Plant Availability Wish List?? Here's your chance

[Koan]

What are the plants you wish you could just order when you need them, already?

Not necessarily super niche, rarity, Ericaulon var. unobtania etc. Just stem and rosette plants that are a pain to source as healthy, robust, ready-to-plant stock when you want them.

Joe at BurrAqua does his best! but he can't stock everything

Our friends at The Shrimp Farm have asked what we are looking for, as they are planning expansion of their plant offerings.

As a small business, they want to target the plants you can never find when / the way you want, at APF / Aquatic Arts / Buceplant etc.

Here are some possibilities :

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Emersed / TC form of this plant makes me crazy​

What are the plants that you find an enormous pain to convert, from emersed to immersed form? That somebody (besides Joe!) needs to be growing immersed already, so they're ready to go?

Plants that always melt / take forever to convert, while calling down the wrath of the algae gods?

Example: Plant I personally never want to convert from emersed or TC again, as long as I live:

Pogo helferi Downoi

For me TC culture melts away, potted dies away to little sticks and takes months to grow back.. To paraphrase the great Tim Curry, "this plant makes me want to weep, and then die"


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Why can't I find it?​

What are the plants you want, that everybody else wants too?

That are always sold out, you can never find the color form or subspecies? You find yourself dealing with Etsy and reddit and eBay to obtain small unreliable bits..? That you wish the suppliers would just have on hand already?

Or large sizes of slow growers you can never find, Buces and Crypts you snap up any time you see someone has one in immersed form?

Examples: Color forms / subspecies

Pogostemon sp. Downoi Red
Ludwigia sp. Meta or Pantanal
Bacopa salzmannii Purple
Proserpinaca palustris
Blyxa Japonica red
Microsorum pteropus Orange
True Buce brownie ghost 2011

Example: Sizes it's hard to find

Buce immersed and bigger than my thumbnail

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What is on your wishlist?

Add them below and I will pass them on!

 

[Minorhero]

blyxa aubertii

 

[ample]

Cyperus helferi
Microsorum pteropus - trident, narrow leaf, needle leaf (not super rare, but availability is intermittent and I’ve had trouble sourcing when I needed it)

 

[ElleDee]

I would love to be able to easily buy converted AR Mini. It doesn't show up locally very often, I assume because it's a slower grower? My list for "plants I want to get sooner rather than later" are Myriophyllum Roraima, Limnophila hippuridoides, Bacopa salzmannii 'Purple', and Lysimachia parvifolia 'Red'. I have a much, much longer list of "plants I would like to try eventually", and I'm always keeping my eye out for colorful plants that would do well in higher light low tech tank.

This is not quite what you were asking for with this thread, but what I really want from retailers are decent pictures of their stock's submersed growth forms! This isn't such a big deal for super common stuff, but for plants where there are a million cultivars (buce, Echinodorus, Rotala), are uncommon, or are new to the market? Show me what this is going to look like in my tank, not just what it looks like now in the greenhouse. And actually, I don't want a million different cultivars offered of anything unless there's a good reason. They need to look substantially different (size, color, leaf shape, etc.) or have some other benefit that can be easily demonstrated or explained. My honest assumption here is that a lot of retailers aren't that familiar with their plants in the tank at all, which makes all the information provided suspect.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

This is not quite what you were asking for with this thread, but what I really want from retailers are decent pictures of their stock's submersed growth forms! This isn't such a big deal for super common stuff, but for plants where there are a million cultivars (buce, Echinodorus, Rotala), are uncommon, or are new to the market? Show me what this is going to look like in my tank, not just what it looks like now in the greenhouse. And actually, I don't want a million different cultivars offered of anything unless there's a good reason. They need to look substantially different (size, color, leaf shape, etc.) or have some other benefit that can be easily demonstrated or explained. My honest assumption here is that a lot of retailers aren't that familiar with their plants in the tank at all, which makes all the information provided suspect.

This is one of my big pet peeves in this hobby, too. Turns out, lots of the big "sellers" are just that -- sellers, not growers. They import massive pallets of emersed plants from other countries, and re-sell them. Buceplant, APF, Dustin's Fishtanks, etc, all the same -- import, place underwater in holding tanks (or emersed tanks still) and sell for an upcharge.

I want to ask them "just show a damn photo of this plant in your actual aquarium" but it's literally impossible for them. I don't think hobbyists realize what a quality service people like @Burr740 provide by selling submerged-form plants from actual aquariums, with actual pictures of that plant in aquarium use.

Plants like Echinodorus, Buce, and Crypts, which all look COMPLETELY different emersed vs submerged, should be shown in submerged forms for photos, damnit!

