Java fern inquiry.

[njnolan1]

I did some research on java ferns so I do know some things about them. Their propagation technique is amazing!

Now, for the inquiry, I bought mine from a tube and the leaves don't look great. They're kind of spotted looking and some are damaged. A far difference than the Anubias nana I bought a few days ago. They had it tied into a bunch all the way towards the bottom right above the rhizome. I was thinking of untying it but it looks like it could fall apart. I have it "planted" (tied to a plastic plant weight) but I'm concerned it may not do very well being tied towards the bottom. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Nate

[bethyMT]

Hmmm. I'm trying to think of how they're typically packaged. Well, if the stems are tied together, untie them ASAP. They aren't meant to be bunched like that. They probably won't fall over. You may have multiple rhizomes in there too.

If you've got some really damaged plants, I'd say cut off the most damaged ones and leave the so-so leaves on the plant. Cut off any soft rotting rhizome parts cleanly. Tie each rhizome to it's own rock, and set where you want. They do grow on top of the substrate just fine, they take nutrients from the water. Then, you just check them periodically to see if any new shoots are growing and how the roots look (warm brown and fuzzy is good; black and fuzzy and squishy is bad)

I hope this helps you. I am not new to plants, but new here. Others may give you different info. This is just IME, and I have bought many many java fern tubes in my day.

[babystarz]

I agree with everything bethyMT says :) It's ok if some/most of the leaves are damaged, just remove them. The rhizome is the important part, and it can grow new leaves.

[njnolan1]

Thanks!

Yeah, It's tied up with cotton string. I have it gently tied to a plastic plant weight. Maybe I'll go in and just snip the string that's bunched it together. Originally, the whole bottom of the plant was tied together very tightly but I untied it and it looked like it was going to fall apart so I gently tied it back together.

The leaves aren't terrible looking, there weren't any that were rotting, but they're a bit spotty. I guess I'll see how it does after I snip the string. The anubia nana I put in about 5-6 days ago is looking pretty good. A couple of the leaves are starting to turn yellow but I'll wait a bit. I also have a snail so he'll probably eat up the rotting vegetation. The java moss is superb! Just working on getting the ammonia down and it's a tad over stocked.

[aokashi]

I would leave java fern leaves alone. dying leaves will generally give you new plants.