The Variegated Thumb

I have been hesitant to write on my plant blog about my bad experiences or flat out failures in raising plants.  I felt that someone who has a plant blog needs to appear to know what they are doing.  But I guess we are all experimenting and I don’t think PETP (People for the Ethical Treatment of Plants) will come after me if I share some of my more trying moments with my friend, Kingdom Plantae.

I live in zone 7A.  This region can get pretty cold during the winter – dropping to around 0 degrees Fahrenheit on occasion.  Needless to say, tropical plants must be brought indoors.  Unfortunately, I don’t (yet) have a greenhouse and my house is not well-suited to keeping hoards of plants over the winter.  My window space is limited and I have some beautiful large trees in my yard which pretty effectively scatter a lot of sunlight before it can make it in the window.  So, I’m limited on where I can put plants in the house over the winter.  It’s a bit of a struggle to keep everything alive until it gets warm again and I can put all my plants back out for some fresh air, circulation, real rain and warm sunshine.  I really should experiment with artificial lighting, but I only this year put most of my plants in one concentrated place where this would be effective.

Anyway, in this little house of mine, live myself, my wife, 2 aquariums with plants and fish, approximately a hundred plants – and 2 dogs.  Those last 2 inhabitants add yet another restriction to where I can place my plants indoors (and outside as well).

I was reading a blog post about Zamioculcas zamiifolia today at Plants are the Strangest People.  [PATSP is an excellent and entertaining blog, so you should check it out.]  In the post, the writer says that ‘ZZ plants’ rarely do anything and they don’t require any grooming since dead leaves are so rare.  I was just thinking about how this plant is nearly indestructible – and yet, I have a couple of dead leaves on my plant.  I felt kind of embarrassed at first, thinking I might be the only person in history who has had trouble keeping a ‘ZZ plant’ – although I’m sure that’s not true.  Then I remembered why my ‘ZZ plant’ has its brown leaves.

And that, my friends, leads us to “the Pee-Wee effect.”  My two canine daughters are a 70ish pound Boxer named Pippa and a 15ish pound Boston Terrier named Pee-Wee.

Pippa and Pee-Wee playing when Pee-Wee was a newborn puppy

Both of our pups been known to chomp a leaf from time to time, but Pippa is usually more trust-worthy than the younger, hyper and erratic Pee-Wee.  My wife and I affectionately refer to Pee-Wee as “the pig” [really it is affection], because of her little round, pink belly and her common snorting noises.  Most of Pippa’s attacks came when she was younger and less mature.

My ZZ plant’s browning leaves were most likely brought on by an assault by Pee-Wee.  There are some little perforations in the affected leaves that could only have been made by the little pig.  If it had been Pippa, there wouldn’t be a plant left.  She destroys all evidence.

Anyway, the “effect” of Pee-Wee’s random plant chewing is almost always that I lose the affected leaves.  I usually don’t do anything after she has messed with one of my plants, hoping that the plant will remain healthy and just have some new features.  I probably should just immediately snip off the affected leaves, though.

Pippa in front of the Christmas tree

Pee-Wee driving the boat

Pee-Wee pretending to be incapable of any wrongdoing

Other plants that Pee-Wee has attacked include my Aglaonema ‘Maria’, a bromeliad, a pineapple plant (which is also a bromeliad), a coconut palm, and a gerbera daisy.  She actually managed to eat the bromeliad and pineapple plant, but she only damaged a couple of leaves on the other plants.  This summer, the pig ripped a leaf (with attached stem) off of my Monstera deliciosa ‘Borsigiana’ and left it lying on the back porch.  I stuck the leaf in water (about 4 inches across with a 10 inch stem) and was surprised to see two fleshy roots appear within a week or so.  So, in one case (and one case only) Pee-Wee has actually helped me propagate a plant.

