Quest

2003:
12/31/03
12/22/03
11/4/03
10/9/03
9/19/03
9/6/03
8/23/03
8/8/03
7/13/03
7/08/03
6/21/03
6/13/03
5/19/03
5/06/03
4/20/03
3/25/03
3/23/03
2/18/03
1/5/03

2002:
11/11/02
10/11/02
10/03/02
9/1/02
8/10/02
7/14/02
7/2/02
6/4/02
4/6/02
3/14/02

2001:
6/28/01
5/31/01
4/26/01
3/29/01

2000:
11/30/00
10/24/00
9/28/00
8/21/00
7/27/00
6/22/00
5/25/00
4/20/00
3/10/00
2/24/00

Q U E S T Newsletter of the Madison Aquarium Gardeners Club 12/31/03

Ready for the New Year? How about a challenge for the coming months? Let's see how many aquarium plants we can prompt a bloom? Example:

Crinum thaianum
Family: Amaryllidaceae
Distribution: South-east Asia
Land: Thailand

Hilariously explosive celebration of life! It was maintenance day for the 150 gallon aquaria in Birge Hall atrium, University of Wisconsin Madison, Botany Department. Can you imagine the astonishment when lifting the aquarium hood and seeing this convoluting and complex beauty?

I've never seen an aquatic "onion plant" bloom before. Crinum is easy to grow. It works in soft to very hard water, does well in medium-very high light, 5.5-9 pH, temperature of 18-28 C. Abundant root feeding with plant tablets and Jobe's sticks, stimulates bulbs to enlarge and put out long flat leaves that float for a meter or more, if allowed. The best I can figure, trimming back excessive leaf growth and fertilizing the roots causes Crinum thaianum to bloom.

How about giving it a try?
 

Detail of bulb and leaves.

Next meeting is Thursday, January 29, 04......John