(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).

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.”