should I just throw them out?

[fish 'n' fries]

Hi all--

I got a shipment of plants when all the big storm came through the midwest. When I'd ordered it had been in the 60's...the day they came the temperature had dropped to the 40s. They didn't come with any heater etc.

Some looked pretty good (dwarf sag, anubias petite), some less so (baby tears) and some looked awful (anubias nana). I planted them all...and crossed my fingers.

Now the dwarf sag and anubias petite look like they're rotting. The leaves are really soft. Is there any point in leaving them in the tank and hoping some growth comes back? Or should I just start over? Thanks.

 

[Peyton]

As long as the rizome still looks good I would say the anubias would be ok, but it may loose all it's leaves. The dwarf sag is problably toast though unless the root system is ok.

 

[onah]

so when all the leaves are gone there is no hope? or can the stem acctually fill out again?

 

[Peyton]

so when all the leaves are gone there is no hope? or can the stem acctually fill out again?

Well I guess that would depend on what kind of plant. If your talking about a stem plant (ie: rotala, ludwigias, etc), then IME I have not had a stem with no leaves come back. Plants with rizomes, bulbs, or large root systems will, generally speaking, grow new leaves as long as the root, rhizome, etc was still ok.

I have seen plants that most would have thrown out, come back and flourish. The stargrass I currently have for instance was in a plant tank at a LFS and had only a few leaves per stem, and those were half decayed, because they were not getting enough light. I took them home and planted them and in no time I was overrun with it. Not because I have a green thumb or anything (cause I don't) but because most plants are pretty tough.

 

[An t-iasg]

Fish n fries - Hi neighbor! Join our Pittsburgh forum! (click the link in my sig)

The anubias should grow back - it will be slow, but it should grow back even if all the leaves fell off as long as the rhizome is not soft and mushy. The dwarf sag should grow back too - like Peyton says, if the roots are still in good shape, they will grow leaves again. It may take a little time, though. It doesn't really matter if the bad leaves are soft, as long as the roots are not soft and mushy. You can cut the bad leaves off.

 

[fish 'n' fries]

Sadly, I just changed the water and checked out the plants more thoroughly...they're all mush. Sad since I'm sure I won't be able to get petite nana locally. But this makes me nervous about ordering online again.

 

[rkilling1]

Temps in the 40's should not pose a problem. As long as the plants don't freeze, they should be fine.

I have been receiving plants all week and temps here are in the 20's.

 

[Purrbox]

With the temps that you are talking about, I suspect that the vendor you bought from didn't send quality plants for the Anubias and Sags. Might be a good idea to look at a different vendor next time.

The other thing to keep in mind is the temps at your vendor's location and all points between. It may be that the package passed through an area where the weather is freezing even though your temps are fine. In this case you would want to wait until the weather warms up again before ordering again.