Mangrove in a pot?

[Adequate]

Had no idea which section to post this in

I have a spare mangrove seedling (Rhizophora stylosa) that I'd like to grow in a pot with around an inch of water, and I'm wondering as to the best approach to this. Coarse or fine substrate? Freshwater or saltwater? I read that they grow faster and won't require magnesium supplements if grown in freshwater, but I'd just like to hear from you guys about this. Also, since there'd be no source of nutrients since there's no livestock, how should I go about with "feeding" the mangrove?

 

[Ron Reefman]

You don't even need to put them in water! They will grow just fine in soil as well. It can be a pot that has no drainage and holds water or one that does drain just like most other plant pots. You can even stick them in the ground (assuming you are far enough south). If you use fresh water the leaves won't transpire saltwater which drys out on the leaves. Normally this gets washed off by rain water. It rains down here every other day for 6+ months and the other 4 or 5 months they don't grow much due to lack of long days in the sun. If you have it in a pot indoors, use freshwater and you won't have to wipe off the leaves..

 

[JFrar]

I volunteered recently for nearby city and i helped plant dozens and dozens of mangroves along a a canal.

My supervisor grows mangroves like crazy all at a nursery in pots with soil.. It was a very successful mangrove nursery from what i could tell.

I've been wanting to get the one species that is more of a land locked mangrove, just looked em up, called buttonwood.

 

[Ron Reefman]

There are 3 different mangroves, red, black and white. The red grows well in the water and has the prop roots. The black and white mangroves need solid soil but still grow near the water. Buttonwoods are not real mangroves, but closely related and often considered as an associated species.

Florida mangroves - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Adequate]

So basically, just treat it like any old pot plant? Sweet!

What would be some things to do that would really get good growth from it?

 

[Ron Reefman]

Keep it moist, feed it a bit of plant fertilizer, give it lots of sun and don't let it get too cold. They grow pretty fast all by themselves! :cool:

 

[Adequate]

Awesome! I'll get right to it.

 

[JFrar]

I think the blacks put out shoots, if @Ron Reefman didnt allready mention that, just something to consider with space in pot your using.

 

[Adequate]

The one I have is stylosa, which doesn't release pneumatophores, but I do plan on getting a similar species to blacks: Avicennia marina or the grey mangrove. They release pneumatophores too, so I'm gonna have to opt for a pretty pot.

Oh and one last thing, what's an ideal substrate depth?

 

[JFrar]

You guys have more knowledge it seems than me :P . But I feel like they just need to be deep enough to ensure they are secure. When planting along the canals the reds went in pretty much at the water line so i had those deeper to prevent any tidal forces and waves. blacks and greens were less, but I'd still ensure they were secure.

I feel in natural settings they handle themselves pretty well, so there is variability.

 

[JFrar]

I think this was 4 weeks after I initially planted this one and this was before i started learning more about which ones and how far out. cause I think thats a black in PIC.

Grasses planted behind them for ground stabilization. I knocked down the canal side, reshaped, pulled weeds and planted. Was pretty cool.

 

[Adequate]

I think this was 4 weeks after I initially planted this one and this was before i started learning more about which ones and how far out. cause I think thats a black in PIC.

Grasses planted behind them for ground stabilization. I knocked down the canal side, reshaped, pulled weeds and planted. Was pretty cool.

Nicely done, buddy :D

Judging by your feedback and also my own experience, they're pretty tough plants. Around half a year ago, a couple of my propagules got pest infestations, so I had to "amputate" much of the stalk to remove the pests. No new leaves since, though there's a bulge that's slowly rising up the plant, probably new leaves that'll emerge given time...

This little dude is a little shrivelled from a bit of neglect on my part, but I've seen them bounce back from other adversities, like magnesium deficiencies, in weeks.

 

[Adequate]

It never occurred to me to check but I just realised today that this particular mangrove propagule feels soft and not hard at all on the inside! Like it’s mushy or maybe even hollow. I’m not sure how long it’s been like that, it still looks kinda shrivelled like in the pictures, but the stalk bit looks to be all brown and dead. No leafage either :(

Is it possible for it to bounce back?

 

[fish farmer]

It never occurred to me to check but I just realised today that this particular mangrove propagule feels soft and not hard at all on the inside! Like it’s mushy or maybe even hollow. I’m not sure how long it’s been like that, it still looks kinda shrivelled like in the pictures, but the stalk bit looks to be all brown and dead. No leafage either :(

Is it possible for it to bounce back?

I noticed when they get soft and mushy like that they are gone. I had some once that I submerged about half or more of the stalk....they did put out roots, but never budded out the top.

I planted other ones much like yours pictured and they did well.

 

[Adequate]

Upon further inspection, it looks like much of the stalk is all mushy like that :(

The bottom inch of the non-buried bit of the stalk is still relatively firm, would it be worth a try to "amputate" (probably the wrong botanical term) the soft, mushy bit and see if it grows from there? Or is it basically a goner, like you said?

 

[fish farmer]

Upon further inspection, it looks like much of the stalk is all mushy like that :(

The bottom inch of the non-buried bit of the stalk is still relatively firm, would it be worth a try to "amputate" (probably the wrong botanical term) the soft, mushy bit and see if it grows from there? Or is it basically a goner, like you said?

I believe once you cut off the top of the pod where the leaves sprout from it won't grow. If there were already leaves and branches then there would be better chances of regrowth.

 

[Adequate]

Shame, I was really hoping to bring the little guy back to health :(