Carex plants for Aldrovanda

[jimscott]

Is anybody familiar with Carex plants for Aldrovanda?

 

[Cindy]

Sedge? Living or dead?

I have some sedge litter but contrary to info found online, it does more harm than good to the Aldrovanda (Australian forms). In just 2 weeks, algae started growing and I had to change the water and wash out the container. However, it is very likely due to my conditions which is very warm during the day as well as night.

 

[jimscott]

It was suggested to me to procure Carex plants. So I googled it. I did find this site and hopefully our local USDA can help me with ID'ing them.

http://http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CAREX

 

[F R e N c H 3 z]

Are you looking for Carex? Carex are sedges, you'll find them in wetlands but mainly on the outskirts where there is some soil for the roots to take hold of. Juncus(rushes) may also suit whatever use you're looking for. Can you give us some more details as to what you're wanting to do?

 

[jimscott]

I'm basically supposed to providing these plants to be companion plants for my Aldrovanda.

 

[F R e N c H 3 z]

You should be able to find these still but the season is closing early this year. Most wetlands will have them and you can collect the seeds with the owners consent but if you can't get any and you're wanting some bad I can SASE you some seeds of a couple IDdCarex (C. comosa and another I can't think of off the top of my head. . These can get pretty tall though.

Have you considered other bog companions? Plants like Lobelia siphilitica, Polygonum, Eupatorium are definitely give more of a show than Carex and stay smaller. Plus you attract all sorts of butterflies and bees!

 

[JB in Utah]

I've had some success recently with aldrovanda, I have it in a little aquarium which once was my terrarium. I had a lot of problems with algae for a while until I tried Tetra Pond Barley & Peat Extract - the sole ingredients are barley straw extract and peat extract - the barley straw extract decays into Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) which kills algae but leaves my tank nice and clean. My wife didn't like the idea of barley straw in my aldrovanda tank so we tried this extract as a compromise.

I recommend changing 25% or more of the water every couple weeks to get rid of some of the H2O2 that can leave your water looking somewhat cloudy/milky - which is kind of cool because you can see the H2O2 suspended in the water. The peat extract likely contributes as well.

I use 1/8 teaspoon every 4 weeks for 2.5 gallons of water - you would have to look at the bottle to get the right dilution as this is made for ponds it deals with large amounts of water.

I'm still testing this product (2 months now) so I have no long term data, but my aldrovanda is growing better and faster than ever - hopefully I'll be able to get it through dormancy, I'll post an update on this test in the spring if I get through dormancy.

Just another option that you could try - especially if you have budget limitations or can't find any Carex plants. I got mine at Petsmart.

 

[kulamauiman]

Are you wanting the emergent species of sedges? Plant then to help export nitrogen? Got several possible seed sources here. How about elocharis as well? One of them is a common annoyance as a weed that sprouts from LFS. Can also go look for seeds of those as well......

MTF

 

[jimscott]

This is the setup I have on the porch. The Aldrovandas are sharing a 10 gallon tank with U. gibba, a cattail, and some other bog plant. The bog is like 100' away from our apartment complex. It's been set up like this for ~5 months. Oddly enough, I am experiencing zero algae.

 

[jimscott]

Are these Carex?

 

[schejuka]

I would guess they are cattails Typha.
How tall are they?

 

[F R e N c H 3 z]

It's a bit hard to see in the picture Jim but those look like the typical Typha latifolia. The most common one is actually a hybrid, here's what you ought to be looking for though:

Feel the stem of the plant if you can't find a flowering structure. If it feels like a triangle you can almost be sure it's a sedge, there's a few exceptions but nothing to worry about for this instance.

 

[jimscott]

Thanks, Yann. I'll have to look around for them.

 

[kulamauiman]

Aloha Yann,

that looks more like a Cyperus sp. Based on flowers. I got some pics of a native Carex from Makawao Forest reserve.

 

[F R e N c H 3 z]

Hey Mach!

Nice pics, it's great to see the diversity within a Family based on location.
I pulled a random picture off the web and was fairly certain that it represented Carex simply because of the leaves in 3 separate direction.
For what Jim is wanting though whether he finds Carex or Juncus it'll look similar to all of the above pictures.
Do the Carex in Hawaii experience a dormancy Mach?

 

[kulamauiman]

these guys hard to say in 4000 feet elevation. under story of rain forest. Might be behaving that way with the drought now.

I do see my sarrs making scales over the growing tips of rhizomes so suspect things are starting to turn, just no frost so no pitcher die back. its cool ...

MTF

 

[jimscott]

The plant pictured by Yann is aomething we have growing in these parts, but I don't see any in the apartment complex bog. The cattails are a good 6' tall.

Does Aldrovanda shrink as the cooler weather sets in?

 

[jimscott]

I visited our local USDA and spoke with a plant dude. Then we took a short field trip. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any sedge. He did say that "sedges have edges". I took a little car trip and found this stand at the side of the road:

Is this what I need?

 

[F R e N c H 3 z]

Hey Jim,

No those are not Carex, they look like grasses, probably some sort of wool grass (Scirpus). If you feel the stem you'll notice they don't have edges.
The mix of colors on those trees in the background look fantastic btw.

 

[jimscott]

I'll keep looking....