Funny how they can grow in water, but rot if in a too wet soil. I hope you don't have to cut them. They've been grown so well for so long.

Bump, I wish folks to see this before it gets buried.

I've just never seen anyone else grow a Sans in water alone & am still amazed it's done so well, even if it is mine!

Lena

I threw a leaf in water to see if it would root, Lena, and it did. I wonder if it would continue to grow in water if I left it there?

I am amazed! Thanks Lena. It's a beautiful plant, and such a tiny root mass for so many leaves.

Isn't it amazing how it does this? I believe it will Vitorama, as long as it's in just a small amount of water, like just an inch. I think our friend Tiffany tried it & got it to grow a tiny pup too.

Hey Tiff -- time for an update??

Thanks NextObs.

Yea, I really like it too. But think I mentioned, I have trimmed the roots back a bit as they were getting messy, all snarled & caught on the Leca stones. The plant doesn't seem to have minded at all!

An old friend who also posts here called them Aqua Sans, I kinda liked the name!

Lena

What's Leca?

And how does the plant get around the lack of oxygen to the roots, so necessary to most plants?

So if they can tolerate that much water, I wonder how one would grow in those African violet nesting pots, the ones the has a small section for the plant and sitting in a larger pot of water? That might be the next experiment!

@lmonstella, have you had any trouble with pot-busting yet? I have an S. aubrytiana in semi-hydro that breaks whatever pot I put it in within six months or so, I've given up on re-potting it until the holes get big enough for the LECA to start falling out... :)

@GreenLarry: LECA == Lightweight Expanded Clay Aggregate, it's basically a sort of fired clay bead that readily wicks up water, used widely in hydroponics. Often called Hydroton, which was the most widespread brand of LECA for a long time. Plants growing in LECA usually don't have their roots in the water; they're rooted in the LECA (which as a lot of airspace between the beads) which in turn is sitting in some kind of water reservoir. http://www.hydro-culture.net/ has a decent primer on the concepts.

This is an interesting thread. I had no luck putting leaves in water, it was only an inch, eventually they all got slimy.

I did a search on the forum for water grown sans and found other older threads that look like your plant from the the user pirate_girl (Karen). Is that you too, Lena?

I wonder if temperature and/or pH has anything to do with it? I managed to root a Bantel's Sensation leaf in water, it took many weeks though but it was winter (mild in comparison to other areas). I changed the water frequently. I have about 7 leaves in a Mason jar outside, it's in the 90's/100's now. I also have a few leaves in pots with perlite/bark, I just lost one, it dried up. I mist them twice a day and keep the mix moist (not wet).

Akrmm (Nancy),

Yes it was also me (not to be confusing) but I had to change my handle several times.

So pls. just refer to me as either LMontestella, Lena or Karen (just not the older handle as that may cause trouble).

Sorry, my water never gets slimy; sometimes I throw in some bits of aquarium grade charcoal chips & it helps keep the water fresh.

NextO,

I pay no attention at all to PH levels in my growing.

I suggest you pls stop changing your water as that's not helping your rooting.

It's said that rooting plants exude a hormone into the water that helps promote the rooting, so I NEVER change the water, I just add to it from time to time.

Happily, it looks like I won't have to move (hope to know for sure next week). Maybe it's time for me to locate larger netted pots & move this plant to the next larger size.

Cliss: no pot-busting problems here, but as I noted, my plant is growing UP, not out sideways, so no busting, just getting somewhat top heavy & keeling over from time to time.

In rooting my Sans in mix, I don't keep the mix moist (I actually keep it pretty dry), nor do I mist the leaves, EVER.

Pls remember that in nature, no one comes along to do these things, moisten the mix, spray the leaves. These plants are tough old birds & I leave them to sink or swim on their own.

Lena

Lena, that is SO cool! I just love that insane, vertical rhizome. I have so many questions, but first, someone here had posted pictures of a pup growing right out of the middle of a perfectly healthy leaf that was still on a perfectly healthy plant. If I recall, she theorized that the leaf had been nicked there. Maybe you saw it. Sans are so adaptable. Yours reminds me of that.

Katrina- I'm sure you already know this, so I'm mostly posting it for others who read your comment and are genuinely curious, but plants rot in wet soil because it prevents gas exchange. Plain water allows much better gas exchange than wet soil. I grow all kinds of things in shallow water- not sans though (yet).

Questions for Lena:

How warm was the water you propagated the leaf in? How deep did you sink the leaf?

Is that mesh pot for hydroponic growth? Is there any of that hydroponic medium like the fiberglass-looking stuff or the clay bead-like thingies? How deep is the water on the plant? How warm is the water? Fertilizer?

I'm in a cool, damp apartment that makes growing Sans and succulents pretty challenging, but I'm very tempted to try your method, so I'd love all the info you'd like to share.

Nice work!

Hi Kwie,

Seat of my pants growing here, just experimenting as I went.

No warm water at all, ever, all water I use is strictly room temp, never directly from the faucets. I usually leave a few gallons out at all times. (I refill all jugs when done watering, so by the next watering, the water's been out 4-5 days at least.)

I usually put leaves to water root in SMALL containers w/ just 1" of water or so (right Norma?).

Yes, the netted pots are for hydro growth. The ONLY media I use in this are the Leca stones (unglazed, fired clay balls).

The water isn't deep on the plant, it's really only the balls & the roots are holding on in the balls, the plant itself & its foliage are ABOVE all that.

You could see similar a arrangement w/ clearer pic of similar work, the roots & the Leca stones in work I've done w/ my Hoyas.

Try searching Hoya Forum, post is entitled "Recent Pix of Hydro Grown Kerrii". That's my beloved plant there too, only ever hydro grown, from a broken branch. When 2.5 yrs. from cutting to bloom.

I just enjoy planting w/ Hydro & experimenting, esp when one has a broken branch or 2.

FYI: For Sans. leaves one must always keep clear on which end is root end & pot it down wards or it won't root in anything!

Thanks, Lena. I might give it a try just for fun.