 

[BranchScape]

This is one of my big pet peeves in this hobby, too. Turns out, lots of the big "sellers" are just that -- sellers, not growers. They import massive pallets of emersed plants from other countries, and re-sell them. Buceplant, APF, Dustin's Fishtanks, etc, all the same -- import, place underwater in holding tanks (or emersed tanks still) and sell for an upcharge.

I want to ask them "just show a damn photo of this plant in your actual aquarium" but it's literally impossible for them. I don't think hobbyists realize what a quality service people like @Burr740 provide by selling submerged-form plants from actual aquariums, with actual pictures of that plant in aquarium use.

Plants like Echinodorus, Buce, and Crypts, which all look COMPLETELY different emersed vs submerged, should be shown in submerged forms for photos, damnit!

I completely agree with your point as someone who ordered 10 Echinodorus plants of 5 varieties in the last 2 weeks. With a 3/5 hit rate on if it had acclimated and if photos were accurate. I did get lucky and bought two Echinodorus from a store already fully submersed when visiting Atlanta(Premiere Aquatics and they were $16 each). I was shocked seeing fully converted swords, the variety was Rose or Red Flame I forgot the variety and it wasn't properly marked on the receipt or bag.

On vendors fair play to Dustin's he does disclose how he brings plants in and how long he has them submerged. Plus often shows pictures and the age of the plant lots. Granted the website is often out of date but they will answer you if you ask about how long they have had the plant in water. Compared to the others where it is a complete blackhole, that deserves some love. Plus its near impossible to supply the full hobby with submerged plants.

I would love converted swords, crypts and buce as the cost, conversion rate and time can be greater. Plus the less common Eleocharis varieties.

I am fine with TC for things like Juncus, Parvula, dwarf sag, MC, lileopsis and HT.

 

[Koan]

I would love converted swords, crypts and buce as the cost, conversion rate and time can be greater. Plus the less common Eleocharis varieties.

Yes! Converted immersed plants are very valuable to us, and would attract our business

They're asking us for specific requests! Please everyone continue to list those actual species of plants, ie which specific swords / crypt / buce / eleocharis / other you want to have available in converted immersed form, so I can pass them on!

what I really want from retailers are decent pictures of their stock's submersed growth forms! This isn't such a big deal for super common stuff, but for plants where there are a million cultivars (buce, Echinodorus, Rotala), are uncommon, or are new to the market

Plants like Echinodorus, Buce, and Crypts, which all look COMPLETELY different emersed vs submerged, should be shown in submerged forms for photos,

This is an excellent point Having pictures of both the pre and post conversion form for every plant sold as emersed form is a great idea, and I will pass it on

And actually, I don't want a million different cultivars offered of anything unless there's a good reason. They need to look substantially different (size, color, leaf shape, etc.) or have some other benefit that can be easily demonstrated or explained

Another great recommendation, thank you

 

[Phish Tank]

I'm kinda embarrassed to admit this, but I sure wished I had an easier time getting hygrophila pinnatifida to convert. First time it failed, second time it finally has managed after 4 months to start to put out a root system.

 

[BranchScape]

I'm kinda embarrassed to admit this, but I sure wished I had an easier time getting hygrophila pinnatifida to convert. First time it failed, second time it finally has managed after 4 months to start to put out a root system.

I wish we had connected a few months ago. I threw out a ton. If what I have continues to grow in my new tank I will have some for you if you ever have to go to Charlotte.

 

[MrJG]

Crypts!
Nurii Rosen maiden
Parva
Lucens

And I too wanted some hygro pinna but have since seen how big and unruly it can get. Still could maybe try a stem or two at some point, I could train it and call it George.

 

[Kwyet]

Micranthemum Callitrichoides ‘Cuba Mint Green’

I’ve tried it twice as a tissue culture, and failed both times.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

I'm kinda embarrassed to admit this, but I sure wished I had an easier time getting hygrophila pinnatifida to convert. First time it failed, second time it finally has managed after 4 months to start to put out a root system.

Don’t be ashamed, I could never get it to grow right either. I plan to use it this time around if I can get it submerged grown from someone.

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

I agree with more crypts, there are all kinds of new varieties and it seems we are stuck with the common Wendtii versions here in the US.

 

[BranchScape]

Don’t be ashamed, I could never get it to grow right either. I plan to use it this time around if I can get it submerged grown from someone.

Pretty sure you are near me. So I can be the NC/SC connect, but the portions will be small as I trimmed off too much last month.

 

[TheWetScape]

I'm kinda embarrassed to admit this, but I sure wished I had an easier time getting hygrophila pinnatifida to convert. First time it failed, second time it finally has managed after 4 months to start to put out a root system.

This plant is a WEED in my tanks. If you want some let me know and I’ll mail you some lol