It Can Out-Compete Valisneria
by Patrick Miller
July/August 2006, issue #37
There is a plant, which in every tank that I have planted it, has out competed not only Vallisneria but also nearly every other plant in the tank. I love this plant because it is so easy for me to grow and I hate the plant because it is so easy for me to grow.
It was October of 2005. I had just purchased some Hygrophila corymbosa “angustifolia” from a GVAC meeting/auction. There was more than one plant in the bag so I decided that I would plant them in this rather plain and simple but healthy, 29 gallon tank. The tank was planted with Vallisneria spiralis, Sagittaria subulata and Vallisneria gigantean. I thought that it would die in a matter of months as most of the more “unusual” plants did and still do for me. After all how do you get Wisteria or African Fern to grow?
But to my surprise the Hygrophila started to grow and grow it did. This particular open top tank has a 36 watt florescent light from AH Supply hanging about 15” above the water surface. At the time it had a temperature of about 75 degrees but the temperature has fluctuated between 65 and 80 degrees since that time. The Hygrophila competed with the other plants so well that only two months after its introduction I noticed that the Vallisneria started to look stunted and after about four months I could barley tell the difference between the Vallisneria and the dwarf Sagittaria. The height of the two was and still is about the same at only about 4-5” tall with a few of the Vallisneria plants reaching for the sky at about 8-10” tall. The giant Vallisneria deteriorated and after about 6 months had completely disappeared from the tank.
But oh how the Hygrophila corymbosa “angustifolia” loved the conditions. It has grown so well that it is very much the dominant plant in the tank and requires pruning at least every month if not more often. The narrow leaves of this plant reach about ½” wide and can grow up to 9-10” long but are usually 6-7” long in the submersed growth and about the same width and 4-6” long in the emersed growth. The submersed growth has a great effect when grown in tall tanks, of at least 18”. If done right it can look like a small underwater bamboo forest. While grown immersed the leaves tend to be a rich red color. I have managed to keep the population in the 29 gallon tank from growing immersed by regularly pruning the tops of the pants and replanting them to other tanks or by selling them or donating them to the club at the GVAC monthly auctions. However, other tank populations have been allowed to grow out of control and have become part of my plant overgrowth problem.
Because this has become such a weed in almost half of my tanks I have started to try and eliminate it from all but a few of the tanks it is now planted in. With a large root system and the seemingly unwillingness of the plant to die, eradication has been difficult. A problem that I wish I had with some of my other plants.
If you have not tried Hygrophila corymbosa “angustifolia” I would suggest that you give it a shot. It does well as an immersed plant where it will give you many dozens of small lavender/purple flowers that will last upwards of a week or more depending on conditions and even better as a submersed pant. The fragrance that the immersed steams produce when touched is also quite intoxicating.
In conclusion this plant is a great plant for the beginner or the experience aquatic horticulturist because, it looks good in tanks with a height of at least 18”, it has an interesting growth habits, it has many uses in aquascaping and it promises easy HAP Points.
I hope you have good luck with growing Hygrophila corymbosa “angustifolia” and I look forward to seeing your HAP sheet on this plant at future GVAC club meetings.