This year, I have managed to move all plants out of their reach.  I built a small shelf in the extra bathroom in the house where some more plants can get some bright, indirect light.  And I bought a shelf to put in the laundry room, loaded it down with plants and put a baby gate in front of everything on the floor.  The main bathroom in the house, however, has a number of reachable plants on the floor.  So I have to make sure to keep that door closed whenever I leave the house.  Otherwise, I will be sure to come home to some disappointment.

I previously had a post all about Aglaonemas, my favorite emersed species of plant.  To me, Anubias is the aquatic equivalent of Aglaonema – my favorite submerged species of plant.  The similarities begin with the fact that they are both Aroids (a subfamily of the family Araceae).  Each genera is one of the most common “foliage” plant in the houseplant or aquarium hobbies, respectively.  They are both being hybridized constantly and the number of common names is seeming to surpass the number of true unique species.  Most of the plants are known by common names that may or may not identify them as distinct cultivars.  Anubias is not nearly as large of a genus as Aglaonema, but that’s fitting because the number of aquatic species is significantly less than terrestrial species.

Since Anubias are very popular among aquarists (aquarium hobbyists), there is a wealth of information about growing them and a ton of different sources from which you can purchase them on the internet.  However, there is little care for classification.  It kind of surprises me that more aquarists don’t seek to clarify the names of Anubias that are being sold.  So many are just sold under common names or (worse yet) incorrect scientific names.  I have a fascination with the classification and I sure as heck don’t want to buy a plant thinking that it is a species I am not familiar with, only to realize I already have the plant and it was mislabeled!  This is a call to action for all aquarists out there who want to see the hundreds (or at least in the 30s) of apparent varieties of Anubias properly classified. 

Here is my photo album of my collection of Anubias, with some comments on the plants and fish pictured.  Make sure to read the comments.

An excerpt from Wikipedia: “Anubias… [are] native to tropical central and western Africa.  They primarily grow in rivers and streams, but can also be found in marshes. … The genus was revised in 1979 and since then its taxonomy has been stable.  Species can be determined by using mostly characteristics of the inflorescence.”

Conditions and propagation
Anubias are a low light plant – again, like Aglaonemas.  Many aquatic plants require specific lighting (which can be rather expensive) and even CO2 infusion with expensive equipment.  Alternatively, a number of aquarists make their own CO2 infusers, but I haven’t tried that yet.  Anubias thrive in a wider range of temperatures compared with other aquatic plants.  They do very well in unheated indoor aquariums for tropical fish, cold water fish, and even African cichlids.  Anubias can be propagated from cuttings.  Sometimes the rhizome will develop branches that are easily removed.  Otherwise, the rhizome can just be cut in half, producing two plants.  These plants are very slow growing.  Most people say that they grow at the rate of one new leaf every 2-3 months.  I have not put my new leaf formation on the clock yet.  You have to have a quick finger on the stopwatch for these plants!  I should note that they are supposed to grow quicker when their leaves are emersed and only their roots submerged.  I have not had a need or a place to grow them this way, so I don’t really know the comparative rates.

Color variations
Unlike Aglaonemas, Anubias are usually solid green in color.  There are a couple of variegations, which is uncommon in aquatic plant genera.  I have one Anubias barteria var. nana ‘marbled’ plant I bought that is variegated, with most of the leaf white and some speckling of green (pictured in my photo album).  This is a very unique species.  I haven’t really ever seen any others like it.  I also have a couple of Anubias barteri v. coffeefolia, which is a deeper green, with dark ribbing on the leaves.  Also, as new leaves form on this plant the stems appear red and sometimes the new leaves are more yellowish in color, darkening as they mature.  Anubias barteri var. nana ‘gold’ is a color variation of the common nana.  This one is a yellow green color, which could be misconstrued as simply sick.  But it’s not – it’s a true color variation.  You generally won’t see leaves change colors (unless they subsequently rot and die) with Anubias.  Having tolerance for very low light, Anubias don’t usually experience yellowing leaves under different light conditions.  However, an increase of light may benefit the growth of algae on the leaves.  In several cases I have had to cut back the number of hours my aquarium is lit each day to get rid of unsightly algae.

