Hygrophila pinnatifida Problems

[Cristy Keister]

It's doing well in Soilmaster for me. It took a while before it did anything, but then it started putting out shoots and slowly growing.

[150EH]

I think it does like a softer nutrient rich soil and it may also like a bit more K, I should have tried this plant when I was dosing PPS Pro it would have gotten all the K it wanted.

[150EH]

Today was water change day and my H. pinnatifida was shedding translucent leaves all over the place, it was the 23rd of November when I added the root tabs so it's been a week. So now I have a bunch of Hp that look like little palm trees, the lost all the growth on the stems and just have tops and small clusters of new leaves near the base of the plants, all of this is old growth that happened right after I planted. There is one plant that put out a new runner right on to some driftwood and it looks like it's attaching itself to the wood, so the substrate fertilizer has done something.

[Cavan]

Yes, you will see symptoms of K deficiency on the older leaves, since it's a mobile nutrient and during a shortage, the plant pulls it from older leaves to feed the new ones. Shed leaves and pinholes are a dead giveaway.

You don't have to go crazy with the K (and it's best not to). Just go with a little potassium sulfate and bump it up until the problem stops. H. pinnatifida is a hog for K; if it has enough, everything else will too. Mayaca fluviatilis is likewise a good indicator for iron.

[jweis]

Thanks Cavan. It sure is nice that you know and share all of this stuff.