Substrate type for some Cryptocoryne

[Art]

This list was put together by Sean Murphy back in 2006:

beech tree litter

Cryptocoryne cordata Griffith var. cordata
Cryptocoryne cordata Griffith var. zonata
Cryptocoryne elliptica
Cryptocoryne fusca
Cryptocoryne cf. ideii
Cryptocoryne longicauda
Cryptocoryne minima
Cryptocoryne schulzei
Cryptocoryne scurrilis
Cryptocoryne scurrilis
Cryptocoryne species
Cryptocoryne cf x purpurea
Cryptocoryne zukalii
Cryptocoryne yujii

beech tree litter / neutral

Cryptocoryne thwaitesii

beech tree litter/ limestone

Cryptocoryne ferruginea

limestone

Cryptocoryne albida
Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia
Cryptocoryne cordata Griffith var. siamensis
Cryptocoryne crispatula Engler var. balansae
Cryptocoryne hudoroi
Cryptocoryne noritoi
Cryptocoryne usteriana
Cryptocoryne albida

neutral

Cryptocoryne ciliata

slight acid

Cryptocoryne bullosa
Cryptocoryne cordata Griffith var. cordata
Cryptocoryne moehlmannii
Cryptocoryne cf. Nurii
Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia
Cryptocoryne spiralis
Cryptocoryne versteegii
Cryptocoryne vietnamensis
Cryptocoryne wendtii
Cryptocoryne zaidiana
Cryptocoryne alba
Cryptocoryne crispatula Engler var. tonkinensis

 

[ElleDee]

Is this for emersed growth? Is there more information about the makeup of these substrates? Is this just a description of how he grew them, or was it determined experimentally or by trial and error?

 

[Art]

Yes, it is for emersed growth. He developed the list with the help of Jan Bastmeijer of the Crypt Pages. It was all trial and error from the collective knowledge of mostly European growers from the late 1990s.

The makeup is mostly what it says. Niels Jacobsen discovered that blackwater species did very well in a very acidic solution that could be achieved using 100% beech tree leaf mold. The neutrals and slightly acid, I think, came from Jan using 50/50 sand and peat.