4 leaf clover = 1 leaf clover

[dapellegrini]

Well, chalk another one up to the learning curve. I figured my 4-leaf clover was going the way of the world as all of the nice 4-leaf structures ended up covered in dark algae and just seemed to do nothing... Almost like a non-aquatic.

Well, if you hang in there long enough, it looks like the true submerged form is a 1-leaf clover. This means that the 4-leaf clover that I was sold on AquariumPlants.com was growing emmersed, right? This would seem to go against their claim: "AQUARIUMPLANTS.com's plants are ALL grown submersed"

Seems to be dong fine now. You can still see a few 4-leaf heads left there... I actually kind of like this plant as a one-leaf clover. It has a nice shape and color and seems go grow very slowly.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Yes, it was Emersed Clover. The submersed is the single leaf ground cover.

 

[dapellegrini]

Thanks for the confirm LWB... Do you know if this stuff will spread well, like other foreground plants? Seems to grow very slowly and not spread much, but that may have been because it was adapting to submersion.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Marsilea hirsuta is a fascinating plant, usually delivered with leaves like a four-leaf clover. After a transitional period it develops different types of leaves, possibly a low form with single leaves like a large Glossostigma, or alternatively develop two, three or four-lobed leaves varying in height, depending on the growth conditions. Whichever form the plant adopts, it forms runners and spreads rapidly round the aquarium. The scientific name for this unusual aquatic fern has not yet been finally settled.

From tropica's website.

From what I remember, the lower the light level, the more leaves it will have.

 

[Purrbox]

Basically if you receive clover that has more than the occational two leaves per stem and the stems are fairly long, then you are looking at emersed growth. Submersed growth is like what you have in your picture with mostly single leaves per stem. I've noticed that some of the more recent leaves on my clover are partial split. Kinda neat actually.

Clover is one of the slowest spreading foreground plants, which is related to being able to use it in lower light setups. To spead up its spreading you can clip the runners about every four leaves. This will increase the number of growth points allowing it to spread more quickly.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Yes, it will spread, but will need assistance from you. Like stated above, you need to clip the runner about every 3-4 plants. Easiest way to accomplish this is to take a pair of scissors and use the tips to clip the runner below the substrate carefully. This will help it spread in more than one direction, and will spread pretty well. But it is a slow grower, and can collect algae because of being a slow grower.

 

[hashbaz]

This means that the 4-leaf clover that I was sold on AquariumPlants.com was growing emmersed, right? This would seem to go against their claim: "AQUARIUMPLANTS.com's plants are ALL grown submersed"

I have wondered the same thing. Their swords (and many other plants I'm sure) are grown emersed. I assume that their statement means that ALL the plants they grow themselves are grown submersed BUT the plants they buy from nurseries and then resale can be submersed or emersed growth.

 

[joannde]

I just ordered some of this from them - I guess I know what to expect now. Good tips on the clipping - I'll be doing that for sure. Since it will be going into a 3G Eclipse slow growth is probably a good thing. Hopefully there will be enough light for it.

 

[onah]

yeah i just got some for the first time, i am hoping to get a really good cover in the little 10g i got going.