Cryptocoryne moehlmannii – spathe

Cryptocoryne moehlmannii and Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia look very much alike when grown emersed or submerged. To properly differentiate and identify the correct species is to flower the plant(s). I have both in my emersed setup and both flowered. The whole lower part of C. moehlmannii is exactly like C. pontederiifolia. However you can clearly distinguished two by noticing red dots in the top portion of Cryptocoryne moehlmannii tube.

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Houston Plant Fest – Photography

Finally had few spare minutes to pull it all together, sort, delete, keyword, process and everything else that goes along with Lightroom / CS4. Those applications should be making our photo-lifes a lot easier but I find myself spending a lot of time looking at the screen and playing in the “digital darkroom.”

Many thanks once again NASH ! You guys did a wonderful job. This has to be my 3rd or 4th time in Houston and I enjoyed it as much, as I did my first one. Keep up the good work. I’m still working on my TFH article so I won’t go into details of what, how and when. For now, enjoy photography 🙂

Below you will find your typical snap shots and further below more “artistic” collection.

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JL Photography Blog

Long time coming ! JL PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG is alive and kicking. The BLOG will be dedicated to general photography – my true passion ! Feel free to set it up via OUTLOOK or RSS feed tools and stay on top of future updates. Let me know what you think and enjoy !

  • Direct Link to Blog –>HERE
  • Direct Link to Feed –>HERE


  • JL DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG

    JL DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG

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    Houston Plant Fest 2009 video – Part 2 “ADG”

    This is the last video clip from Houston Plant Fest 2009. Mike Senske from ADG (Aquarium Design Group) graciously opened up the door to The Gallery, showed us around, performed very successful workshop, and last but definitely not least, raffled off new “Open Top ADG Prototype” tank. If you are in Houston, make sure you visit ADG and talk to Mike & Jeff Senske.

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    Houston Plant Fest 2009 video – Part 3 “The Funniest Moments”

    A lot of folks are waiting for this one so here it goes. Few names were removed not to upset Luis 🙂 We all know that I missed a lot of good moments but it is not bad for the first time. Next year I plan on installing hidden camera. Imagine ?

    Enjoy and tell me what you think !

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    Houston Plant Fest 2009 video – Part 1 “San Marcos”

    Last week I visited my friends in Houston for another successful Houston Plant Fest. Photographs and more videos are coming but for now here is a quick clip from native collecting in San Marcos.

    Please let me know what you think ! Video editing is extremely time consuming. Enjoy !

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    Cryptocoryne usteriana x walkeri – spathe

    I’m starting to believe that one of the limiting factors in my setup was insufficient humidity levels. My first setup was a standard greenhouse tray with dome. Then I moved up to 10G setup with ceran wrap as a cover. Then upgraded to currently setup 75G but continued to use ceran wrap. I went through couple humidity meters but none of them showed accurate levels. Meter kept showing the same level on dry winter day and extremely hot summer day. Something was obviously off.

    Few weeks ago I finally got a glass cover. Since then I noticed drastic increase in overall growth and most importantly – numerous flowers. Could it be all of the following: established environment, water, temperature, circulation, humidity or simply one of them ? I’m not sure but I know that the only elementes that were adjusted are: humidity and water circulation.

    I received Cryptocoryne usteriana x walkeri from good friend of mine – Ghazanfar, few months ago. I was told that this plant came from one and only – Jan Bastmeijer. I guess I can cross another specimen off the list. 

    Cryptocoryne usteriana x walkeri Cryptocoryne usteriana walkeri

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    Cryptocoryne wendtii ‘Florida Sunset’

    Thanks to a local club member, I finally have the recently announced new Cryptocoryne wendtii cultivar ‘Florida Sunset.’ That plant made its appearance at the last AGA’08 convention in Atlanta. Hearing the $120 price tag at the auction I decided to wait few months until the plant was available in local pet shops. Not sure if economy had a direct impact or market is already over-saturated but the price tag nowadays is very affordable ~$10. I noticed a lot of hobbyists are in the possession of it and they are growing it sub/emersed so we should be able to spread this plant around fairly quickly. Stay tune for an update !

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    Cryptocoryne – How hardy ?

    (click on pic)

    I briefly posted about a year ago about Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia. Few runners were taken out of the tank in November 2006 and placed in a tupperware-like container. No substrate, no pots, no water. I had done nothing except very occasional water misting. I opened the container in June 2007 and found rich root system and number of healthy leaves (pic 1).

    emersed_growth

    Picture 1

    Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia is definitely not the only hardy specimen. About two years I visited my friend’s fishroom and on the way out I was given a healthy potted Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia in a small plastic container. When I got back from the trip, I must have misplaced the container because I never got around to re-potting it and adding it to my emersed setup. Few months later I found the container without a plant. It melted and died !!! or did it ? I didn’t feel like cleaning it up so I left the container in the same spot, untouched. Few months later I looked into it again and found the plant alive, growing well with healthy root system and healthy leaves. I left it alone and decided to challenge it again. Plant continue to grow, melt (*not completely) and bounce back.

    Yesterday I decided to take it apart, re-pot it and add it to the emersed setup. Moral of the story … let’s give those plants some credit or a lot of it !. They can grow in very limited conditions and some times they can even come back from the “death.”

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    Cryptocoryne undulata – spathe

    Another one crossed off the list. Cryptocoryne undulata flowered few days ago. No change to the setup.

    About a week ago I finally got rid DIY foil cover and invested in glass lids. Humidity levels increased immediately ! I noticed that water circulation was inadequate so I introduced another small water pump. Slimy algae went away immediately. Nothing else to report …

    Cryptocoryne undulata Cryptocoryne undulata Cryptocoryne undulata

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