Mangrove Flowers?

DarthChaos · Jul 23, 2022

So, I have a couple almost 8 yr old mangrove trees - that I got a few mths back.

They are the main filtration for my 190g reef system. This pic (from before I moved the system) - shows them in their full glory....with tons of leaves.

Has anyone ever seen mangroves sprout flowers - in a reef system?

fishguy242 · Jul 23, 2022

@Eagle_Steve ??

BoriReefer · Jul 23, 2022

Nice healthy mature trees there!

Did not know that they could flower.

DarthChaos · Jul 23, 2022

BoriReefer said:
Nice healthy mature trees there!

Did not know that they could flower.

Me either...till someone asked on a FB post.

Googled it and sure enough, I guess they can sprout little white flowers. I wonder if you simulated the seasons (shorter winter light - longer summer) - the mangroves would.

I guess it's a seasonal thing.

ISpeakForTheSeas · Jul 23, 2022

Chaos2034 said:
Me either...till someone asked on a FB post.

Googled it and sure enough, I guess they can sprout little white flowers. I wonder if you simulated the seasons (shorter winter light - longer summer) - the mangroves would.

I guess it's a seasonal thing.

If the mangrove's growing conditions are good enough, they can apparently flower within four years of sprouting. With your trees there (assuming they find their conditions to be good), I'd imagine you could trigger flowering by adjusting the length of light exposure (as you've mentioned) and/or temperature. With regular plants, the amount of water given could play a role too, but I have no idea if that would be a factor or not with mangroves. That said, some plants flower more readily under artificial lights than others, so you might not be able to get them flowering - I'm not sure with mangroves. It would be exciting to find out for sure though!

DarthChaos · Jul 24, 2022

ISpeakForTheSeas said:
If the mangrove's growing conditions are good enough, they can apparently flower within four years of sprouting. With your trees there (assuming they find their conditions to be good), I'd imagine you could trigger flowering by adjusting the length of light exposure (as you've mentioned) and/or temperature. With regular plants, the amount of water given could play a role too, but I have no idea if that would be a factor or not with mangroves. That said, some plants flower more readily under artificial lights than others, so you might not be able to get them flowering - I'm not sure with mangroves. It would be exciting to find out for sure though!

Awesome info!!! Thank you.

I read mangroves flower in like spring/summer - so, it made sense to play with your lighting settings...to replicate nature.