Re: Chemistry of Waterlogged Soils
- To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L
- Subject: Re: Chemistry of Waterlogged Soils
- From: J* B*
- Date: Tue, 27 Mar 2001 09:11:36 -0600 (CST)
-----Original Message-----
From: Ted.Held@hstna.com <Ted.Held@hstna.com>
To: Multiple recipients of list AROID-L <aroid-l@mobot.org>
Date: Monday, March 26, 2001 11:38 AM
Subject: Chemistry of Waterlogged Soils
Dear Ted,
Just one MORE thought---I grew Urospaths, Dracontioides, Anaphyllopsis,
Cyrtosperma and many other tropical wet-loving Aroids, all of which were
known 'swamp dwellers', but many other growers had failed before me in
trying to grow these plants in pots placed in a saucer of 'static' water.
MY thoughts were that in most 'swamps' (there must be tremendous variations
in the chemistry of the soil in the many habitats in which these widly
distributed plants grow!) there is movement of water through the substrate,
no matter how slow, and this plays a big part in the plant`s ability not
only to 'survive' these seemingly 'bad' conditions, but to thrive and
reproduce in them. By putting the soil in the pot on a thick layer of
'lava rock' which keeps the 'soil' ( I tried to limit the amount of 'soil'
contained in my 'mix', using peat moss, chopped sphagnum, and coarse 'play
sand') above the level of the water in the saucer, good regular applications
of weak mixes of liquid fertlizer, and regular changes of the water in the
saucer, these previously 'impossible-to-keep-growing' plants literally
thrived in my collection, producing seed which were sent to friends
worldwide.
Chemistry is NOT the only item at 'play' in this equation!
Hope the above is of help.
Julius
WPB,
Florida
>Does anybody know of a good reference for the chemistry of waterlogged
soils? My soil science books are oriented to typical agriculture where
waterlogged soils are the enemy. Many aroids are specifically adapted to
life in watery places where normal soil chemistry is (I presume) quite
different. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Please respond to the list or to my personal e-mail. Thanks.
Ted Held
ted.held@hstna.com.
