond S.]

That may narrow it down. I have whatI presume to be high end of med level lights.
But the sub was changed in Feb. and I don't use tabs etc but do use light EI weekly
so no ferts on the roots(no buildup of detritus/mulm in the gravel either) and dosing
1/16 tsp of both KNO3 and K2SO4 equals only half ofwhat the calculator says for a
weekly dose of K on the "Low light/EI weekly" section of the calculator under "and I
am dosing for". I do dose(daily) Excel @ 2x recommended but that is the least effective
of the three ways to do CO2.
The two remaining pieces of stems are floating now in hopes that the stems might sprout something like roots. Tips look fair, getting a bit darker green than the rest of the fadded looking color on the rest of it.
I appreciate the feedback and we'll see on this one.

 

[jrman83]

If the tips look good then I would trim and replant over letting it float. Some plants don't do so well for very long this way. If your light is not enough when planted you are just prolonging the inevitable anyway possibly. The stems on this plant are very tender, but it is not extremely difficult to grow by any means. If you had CO2 new transported plants perk up in about 2days usually even if stressed. Without it, , and the plants can take a while to recover. If the seller had done it right those plants would have been out of water a max of 2 days.

 

[MERSF559]

ibought my p. erectus and it was grown emersed. after planting it in the tank, maybe a week are so, it started growing new neede like leaves. like it suppose to be. it is a really slow grower. ihave high light co2 and EI dosing. in my case, it has a huge root system. when ifirst pulled them out for a trim, roots were all over the place