Leaf variations
The species of Anubias that are not barteri are generally distinguished by different leaf shapes.  (All varieties of barteri have an ovular shape.)  Some “varieties” of barteri are currently being sold as either “broad leaf” or “round leaf” or “pointed leaf.”  The combinations are endless, and I have a feeling real botanists or anyone with some experience in true taxonomy would laugh at these being sold as different species.  But then again, I don’t know.  Rather than gain permission from a number of different sources for the reuse of their pictures, here’s a link to the google image search for Anubias.  As you can see, there’s lots of pictures out there.

And here is a link to the Aluka digital library.  They seem to know something about classification of these plants.

Sizes
I have probably about 20 Anubias (about 6 species) and have had quite a bit of success with them.  My oldest is a simple A. barteri v. barteri that I have had for at least 3 years.  Needless to say, even with it’s slow growth, it is much larger than when I bought it.  It’s rhizome is probably about 8 inches long now, and the leaves are reaching the surface of the water, about 14 inches in total height.   I have seen some pictures of some rather large barteri – usually sold as “Monster barteri” or “barteri Mother Plant.”  Generally, the leaf sizes are consistent, but the number of leaves and the size of the plant overall will grow steadily.  Many aquarists would rather have an abundance of plants and will cut apart the creeping rhizome, and spread out the sections of plant in their aquarium.  Still, there are some that allow their plant to grow unrestricted.  I have allowed mine to do this and I’m pretty happy with it.  Even the nanas will grow to be a large clump of leaves over time.  There is really not a limit when the plant is in a favorable environment.  It is becoming increasingly popular to use A. barteri var. nana ‘petite’ as a carpet or foreground.  The leaves are small enough to give the desired look, as long as the aquarium is not too small (scale is important).  The drawbacks are the growth speed and the fact that it does not like to be buried in a substrate.  For this reason, the rhizome needs to be tied down or anchored, without being covered, where it will surely rot in time.  Therefore, in my opinion, nana ‘petite’ is not a very good choice for a carpet plant because of the work required to make it look right and last more than a couple of weeks.  Another small variety is A. barteri var. nana ‘minima.’  This one is still pretty rare and again, I don’t know if it is a true variety/cultivar/forma or maybe just one person’s plant that demonstrates some natural variability.  It is distinguished by small leaves that are longer in shape, more like the afzelli.  I have seen this one in solid green and a splotchy sort of variegation.

Make sure to check out the photo album to see some of my Anubias.

The spunkiest!
To name my favorite species would be kind of difficult, so I will simply talk about some of the distinct traits of my three favorites.  The dark green leaves and even darker veining of A. coffeefolia are striking in an aquarium crowded with bright greens and reds.  Similaryly, the white veins of A. barteri var. nana ‘stardust’ stands out, even with it’s small stature.  I have never had a ‘stardust’ and I have found them to be rather elusive among the couple of websites that sell them from time to time.  A. barteri var. nana ‘marbled’ is quite possibly the only primarily white aquatic plant you will ever see – the only one that I have seen.

List of names I have seen used to identify Anubias
afzelli

angustifolia
congensis
ellipticus
lanceolata (Devil’s Tongue)
rotundifolia
rubescens

bangkok
barteri

angustifolia
barteri
caladifolia
glabra
marble
nana

eyes
gold
marble leaf
minima
petite
stardust
variegata
wrinkled leaf

variegated

caladifolia
cameroon
coffeefolia
congo (congensis on steroids)
frazeri
garbon
gigantea
gilletii
gracilis
hastifolia
heteroclita
heterophylla

undulatus latifolia
undulatus angustifolia
spathulata
pectinatus

kumbaensis
nancon
nangii
narrow leaf
pynaertii
rigidus
round leaf
stardust
yellow heart

Anubias can be purchased from a number of online stores specializing in aquatic plants.  (They can also be found at PetsMart and Wal-Marts from time to time.)  Here’s an incomplete list of some of the best online aquatic stores:
http://www.aquariumplants.com
http://eaquaplant.com/
http://freshwateraquariumplants.com
http://www.azgardens.com/
http://www.aquabotanicstore.com/

There are usually quite a few Anubias for sale on Aquabid, as well.  Aquabid is a wonderful site; it is the eBay for the aquarium hobby.

