Reliable information on Swords

[ddavila06]

just like the title says, i adquired a few not so common swords and can not find a good source of information in english know anything other than APC's plant finder? thanks

[Cavan]

What kind of information? I know of an excellent taxonomy article...

[ddavila06]

uhmmmm, define taxonomy just basic true info, you know a lot of websites post one thing, then another, then something completely opposite...i know with plants a lot can vary from locations and conditions so is kind of hard. The plants i have are E. Jaguar, E. Red Devil, E. Dshulenger, E Aflame and im trying to find out how large can they get and such and such...Thanks!!

[chris_todd]

This is a website Jim pointed me too shortly after I bought a bunch of swords at Aquafest:
http://www.echinodorus-online.de/

You can also check out the Tropica Plants website, they're currently producing lots of different sword cultivars and hybrids:
http://www.tropica.com/default.asp

I could be wrong, but I think I recognize several of your plants as Tropica hybrids, which might explain why you're finding spotty info - man made hybrids don't exist in nature, so figuring out their culture conditions often involves guessing based on the culture requirements of their parents. In the case of proprietary hybrids, that info may not be known outside of Tropica (or the company that produced them).

Beyond that, the APC plant finder and Kasselman's book "Aquatic plants" are helpful as well.

And FYI, taxonomy is the science of classifying species. So, for example, trying to figure out whether a given plant belongs in this genus or that genus, based on the information available about the plant (or animal, or fungus, or bacteria, etc.).

No offense to Cavan, but I would only read his taxonomy article if I had insomnia. Taxonomy *is* extremely important, it's how we understand the relationships between species, but the actual nitty gritty details of doing taxonomy are really only interesting to taxonomists. It's kind of like making sausage - just enjoy the result, and don't worry about how it's made.

[ddavila06]

great place Chris, thanks

[Cavan]

No offense to Cavan, but I would only read his taxonomy article if I had insomnia. Taxonomy *is* extremely important, it's how we understand the relationships between species, but the actual nitty gritty details of doing taxonomy are really only interesting to taxonomists. It's kind of like making sausage - just enjoy the result, and don't worry about how it's made.

I do worry about how sausage is made, but that's a separate issue.

I was half kidding with the article (but it is excellent for the non-hybrids if anyone is ever interested). Growing swords is pretty straightforward; just give them lots of room and hit them with a ton of ferts.

[chris_todd]

I do worry about how sausage is made, but that's a separate issue.

I was half kidding with the article (but it is excellent for the non-hybrids if anyone is ever interested). Growing swords is pretty straightforward; just give them lots of room and hit them with a ton of ferts.

Actually, if you have an extra photocopy, I wouldn't mind reading it. And no, not because I have insomnia, I'm actually interested.

Swords like lots of light, too. They'll survive low tech abuse better than a lot of plants will, but holy cow, have mine gone nuts in the 90g. I didn't know aquatic plants could get that big.