On any of these sites, they usually have aquatic plants divided into a couple of categories.  Anubias usually fall into the “rooted” and “easy” or “beginner” categories – and of course, when “anubias” is a category you can find them there

I started a plant journal (on paper) in the last month.  I decided to start keeping track of my plants as they grow, as well as document any new plants I get.  I have spent most of my journaling time not talking specifically about my plants, but about plant knowledge I have gained recently.  When Russ sent me a box stuffed full of Aroids, I did a lot of image searching of the different plants he had sent me.  A number of these plants have 2 distinct leaf habits, which is common among many Aroids, especially Philodendrons.  Leaves in the first stage – the immature or juvenile stage - are usually smaller and more simple looking.  Although sometimes the juvenile leaves are more colorful.  When the plant matures leaves can become much larger and often develop splits or holes.  This maturation process is usually instigated by the plant beginning to climb high up the trunk of a tree.  The splits and holes in the leaves enable the large leaves of the plant to be more resistant to wind.  The Epipremnum pinnatum v. ‘Cebu Blue’ that I received from Russ has small, lance-like, pale blue leaves.  As the Cebu Blue matures, the leaves can grow to several feet and have large splits in them.  If you are not familiar with this characteristic of many Aroids, you would find yourself trying to convince me that these could not be the same plant.  But they are!

Many plants displaying the ‘immature’ habits are called ‘shinglers.’  I found an International Aroid Society article about these.  The immature flat, round leaves lay up close to the climbing surface, sometimes overlapping and looking like shingles.  One of the best examples of a shingler is a Scindapsus pictus.

I just learned today that the characteristic of multiple distinct leaf habits is called heteoroblastic development.  I think the word is a fitting analogy for my hobby with plants.  My hobby has recently gone through a transformation that makes my old hobby look like a different species of hobbies.  But it’s the same me and the same love of plants that’s underlying this hobby.

Here’s some other miscellaneous knowledge that I recently gained.  Several times in picture captions I have seen a Genus name and then the word ‘NOID.’  ‘NOID’ means ‘No Identification’ or ‘Not identified.’  From what I can tell, this can mean that the person does know what species the plant is, or it has literally not been classified yet.

Also, I’ve known that v. stands for ‘variety’ but I had never even seen ‘f.’ before until Russ was identifying one of my Aglaonemas as A. commutatum v. maculatum f. maculatum.  Apparently f. means ‘forma.’

Guess what?  Someone occasionally stumbles upon my little seldomly-updated plant blog.  Recently I received an email from Russ Hammer, who has been growing aroids for many years.  He had stumbled upon my post on Aglaonemas and was wondering if I would like to make a trade with him.  Unfortunately my meager collection didn’t have any species or varieties that he has not already collected.  But he offered to send me a bunch of plants for just the price of postage.  You can bet I jumped on his offer.  I was counting down the days for my box to arrive.  When it did, I spent several hours potting the 28 different plants he sent me.

Rather than try to imbed pictures in my blog here (which usually means they are tiny), I have made a photo album of my pictures of the plants after I got them potted.  You can view the album, by clicking on the Aglaonema below. 

Russ also sent me a lot of information on Aroid culture and pictures of his mature plants.  I will probably post some of those pictures later.

Here is the list of the plants he sent me.  All of them are pictured in the photo album, with the exception of one of the monsteras, which I had not yet potted whenever the pictures were taken.  I’ll get it added soon enough.

Philodendrons
P. ilsemanii
P. ‘mini belle’
P. ‘Painted lady’
P. microstictum
P. ‘Florida’
P. mexicanum
P. red duchess
P. royal queen
P. ‘King of Spades’ or P. ‘Ace of Spades’

Aglaonemas
A. maria christina
A. jubilee
A. Abidjan
A. white lance
A. black lance
A. modestum variegate
A. royal ripple
A. alumina v. armandii
A. green lady
A. new unidentified variety

Monsteras
M. standleyana
M. adansonii
M. deliciosa v. Borsigiana

Epipremnums
E. pinnatum v. ‘Cebu Blue’
E. aureus ‘neon’

Syngoniums
S. pink
S. ‘Byrd’

Other Aroids
Dieffenbachia unidentified variety
Zamioculcas zamiifolia (‘zz plant’)

I’ll start from the basics. The word propagation can mean several different things.  In the context of meteorology, we use the word “propagate” to describe the movement of certain weather properties of interest. In the context of plants, the word “propagation” refers to producing new plants from one of a number of different sources (i.e., seed or clipping).

I think my interest in propagation is three-fold:

1. I would like to have more plants without buying them,

2. it’s a fun challenge and

3. the science is intriguing to me.

There are a number of methods for propagating plants.  The most simple is probably division. Many plants will reproduce underneath the soil, sending off runners and developing new plants. In this case, you can divide these plants by pulling the roots apart and separating the individual plants. Many times a plant can even be successfully divided by cutting a large root ball apart. This works well for: mature asparagus ferns, aglaonemas, wandering jew, moneywort, etc.

Another simple method of propagation is to root soft cuttings in a vase of water. Some plants that this works well for are: again wandering jew, pothos ivy, many philodendrons, lipstick plant, and pineapples.

The technique of layering deals with forcing roots to form along the stem of a plant and then removing that section of plant when the roots are mature enough to support the section without the mother plant. Did that make sense? One way of doing a layer propagation is called air-layering. It’s a neat concept that I have tried many times, with no success. First, a set of leaves is removed from a softwood stem of a plant, bush or tree. [By the way, softwood is often defined as an area of new growth that would make a “snapping” sound if you were to break it]. Next, an incision is made in the stem at this location. It is best to apply rooting hormone to the wound. (Of course, I have never had a successful rooting, so what do I know about what’s best!?!) A toothpick (or a piece of one) can be inserted in the cut to hold it open, and other toothpicks may be used as a splint, to hold the stem together (as if it were a broken bone). Lastly, the area should be wrapped in plastic with moist peat moss inside. This dressing allows the entire plant to support the section of plant which has been wounded, while encouraging roots to form in the peat moss. Here is a good website with instructions and visualizations.

There are other forms of layering, as well. Regular layering (sometimes called mound layering) is accomplished by building up the dirt around the base of a plant or bush and running several branches of the bush through the mound. Some plants will freely begin to produce roots at nodes along the buried branch or stem. Other plants require the extra encouragement of a wound and some rooting hormone.

Some of the more simple forms of propagation include starting plants from seed or corm/rhizome/bulb separation. This separation technique is much like division except that rhizome separation often requires cutting a rhizome into pieces, which is a scary step for someone who has a plant they want to multiply, not kill. Irises can be propagated by simply cutting the creeping rhizome into pieces. Conversely, tulip bulbs can simply be separated when new bulbs are formed each year.

There are some more advanced techniques that I may try eventually, but first I need to master (or at least have some limited success) with the more primitive forms of propagation. Some advanced techniques are tissue culture (micro propagation) and grafting. Tissue culture is used extensively in the nursery business, so I am told. It sounds a little complicated, but it turns out that it is not much of a mystery at all. Grafting is a common technique used for rose gardening and for fruit trees. It can be accomplished by removing a single bud from the desired rose/fruit parent plant. Then a special inverted-T shape incision is made in the host plant to hold the bud. The bud is secured in place and the plant is watered as normal. A successful grafted bud will begin to grow in about a week. An unsuccessfully grafted bud will turn black pretty quickly.

I’ll be posting again soon, chronicling “My Attempts at Propagation.”  Stay tuned!